Business journal from Russia caught Eugene Dubovoi to ask him several questions about the essence of entrepreneurship and SIMDAQ. We translated an interview and offer it to your attention.
Eugene Dubovoi: We are the only trading company that covers up for users
Founder of the SIMDAQ platform for developing trading strategies and the creator of Evapolar
Editor’s remark:
Young entrepreneurs are constantly searching for new ideas. But not all projects are launched only for profit. Evgeny Dubovoi is an entrepreneur trying to improve the lives of as many people as possible. The “Thirst” journal wanted to know about the specificity of his projects, the invention used in the Moscow subway, and why math is so important.
- If you go back to the past, do you remember the point where your entrepreneurial journey began?
- There was a clear feeling that I wanted to run my own business. I hesitated and could not decide on the field of activity. I even had to get a job in the company to get a clear idea of how not to build a business.
- Tell us about your first project.
- The project that I am running now is actually an echo of the past. We were actively engaged in trading a decade ago. I’d like to note that I say “we” because all the achievements are the result of a cohesive teamwork.
We worked with common stocks first, then we moved to a more aggressive futures market and eventually engaged in cryptocurrency trading as the most volatile of the available tools. We were watching Bitcoin plunging from $32 to $2. The SIMDAQ project was conceived as an internal tool for ourselves — we needed to hone the skills of technical analysis and to efficiently test trading hypotheses. There was no good tool, and we had to print out the charts, cover part of the chart with a piece of paper and move it to simulate trading. Eventually, we developed a special software for this. We had an idea to develop this into an independent project, but we evaluated the market and refused to risk in a narrow niche with a specific product.
In 2017, we realized that the number of people engaged in cryptocurrency had increased hundreds of times. Each user is also a trader in part. This is why our project SIMDAQ has become popular. We reconsidered the project and turned it into a toolkit for honing trading strategies: backtesting, a package for programming and testing trading robots, and a platform for sharing experience. The project not just gives cryptotraders a real advantage, but also helps the trading ecosystem around the cryptocurrencies mature.
- I know that you have several projects. Which of them takes most of your time and efforts?
- It is my second project, Evapolar — a project of a personal air conditioner (operates within 3–4 sq. meters) based on evaporation. Its operation is based on the properties of special material, an advanced scientific development. After the collapse of the first cryptocurrency exchange Mt Gox, we moved away from trading and investigated the mechanics of crowdfunding and crowdinvesting in detail. With Evapolar, we have run several successful crowdfunding campaigns worth $2+ mln. Evapolar is an active company with distribution in 120+ countries now.
- Do you remember your first earnings? What was the amount and how you got it?
- I earned my first money on trading. It was dividends from the creation of trading robots. I believe that any businessman remembers their first earnings.
- In your opinion, how does the job of an entrepreneur differ from any other job?
- My experience suggests that an entrepreneur is a self-responsible person, in the first place, — the better you work, the better result will be there. There is no one to blame — if you want to be an entrepreneur, then just work and achieve your goals, no matter what.
- What indicators of success do you recognize?
- For me, the criterion of success is your feelings. If I’m happy with the result, then I’m successful. Many link success criteria to money. But I never have a financial goal. For example, the Evapolar project was launched not for money, but as a follow-up of my father’s job — he was a scientist. It is built on his developments.
Evapolar is an air conditioner based on water evaporation, which cools the air. The idea of the project lies in the material invented by my father. This material is inorganic and completely safe for people, because bacteria and fungus do not populate even in such a moist environment, thanks to our patented technology. Few people know that our systems are used in the Moscow subway. There faced a problem with conventional air conditioners which failed to cool air in such conditions, and our technology helped solve all these issues. This material has been developed for many years. I wanted to create something useful for people. The main criterion of success is improving lives of tens of thousands of people around the world.
- You were raised in the family of a scientist, but decided to become an entrepreneur. Do you think that a person should be born with an entrepreneurial streak?
- Back in my childhood, I decided that I would be engaged in business, and this was due to my dad, by the way, who also made attempts in entrepreneurship. By education I am a mathematician. I believe that this also played an important role. We have a special speed of thinking, which helps much in any field, and it is especially important for an entrepreneur. I had to get a Ph.D. degree as well to succeed in the Evapolar development. In my opinion, this proves that you don’t have to be born with an entrepreneurial streak — you can learn a lot through diligence.
- There is a current trend that higher education has no effect on business success. Do you agree with this statement?
- I support the idea that higher education plays an important role in the life of any person. The main thing is to choose your specialty competently. At some point, I began to regret that I lack a business-specific education. I began to feel a lack of skills. I can build a company from scratch, bring it to some point, but after this I have to invite people with proper skills to help develop business. Many mistakes could be avoided if I originally had the necessary knowledge about business. Therefore, education should not be neglected, but education can be different.
- Since you brought up a topic of mistakes, please tell us what could not be avoided at the initial stages?
- Finance and management accounting were our weaknesses. This was due to lack of competencies and core education. When we launched business, we wanted to expand horizons and create more new products, rather than waste time on audit tasks. Eventually, we had to pay for these mistakes.
- You run an international business. Is there a difference between running business in Russia and abroad?
- From the very beginning, we were forced to build an international company. This was due to the market specifics, cost of our devices, and difficulties with accepting payments from individuals from abroad at the time. When business is run in different countries, it is more difficult to control. You should build on the market and be right in the place where attention is needed at the moment. For instance, I had to move to Cyprus for now to competently monitor all current affairs.
- How do you plan your day? Are there any time management secrets?
- I fly a lot. I constantly have to fly to meet our partners in different parts of the world, both in Europe and in the US. Of course, business can be run remotely, but personal communication yields the best results, in my opinion. It’s not a problem for me to get on the plane in the morning and get back home by night.
- Your attitude to competitors?
– I love them, and it’s not a joke. If business is innovative, you are most often not so much fighting with competitors, but are rather building the market from scratch. This is how it was with Evapolar. It is a case when it was required to make efforts, explaining what kind of product it is. After a while, companies emerged that were producing similar desktop air conditioners, thus developing the market. Our material has a number of competitive advantages, that’s why we welcome new competitors, as they help expand the niche and aware grassroots about the existence of such devices.
- As for SIMDAQ, do you have any plans for its development?
- Our project is ready for launch, and we will be able to talk about further goals after that. This depends on the number of active users. The SIMDAQ project plays a huge role. We are the only trading company that covers up for users. When you see a broker project or a stock exchange, their key goal is to make sure that you conduct transactions. They don’t care if they will be profitable or not — you will pay the fee to the exchange in any case. Nobody in the market cares whether a user makes money. But we came up with a simulator that we tested ourselves, and now we want to help users become more successful. We expect to have a large loyal audience, which will have a desire to train in trading with minimal losses.
- What personal traits help you in your work?
- I am able to focus on important tasks in the moment and make quick decisions. My skill helps concentrate at the right time and take all the efforts to achieve a specific result. This is the boundary between a success and a failure — make the last breakthrough in time. For instance, we had to act quickly with SIMDAQ when the cryptocurrency rate began falling sharply — there was no time to wait, and I made a decision for the whole team. This saved us from great losses. But I must acknowledge that the performance drops in the long run.
- Do you have coaches? Who would you approach for advice first?
- I have a school teacher who taught mathematics. I am grateful not so much for education, as for educational aspects to him. It’s very rare when a teacher pays much attention to you as a person and cares about who you will grow up into. We went camping together, and this helped cultivate the spirit, thus helping with the development of business now. His advice helps not to get out of the way, act competently and reasonable in difficult times.
- Is “craving for business” concept applicable to you?
- For me, it is a constant desire to create something new, in the first place: achieve results not in terms of work but in terms of creativity. I have moderated craving for business now: I do not invent anything new but stabilize the existing, although I am sure that I will launch some new projects in a few years. I try to control myself and launch them one by one, although I have an endless unquenchable craving for the new. By the way, this is a common mistake of all entrepreneurs — to get distracted by a lot of projects simultaneously. It is difficult to maintain the performance with a huge amount of projects.
In brief
Main character trait?
Self-sufficiency.
What do you value in people?
Experience.
What is your most memorable trip?
Hitch-hiking in Iceland.
Whose workshop would you attend?
Jordan Belfort.
Main source of inspiration?
Close people.
A gift you remember?
My father’s ring.
Your motto?
Always believe in yourself.
In a decade I will …
… continue to fight.
Our dossier
Dubovoi Eugene Vladimirovich, Saint Petersburg
Evapolar is a manufacturer of personal evaporative air conditioners.
SIMDAQ is a simulator for learning cryptotrading.
3 crowdfunding campaigns for $7m+.
