DIMA BOCHA

1999-2008: TeleTrade (Worldwide) - Chief Development Officer (CDO)

Project Status: Completed successfully. The owner eventually closed it in 2018 due to market changes in Russia.

Core Concept: A Forex broker offering currency and stock trading services.

My Role: I joined TeleTrade in 2000 when it was a small operation with just four employees and one office. Within a year, I took charge of the company's development. In 2002, I launched two new branches and built teams that went on to establish 120 more offices across CIS countries, Europe, and China. By the time I left, the company boasted an MRR of $25 million, one of the largest call centers in the country, and 3,500 employees overseen by 12 general managers. I departed to start my own venture.

Profits/Losses: By age 25, I had earned approximately $100,000 and, more importantly, gained invaluable experience in company growth, managing a large workforce, and partner relations.

Skills Utilized: I assembled a team of 12 general managers and designed a structured operational process. My key strengths were identifying and motivating talent and enabling their professional development in tandem with the company's expansion.

I made many mistakes, largely because I was navigating these challenges for the first time, which led to over $1 million in unsuccessful decisions. Despite these hurdles, the project was a major success, and we established Russia's largest brokerage company by turnover and number of offices.

2008-2010: XXXXX Foreign Exchange Broker - Founder

Project Status: This successful venture was eventually acquired by a market leader and continues to operate under a different brand. In 2009, I authored a guide on establishing brokerage companies, which has since been utilized by several firms that remain operational today.

Primary Focus: A brokerage firm specializing in partnerships with successful traders. In 2008, this was an innovative model, and we were among the pioneers implementing it on a large scale.

My Contribution: I invested $75,000 of my own capital to launch the company. I developed the core concept and expanded the business to 34 branches across various cities in the former CIS within two years. After the company's monthly turnover surpassed $1 million, a major market player used unethical tactics and threats to compel us to hand over the company.

Profit/Loss: I successfully recouped my initial investment.

I stand by my decision to conduct business as ethically as possible in Russia, without resorting to bribery or corruption. However, in hindsight, choosing to undertake this venture in Russia was my primary misstep. This experience taught me the critical importance of considering the geographical and political landscape when planning a business.

2010-2012: Construction Company (Kazan) - Owner

Project Status: Completed, with the business successfully sold. We constructed and sold a number of houses, generating a profit.

Primary Concept: Residential construction.

My Role: I invested funds, organized construction activities, managed the projects, and handled sales.

Profit/Loss: Profitable exit.

While I enjoy the hands-on nature of construction, I realized I prefer businesses with greater potential for scalability.

2010-2011: Kazan24.ru (goroda24.ru) - Owner

Project Status: Successful and ongoing. Visit www.kazan24.ru.

Primary Concept: A leading news website for the city of Kazan.

My Role: I made modest investments, developed the growth strategy, and expanded the site's presence throughout the city. Our team compiled an extensive catalog by researching and rewriting information for all businesses in Kazan. The website generated enough revenue from advertising to cover its operational costs.

Profit/Loss: The initial investment was recouped, but no significant profit was realized.

I initially envisioned creating a network of city-specific websites; however, this broader goal was not achieved.

2012-2015: Construction Company (Moscow) - Owner

Project Status: Successful.

Primary Concept: A specialized construction company in Moscow focusing on complex projects.

My Role: We concentrated on challenging construction projects, leading to the completion of several profitable endeavors.

Profit/Loss: The projects were profitable and self-funded.

A key learning was the risk of client concentration. Our primary customers were heavily reliant on business with Ukraine, and in 2014, they ceased all construction activities. By that time, I was considering immigration and chose not to pursue new clients in the Moscow construction sector, instead beginning to explore projects suitable for the United States.

2014-2015: EdaNaDen (Just The Meal) - Founder

Project Status: Relatively successful operationally.

Main Idea: A fresh, healthy meal delivery service providing daily meals.

My Role: I conceived the project and brought it to life. We achieved self-sufficiency and profitability. However, in 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, food prices surged, forcing us to close the business due to rising costs and the inability to source the high-quality products we relied on.

Profit/Loss: The project was profitable, and the initial investment was recouped.

We were ahead of the curve, starting this business 2-3 years before similar services became mainstream. It was a highly enjoyable venture, allowing us to provide delicious, healthy meals that our clients loved. Unfortunately, the lack of scalability and volatile food prices led to its closure.

2014-2015: GoldenAge Club - Founder

Project Status: Sold.

Main Idea: A social dance club for women.

My Role: I conceived this project to enhance the social lives of women in the city. I developed the concept, oversaw renovations, and opened the clubhouse.

Profit/Loss: Nonprofit venture.

This project was a joy to create and brought many smiles to the community!

2015: Relocation to the USA

2015-2016: SmmStat - Founder

Website: smmstat.com

Project Status: Transferred for free use to partners; relaunched in 2019.

Main Idea: A platform providing comprehensive analytics for social media accounts. Demo video available: Watch Demo.

My Role: I developed a system allowing users to view the complete history and statistics of social media profiles, including a timeline feature to display all account events.

A crucial lesson learned: an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is not a finished product. It's essential to listen to user feedback and ensure effective collaboration with development teams.

More Information: View the presentation here.

2015-2016: Kitchen Remodeling in Sacramento - Co-Founder

Website: kitchensacramento.com

Project Status: Ongoing, with plans to exit after achieving desired results.

Main Idea: A construction company in the SF Bay Area/Sacramento specializing in kitchen remodeling.

My Role: I co-founded and helped launch this new construction company. My responsibilities included comprehensive marketing, developing sales strategies, and managing logistics. I designed the operational steps that enabled the company to become #1 in Sacramento by volume.

A valuable and positive experience in the US market.

Read the story of this business on my Medium: Kitchen Remodeling in US: Road to Profit.

2016-2017: TruckViewer - Dispatcher Software (Co-Founder, CMO)

Project Status: Project has been halted.

Main Idea: A comprehensive control service for trucking company dispatchers.

My Role: I developed the product concept, established the sales system, and secured the initial deals.

Introducing innovations in traditional industries like trucking requires more time and patience than anticipated. Market demand should drive changes, rather than imposing them. Complex products carry higher risks due to the difficulty in testing MVPs and necessitate a substantial financial buffer to influence the market effectively.

More info: My YouTube tutorial Video 1 and Video 2.

2017-2018: Smargo.io - Founder

Website: smargo.io (Current/Map)

Project Status: Smargo.io pivoted to Blockfactoring.com.

Main Idea: Tokenized documents and factoring finance for the US trucking industry.

My Role: I invented the concept, developed the business package, assembled a team, and settings the project to the ICO stage. The ICO was ultimately abandoned due to US regulatory concerns.

Profit/Loss: Pivoted to a new concept.

This was perhaps an overly innovative approach for a traditional market at the time. We made the right, albeit difficult, decision not to proceed with the ICO, as we likely couldn't have met the commitments under the circumstances..

Interesting Facts: During this project, I created a map of 1.3 million transportation companies in America. I also gathered information about their income and potential benefits of working with us. This remains the largest real-time map of its kind. You can explore it on the website to see companies by location and incorporation date.

2018: Handyman Service in Sacramento - Concept Developer

Project Status: Active.

Main Idea: A handyman service in the Sacramento Area, initially created as a project for friends.

My Role: I developed the basic concept and designed a recognizable brand. I also set up a management system using existing solutions like HubSpot, Twilio, and QuickBooks.

Profit/Loss: The project has generated some profit.

Sometimes, it's enjoyable to take a break from larger ventures and establish a new, smaller company quickly—this one took about a month to get off the ground.

2018: Crystal Team - Founder

Project Status: On hold.

Main Idea: A subscription-based headlight restoration service where clients receive the service in exchange for allowing advertising on a section of their car's bumper.

My Role: I conceived the idea, purchased the necessary equipment, and personally completed 100 headlight restorations to test the concept.

Profit/Loss: Profitable on a small scale.

The primary challenge was insufficient funding to attract major clients or secure adequate rental space. Negotiations with large retail markets to rent parking lot space for the service were unsuccessful. I still believe in the concept and think large malls might be more receptive to such partnerships now.

2018-2019: Blockfactoring.com - Founder

Website & Demo: blockfactoring.com/marketplace/demo

Project Status: Concept developed, currently on hold.

Main Idea: A blockchain-based factoring marketplace for individual and institutional investors.

My Role: I originated the idea, developed the business package, and created a working prototype. The project is ready for implementation when the right opportunities and circumstances align.

This project was an amazing challenge where I gained extensive experience in UX/UI design. I truly love this project and believe it's ready to launch. To prevent ideas from merely cluttering my mind, I make sure to describe and document them thoroughly. Reviewing the demo can offer insight into my thought process and the concepts I develop.

More Info: Project Details on HackMD

2019-2019: RoofRoosters - Social Score and Achievements - Concept Developer

Project Status: A portion of this project pivoted to ProGuild.

Main Idea: RoofRoosters is a rating agency designed to determine the social ratings of its members through game-like achievements and awards.

My Role: I provided a complete project description with a five-year planning horizon. Indirectly, this product has the potential to revolutionize how recommendations are perceived and valued. RoofRooster could disrupt the traditional crowd-sourced review model by building user profiles based on verifiable past activity and trust.

Demo Video: Watch Concept Video

2020-2021: Trustlog - Founder

Website: trustlog.biz

Demo (Sketches): trustlog.biz/mvpsketches

Main Idea:

Trustlog is a user-friendly application supporting common formats that stores evidence of handshake deals and promises on the blockchain, makes them binding with digital signatures, and provides users with mediator assistance when needed.

Short Description:

Making handshake deals legally binding.

Real-World Examples:

An application that helps individuals store everyday handshake deals (like Dropbox), sign them digitally (like DocuSign), and access legal advice or mediation (like LegalZoom) for these informal agreements.

Category:

Marketplace / LegalTech

Achievements:

• Designed all primary application screens (See Calendly for a peek).
• Completed UX/UI design, including normal and dark themes (Figma).
• Secured a development team ready for MVP creation, with two backup teams.
• Developed marketing materials and set up advertising campaigns.
• Tested early-stage user acquisition, achieving costs between $0.03 - $0.20 per user.
• Built a sufficient community of mediators to get started.
• Formulated a comprehensive project vision (available at trustlog.biz/mvpop).
• Conducted legal research and gathered feedback from potential participants.

Why This Idea?

This idea directly addresses a problem my friends and I have personally faced. Informal agreements are increasingly common, especially with the growth of the gig economy. However, without proper records, disputes often devolve into "he said, she said" battles. People avoid formal contracts for various reasons: sometimes the agreement seems too minor, or drafting a contract is time-consuming and costly. There's also often a psychological discomfort in expressing distrust by demanding a formal contract. Our personal experiences showed that recording agreements significantly helps if problems arise, and potential users responded very favorably to this concept.

Key Points:

Trustlog can reduce future legal problems by creating a permanent, verifiable record of agreements. When issues arise from handshake deals, legal costs can be exorbitant. Our app aims to simplify this process and offer protection from the outset. The market potential is vast, especially with the growing gig economy needing such safeguards, and there are currently no direct substitutes for this specific c2c focus.

Competitors:

Services like DocuSign and LegalZoom are competitors but primarily focus on B2B and formal B2C markets. Trustlog differentiates by targeting C2C (consumer-to-consumer) or semi-formal arrangements. While existing competitors might adapt our idea, we aim to establish ourselves quickly, making acquisition a more viable option for them than replication.

Unique Market Understanding:

1. Many people need to document everyday agreements but don't because current solutions aren't affordable or user-friendly enough for informal contexts.
2. Our solution can significantly expand the market for legal services by making them accessible for smaller-scale agreements.
3. Subscribed lawyers and mediators will have a new stream of clients who previously couldn't access or afford help for these types of disputes.
4. By streamlining case preparation with pre-existing documented evidence, the time and cost per case will be minimized, allowing for lower prices for clients while maintaining fair compensation for legal professionals.

Monetization:

We planned two primary monetization models:

• Subscription fees (for users and mediators/lawyers).
• A marketplace model, taking a commission on each case resolved by a subscribed mediator/lawyer.

Discussions with mediators indicated that a fee of $100-$150 per case is acceptable, with a commission of 15%-30% for the platform also considered reasonable. We estimated an average active user would create at least two cases per year, leading to approximately $100 in annual revenue per active user. This projects to a potential annual turnover of $200-300 million for every million active users, with an estimated EBITDA of 20%.

User Acquisition:

To overcome the "chicken-and-egg" problem common to marketplaces, we planned to start with targeted advertising. When a subscribed user creates an agreement, the other party (or parties) would need to download the app to sign, thus organically expanding the user base. These documented "facts" can then become "cases," which in turn attract mediators and lawyers to the platform.

The viral loop is key: users making agreements distribute the application among their peers and colleagues, fostering organic and accelerating growth. Our target audience is broad—anyone of legal age and responsibility. The service's value is best explained through real-life examples, so our marketing focused on simple, relatable scenarios.

After gaining a critical mass of users, the primary metric would be organic distribution and adoption by active users.

The Mediator Experience: What Changes?

People are often hesitant to consult a lawyer for informal deals, even when they know they probably should. The traditional process is daunting:

• Researching to find reliable and affordable lawyers.
• Contacting multiple options to choose the best fit.
• Scheduling and paying for initial consultations.
• Gathering and submitting all necessary documents.
• Further appointments and payments for research and, eventually, for a lawsuit.

With Trustlog, users would simply click a button in the app to turn their documented "deal" into a "case." The case, with all related blockchain-backed documents (visible only to involved parties), becomes immediately available in the mediator marketplace. This enables mediators to make decisions based on facts validated by both parties, streamlining the entire process.

Incorporation:

Yes, Trustlog Inc. was incorporated as a Delaware C Corp.