Meet The Disruptors: Stan Zhekov of Reverd.com On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
Don’t give up, learn and keep going — for example, the Reverd scam call stopper app was rejected by Apple app reviewers four times with no logical reason before finally approved. We didn’t give up and we won.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Stan Zhekov.
Stan Zhekov is the founder and CEO of Reverd.com. Stan created The First Global Anti-Scam System to automatically eliminate scam calls for everyone with a phone. His approach is unique and his motto is: “There is always a solution”.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I do not look at it as a career path. I would rather call it a way of life. If there is a global problem, I feel it is a duty of all humans to participate in resolving it. More so if it’s an evil. So, it is rather a natural and rewarding obligation.
The idea sparked when the scam calls hit my phone. I thought: Wait, the phone has been invented to connect people, not to harass them. There must be a solution to stop it.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
It is a fundamentally different approach and solution providing users the level of comfort they desire — namely: To get rid of scam calls automatically and efficiently so that there is no interruption, annoyance, anger and they stay focused on what they are doing. Therefore, we do not have Red and Green buttons to touch, there is no need to make a decision to take a call or not, there is no sound or vibration. The user will not even notice that a scammer was trying to call their number. This is what the users want and this is what we provide using our proprietary technology.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
It’s hard to call it funny but yes it was a memorable mistake and instructive lesson. Back in time I decided to do some marketing using Google. I read an article stating that if bigger budget is allowed, it’ll bring more traffic without exhausting the budget “if done properly”. I didn’t pay enough attention to the words “if done properly”. I’ve put more than I can afford with the hope that I will get some sells. Two hours later I was back from a Christmas party to discover that all my money was gone with no sells. Painful and memorable. The lesson learned was: pay attention to details and do it right or don’t do it.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
It was a friend of mine that encouraged me to do it saying that it can be done. That encouragement was impactful because it came in the right time and gave me confidence in myself. It also meant that my friends trust me. It encouraged me to pursue my own idea of global scale and importance for all humans.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
Disrupting an industry is good if it impacts the status quo in a positive way that is beneficial for the progress of the society as a whole. Disrupting an industry may not be so good if it serves private interests or have negative site effects on the environment or the human race. Reusable rockets can be an example for both. It is a good industry disruption as long as it is not used for military transportation purposes.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
- Find the solution — When I started all developers where telling me that it is not possible for iOS — I found a solution and we did it as described on Medium “The amazing story of the remarkable Reverd free spam call detector app”
- If something does not exist, it doesn’t mean it is not doable. — It is rather an opportunity.
- Don’t give up, learn and keep going — for example, the Reverd scam call stopper app was rejected by Apple app reviewers four times with no logical reason before finally approved. We didn’t give up and we won.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
That’s right, we are not done yet… The next step is to release the Anti-scam Shield addon integration for RingCentral PBX cloud-based business phone systems. Statistics shows that small businesses are losing about 9 Billion a year due to scam calls. That number must be reduced.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
The book that changed everything was “Traction” by Gabriel Weinberg & Justin Mares. It is eyes opener and makes the rule of the business very clear. It teaches that without traction it’s a hobby, not a business. Investors expect to see traction in order to talk to you.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” ― by Dale Carnegie. Programmers told me that it is not possible to eliminate scam calls on iPhones, but we made it work using proprietary technology.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
It would be a great movement idea to eliminate current monetary system. Thus, creating equal opportunities, leveled playground for everyone, unleashing creativity, removing barriers and greed. A giant step forward for the humanity.
How can our readers follow you online?
LinkedIn:
Personal https://www.linkedin.com/in/stan-zhekov-7742668
Reverd https://www.linkedin.com/company/reverd/
Twitter https://twitter.com/reverd_com
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
