The long way around
was the right way.
From Bulgaria to California to Jacksonville to Zurich. From bartender to poker coach to real estate investor to travel entrepreneur. Here's how it actually happened.
Learning the value of work
Before any of the business ventures, there were the early jobs — washing cars at 11 y/o, selling produce at the local market, bartender, ice cream shop. Not glamorous, but formative. I learned early that money doesn't just appear; you trade time for it, and the question is always whether that trade is worth it.
The Summer That Changed Everything
After a summer spent in California while on a J1 visa, I came back to Bulgaria but my heart was in love with America — the possibilities, the freedom, the people. That summer planted a seed that took six years to act on.
Poker — the real education
While most people my age were doing what was expected, I was studying poker. Not as a hobby — as a discipline. I partnered with PokerStrategy.com as a coach and with UltimatePokerCoaching.com, documented a bankroll challenge from NL2 to NL50, and coached players from all over the world, including a visually impaired student in STTs. Poker taught me probability, variance (what most people call 'luck'), expected value, and how to make decisions under uncertainty with incomplete information. These are not poker skills. They are life skills.
Starting over — by choice
I moved to the US at 25 with very little. Dishwasher. Valet. Waiter. I wasn't embarrassed by any of it — I was building capital and studying. While working those jobs, I was reading everything I could about real estate, finance, and business. I kept a spreadsheet of every book I read, with ratings and notes. Over 100 books so far.
The casino years — and the pivot
I got a job at Bestbet Simulcast as a poker dealer. Good money, flexible hours, and it kept me close to the game theory I loved. But I had already realized: poker is not the most efficient path to wealth. I needed assets. I needed real estate. I got the casino job specifically so I could qualify for a mortgage.
House #1 — and then the snowball
First property. Then the second. Then the ATM company (ATM-JAX), coin pushers, claw machines, candy machines. I was building cash-flowing assets while working full-time. Every dollar went back into the next deal. The portfolio grew from one house to 10 properties and 15 units.
The last day of work
I quit my job. Not dramatically — I had planned for it. The portfolio was generating enough cash flow that trading time for a paycheck no longer made sense. I sold the vending businesses and focused entirely on real estate, optimization, and what comes next.
My First World Tour
For the next 3 years I traveled around the world visiting more than 40 countries, which taught me how to run a $2.5M property portfolio straight from a beach towel. Look, when you successfully manage that kind of operation on an internet connection slower than a dial-up modem, while sipping rum from a coconut on an island that didn't even make it onto Google Maps... that's when you know your systems are officially bulletproof.
The next chapter
Married. Moved to Zurich. Managing 15 units remotely from Europe. Launched Only For The Few (не за всеки) — a travel company built for people who want to go where mass tourism doesn't, and do it with the right people. Currently based in Zurich for two years, with plans still forming.
Over 100 books.
Every one rated.
I track every book I read — title, author, length, how many times I've read it, and a rating out of 10. No book gets a pass just because it's famous. If it's bad, I say so.
The best ones: Never Split the Difference, Atomic Habits, The 4-Hour Workweek, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Tax-Free Wealth, The Mental Game of Poker. The worst ones taught me what not to waste time on.
Want to talk through your situation?
I've been where you are. Whether it's your first property, your first business, or just trying to figure out what the next move is — let's look at the numbers together.
Book a Consulting CallOr see what I'm building now.