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Founder@ Interview
Interview with Alex Tomchenko
“Get outside of your comfort zone by starting to sell what you do. Don’t get distracted by what others have to say and start trying and testing as early as possible. Also, do something that you’re truly passionate about. It will be easier to achieve success once you’re feeling inspired and ready to do more to bring your vision to life. .” – Alex Tomchenko
Today we feature Alex Tomchenko, the founder at Glambook. We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights.
Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
My name is Alex Tomchenko and I’m the founder and CEO of Glambook – a new SaaS platform for independent beauty industry professionals and their clients.
Prior to launching Glambook, I had my own advertising, digital marketing, SMM and SEO agency Idealpromo that I founded in 2008. During my 12+ years on the agency side, I spearheaded over 300 projects for our clients spanning a few international markets.
A great introduction and start to this interview. Can you please tell us, how did you start, from what age, and what made you decide to change direction and start?
I launched my first business in 2008, when I was just 21 years old, and I went from an independent professional to an owner of an established digital agency. During my time at the agency, I’ve gained an invaluable experience in building and promoting a broad spectrum of digital products.
However, after more than a decade in business, I realized that I’ve been spending so much time and energy to build and grow products of other people, so it made me want to leverage my skills, experience and knowledge in creating my own product. I sold the digital agency and started to think of building a product that would blend my expertise and the experience of my wife, a leading beauty professional. That’s how Glambook was born.
Thank you for that insight. So can you tell us…What does your business do and where is your company based?
Glambook is a new SaaS platform for independent beauty industry professionals and their clients, designed to create a seamless digital booking experience. In addition to connecting clients looking for a broad range of beauty services, we also offer opportunities to start and grow business for independent beauty industry professionals through easy-to-use built-in tools and micromarketing efforts.
Our HQ is currently based in Berlin but we’re a global company with our product available in 35 countries around the world.
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What’s the story behind your success? What led to your aha moment? how did you get to where you are now?
Our success has come from persistence. We’ve tried so many times that even statistically speaking, things should’ve worked out. To achieve success, we had to clearly visualize it, and split bigger tasks into multiple small steps. This led us to effectively accomplishing and exceeding our goals.
Thank you for sharing that. What’s been your life’s biggest lesson so far?
The lesson that I’ve learned the hard way was to have high expectations of other people. For example, one of our colleagues has suddenly decided to change his career. Although we had an agreement and a defined action plan for our partnership, we had to part ways.
You need to rely on yourself first as this is something you can control; the rest is quite risky and outside of your control, so you need to be able to plan for it. It’s important to have overlap in expertise among several team members, so they can seamlessly pick things up if something doesn’t go according to the plan – whether it’s human resources, services or processes, you need to be able to quickly find an alternative.
Startup environment assumes a lot of uncertainty, and this is one of the most valuable lessons that I’ve learned when dealing with a lot of unknowns.
We were able to find a solution to this challenge and identify plans B for critical areas of our business, key talent and processes.
Limitations and doubts are all in your head. If you think that something is impossible – you’re right, and you’re also right if you think that everything is possible. Your life adjusts to the way you think and how you do things, so if you want to make a change or try something new, everything is in your own hands.
If you were to go back in time, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
My advice is to start building your own product as early as possible. Earlier in my career, I’ve spent many years leading my own digital marketing agency. We offered best in class services that helped grow products and businesses of other people.
Looking back, I regret that it took me a while to prioritize building and growing my own product. You know, when you’re younger you look for more immediate results and something that will bring you more financial opportunities that very moment. However, it’s important to be strategic and make long-term decisions for a more sustainable future.
I come from a family of doctors, and I’m the first entrepreneur in my family. At one point in my life, I realized that being employed and work for someone else is just not for me. I’ve never doubted my decision to become an entrepreneur, and if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t change that.
We’re nearly halfway through our interview so it’s a great time to ask how does your business run. What three tools make your business run better?
• Figma – a great tool for prototyping and producing interface animation
• Miro – a great collaboration software that is perfect for teamwork and group discussions
• Google Calendar – helps me keep all my calls, meetings and events in one place
• Notion – a productivity tool that helps create systems for content and data management
• For customer support and marketing, our go-to system is Intercom
What do you know now that you wished you had known before?
Limitations and doubts are all in your head. If you think that something is impossible – you’re right, and you’re also right if you think that everything is possible. Your life adjusts to the way you think and how you do things, so if you want to make a change or try something new, everything is in your own hands.
What has been your greatest or proudest achievement or moment?
I don’t define my success by my business accomplishments. My family is my proudest achievement – my wife, who is also my co-founder, and two beautiful daughters. My business in the beauty industry is closely linked to them – my three most precious people.
When it comes to work, I take pride in achieving the desirable outcomes, despite all odds. Sometimes, it doesn’t happen from the first try, but that makes success even sweeter.
What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?
Our goal is to be able to offer our platform to millions of people around the world. We’d love to make an impact on the beauty industry, change it for the better and help beauty industry professionals build successful businesses and revenue streams, and help clients get quality beauty services.
Being satisfied with the work that we do and receiving positive feedback from our clients is the ultimate goal.
To finish our inspire questions…”We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” If there was one positive thing you would say to someone to inspire and empower them what would it be and why?
Get outside of your comfort zone by starting to sell what you do. Don’t get distracted by what others have to say and start trying and testing as early as possible. Also, do something that you’re truly passionate about. It will be easier to achieve success once you’re feeling inspired and ready to do more to bring your vision to life.
“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and Glambook”
To learn more about Glambook Visit Glambk.com
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