Contents
Hello dear readers! Nogotkov Maxim Yuryevich was included in the list of the richest and most successful people according to Forbes magazine. And not in vain, after all, already, being at the age of twenty, he was considered a dollar millionaire. Let’s find out a more detailed story of his success.
Childhood and study
He was born on February 15, 1977 in an ordinary Moscow intelligent family. His father worked as an engineer, and his mother as a doctor. His parents raised him in strictness, the word «no» was waiting for our hero at every turn. As Maxim himself later admitted, the desire to overcome each of the prohibitions and formed in him a sense of purpose and a desire to achieve his own, no matter what it takes.
The family did not differ in a special level of income, therefore, he began to earn money on his own very early, feeling his responsibility for his life and desires, as well as independence. He started by collecting waste paper, later selling pirated programs.
At first it was embarrassing and embarrassing, but when he finally got the stamp collection he dreamed of, he realized that it was worth it. Over time, he stopped stopping himself, turning into a real businessman, of which there were not so many in Russia at that time.
He studied well, as it was supposed to be for a Soviet student, additionally attending computer science courses at the House of Pioneers. He loved mathematics, which came easily to him. From the age of 12 he wrote his own programs, on a completely, according to current characteristics, “antediluvian” computer, without a color monitor and a limited memory of 64 kilobytes.
First entrepreneurial experience
As a 14-year-old teenager, instead of chasing a ball with friends in the yard, Maxim worked in the radio market. He repaired and bought old phones, assembling new ones from parts. It all started with the fact that at one moment a resourceful entrepreneur noticed an important nuance — you can “make” money from almost nothing.
Suppose, if you buy a large number of telephones with caller ID, damaged and not very, for example, in the amount of almost 4 thousand rubles, then, having put them in order, over time it was possible to resell each at a price of 4500 rubles. But where to get the initial capital for the venture? Parents categorically refused to help him in his formation, considering the idea «not tenacious.»
But our hero is not used to backing down in the face of difficulties, he helped his friend sell his telephone device in exchange for a favor. He lent him the necessary amount for two weeks, which Maxim was able to dispose of «wisely.» Since during this time I was able to make such a turn in order to repay the debt and continue the work that had begun, which was going very well. So much so that they had to hire workers to assemble new phones from parts.
In a month, by joint efforts, they managed to sell about 30 pieces, but then the demand for them fell, and they had to switch to calculators.
Study and business
Maxim Yurievich studied at ordinary educational institutions in Moscow. After the ninth grade, he went to school at Bauman Moscow State Technical University. There, in principle, he later entered the Faculty of Informatics. Which was not surprising given his abilities. But, having studied only two courses, Nogotkov issued an academic leave. And quite unexpectedly for himself, this idea dawned on him by chance, during the exams.
The fact is that the rapidly expanding business took a lot of energy, and even brought income that most students never even dreamed of — about ten thousand dollars a month. And this is for an 18-year-old guy in the capital of Russia at a time when a huge part of the population did not even hold these dollars in their hands.
Therefore, he decided not to take one exam after all, but to take a break for a year and a half to try himself in business. And, preferring to be frank with himself, Nogotkov realized that the desire to become a programmer is no longer as great as before.
By the way, with time and experience, he realized that education is a very important component, at least in his life. Experience in the radio market did not give a complete picture of understanding all the nuances of entrepreneurship, which is why in 1997 he went to study at Mirbis REA im. G.V. Plekhanov, starting to study marketing. This helped to broaden my horizons and gain the missing knowledge.
Business
Maxus
Maxim admitted to reporters that he did not even have the experience of creating a resume, as he always knew what he liked and what he wanted to do, which made it completely unnecessary to look for hired work. As well as the very wording «find a job.»
In 1995, together with friends who also left their studies, he created the Maxus company. Their first office was a small 20-square-meter facility in a factory. And the “point of sale” is the car of one of the friends at the radio market, which looked completely ridiculous against the backdrop of trucks, from which trade was usually carried out there.
Selling mainly phones and audio players. The turnover of their small company soon amounted to about $ 100 thousand. But the economic crisis in Russia that happened in 1998 could not but affect Maxus. People began to spend money only on essentials. Buying an audio player, for example, was an unforgivable luxury at the time. Therefore, it is not surprising, but sales have fallen completely.
Our hero managed to save his business, unsuccessfully coping with the circumstances for several months, when the warehouses are full of useless goods. One day, he called his employees together and announced that he could no longer afford to pay them full salaries. As a compromise, he offered only half the usual amount for them.
Nobody left the company. And not in vain, because the digital phones that entered the market helped to rectify the situation a little and hold out in these difficult times. And already in 2000, a completely new niche appeared with a claim to mass consumption — mobile phones.
Mobile phone business
The company managed to sign contracts with all manufacturers of these goods, except for the Nokia brand, which was popular in those years. But because in their eyes, «Maxus» seemed an insignificant partner, which will soon be swallowed up by big business. But by 2003, they managed to win the recognition of Nokia, and the company of our hero received the coveted agreement to distribute the products of the world-famous corporation.
The sale of mobile phones turned out to be not so simple and easy, as the price of them was constantly falling, which is why the losses of the first deliveries amounted to about $ 50. Over time, they managed to compensate for them and reach a turnover of $ 100 million. In 2001, Nogotkov decided to slightly expand the scope of services and engage in retail sales, which in the future became the main focus of his work.
Messenger
This step was quite risky, since everything in the wholesale was well-established and understandable, and retail did not bring much income, and even Maxim himself seemed not worthy of attention. Despite doubts, in 2002 a new Svyaznoy brand was created. In Moscow, his outlets spread like mushrooms, surpassing the number of competitors such as Euroset and Tekhmaret (they had no more than 70 stores, while Nogotkov had 81).
And in the first year of operation, Svyaznoy managed to outperform its most powerful competitor, Techmarket, which initially considered it an unworthy rival. Three years later, another 450 stores were opened, although 400 were planned. In 2007, an innovation was introduced that attracted even more customers — a loyalty program began to work, which was called the Svyaznoy Club. Now each client had the right to exchange the accumulated bonuses for quite real goods.
Since 2009, an online store has been launched, which today brings about 10% of the total income.
Nogotkov has always believed that the financial services industry in Russia is underdeveloped. Let’s say people withdraw money from a salary card in order to replenish their mobile account through the terminal. He wanted to make changes and improve this process, simplify it.
In 2010, a decision was made to create Svyaznoy Bank together with Promtorgbank. Today it serves about 3 thousand legal entities and is one of the largest in the country. But in 2012, Maxim Yuryevich voluntarily resigns from the board of directors due to the fact that he categorically disagrees with changes in the approach to bank management.
New projects
In the same year, 2010, he opened the well-known Pandora jewelry store, beloved by many fashionistas.
In 2011, a new project was launched — the retail network «Enter». Where it was possible to purchase any non-food product in absolutely any convenient way, even if ordered via the Internet or by phone. During the year, the turnover amounted to $100 million. Employees themselves conduct trainings and training courses for their colleagues, and, unlike other enterprises, attendance is voluntary, no one obliges anyone to develop or relax together.
Maxim has a lot of ideas and interest, in addition to his main “brainchildren”, in 2011 he created the beautiful land park “Nikola Lenivets”, in 2012 he organized the social project “Yopolis”, which helped ordinary people to engage in dialogue with the authorities, and since 2008 in the company «KIT-Finance» holds the position of Executive Director.
Character and personal life
The wife gave birth to our hero three sons, but at the same time retained her beauty and charm. Maria is a smart woman, and he prefers to spend all his free time in her company. They often travel with the whole family to different countries, discover new hobbies and hobbies, enjoying communicating with each other.
Perhaps the secret of Nogotkov’s success is that he never sought to buy something. The only thing I could not resist in my childhood was the stamps. And so he was always interested only in development and promotion. Money was a pleasant side effect. Our hero is always open to something new, he is ready to take risks and use innovative technologies.
It does not impose strict rules and conditions on employees, believing that the choice of a place of work lies with each of us. If someone values his position, he will do everything to stay there. Maxim Yuryevich is not mercantile, arguing that, having woken up one day and feeling like a millionaire, he realized that nothing had changed in his head from this fact. Just reached the goal, so there was a need to form a new one.
He was fond of boxing at one time, even won prizes, but realized that fierce competition was simply not his way to achieve what he wanted. He is not registered on social networks, believing that this is a waste of time, which he would better spend on achievements and family.
He is a rare guest of restaurants and all sorts of parties, as he does not like chic and glamor manifestations. He drives quite calmly, both in a yellow Maserati and in public transport. He is fond of photography, tennis and likes to watch a good movie in his spare time.
Conclusion
As you could see from the biography of Maxim Yuryevich Nogotkov, the main thing is to understand what exactly you want to do and strive for your dreams and goals, not forgetting about development. After all, this is what helped him earn a fortune that is estimated at more than $ 1 billion. Good luck and inspiration to you!