Valeri Valchev, co-founder of Phos
Valeri Valchev, Innimmo
Photographer: Tsvetelina Belutova
What’s next for the company?
The deal will enable an incredible leap forward in the development of Phos. To date, we have 20 integrated banks and a 3-person sales team. We now have access to over 1,000 banks that are Ingenico customers and a sales force of over 300 people.
As part of the deal, we have negotiated a high level of autonomy so that we can maintain flexibility, speed of offering, implementations with our customers and close contact with them. We remain committed to the business for a minimum of two years.
Why did you choose Ingenico and were there other potential buyers?
We made our selection as a result of a long process of over 6 months in which we talked to 22 strategic investors. Alex Sirakov, former employee of Innimmo, with his investment consulting company Aquariusx helped us a lot in this.
In Ingenico, we saw the partner who truly embraces our mission and is uniquely positioned to bring SoftPos technology to global leadership.
Are you expecting other similar fintech deals here?
I believe that storytelling can motivate people and move them to action. This usually happens only to those in whom ambition and faith are maturing. However, when there are specific examples and indisputable facts, things are different.
7 years ago, together with a group of like-minded people, we created the Bulgarian Fintech Association to make entrepreneurs in Bulgaria believe that they can achieve great success without going abroad. I am glad that my company was the first to prove it.
