Success Stories

Childish: Software development company with childlike enthusiasm

"Childish is a software development company which combines the powers of Data Science and Software Development," explained Blagovesta Pugyova, CEO and co-founder. Childish is now also part of the Telerik Academy partner network - a network of companies with which we share a joint mission - to develop Master Junior Talent.

Because, just as Blagovesta Pugyova shared later in our interview, "junior talents bring a fresh perspective, curiosity, and energy, without being already set in their ways."



With over 15 years of experience and talent in managing and inspiring people, Blagovesta Pugyova has worked as a financial consultant and business development manager. Her last position before Childish was as Chief Operating Officer at JobTiger.

Besides, she is also the founder and president of the "Give a Book" - a foundation that is part of the untypical business model of Childish - it is the major shareholder in the software company, owning 41% of it! 

"Give a Book" is a foundation that helps volunteers become mentors and friends of children deprived of parental care. Since 2010 it has helped thousands of volunteers meet thousands of children.

As it turns out, this model is so innovative for Bulgaria that Childish won an award from the Forbes Business Awards 2022 in the "Socially Responsible Company" category, explained Pugyova, adding that it happened in competition with over 30 businesses, the CSR efforts of global companies and their huge budgets.

So, to learn more about Childish, "Give a Book", and the critical role of master junior talent, keep reading our interview with Blagovesta Pugyova!

Please share more about Childish and your untypical business model.

Andrey (the CTO of Childish) and I were both passionate volunteers and had a great collaboration on our first IT project together. I was looking for an IT company to upgrade our volunteering platform and was going through lengthy and costly proposals when Andrey said, "I will try some things ". He came back in two weeks with everything done. 


 
That's how it all started, and since Childish started, we were sure we wanted to share our success with the foundation. I believe this is the most exciting thing about Childish - currently, it is 41% owned by the "Give a Book", and our contributions have an impact on helping more children reach their potential.

We proved and succeeded in the untypical business model for Bulgaria - a foundation-owned enterprise.

And what do you do in Childish - also, it's such an interesting name!

Our name comes from the connection with the children through the foundation, but it also incorporates the way machine learning works - machines learn the way children learn, and the more examples they are given, the better they understand what it means.

And for the "what do you do "part, at Childish, we do digital transformation by combining Data Science and Software development expertise.; What that means to us is that we love solving business problems and doing what we are good at - software development, data science, and AI.  

We are proud to work with exciting clients worldwide and be their trusted partners. In addition, we develop our product, a SaaS platform for maintenance in manufacturing plants - Fabrico, which is also gathering popularity amongst local and international clients.

Now we are 30+ hardworking individuals who focus on delivering great products that drive results for our clients. 

Why is it important to invest in junior IT talent, and why do you do it?

A big challenge in our industry is that companies are looking for seniors, and the talent pool is small. A critical marker is recognizing the importance of talent over skills, as skills can be learned. So we embrace that fact and invest in mentoring junior talents. With this approach, we can find the people who fit our culture and believe in our team's values. 
Also, junior talents bring fresh perspectives, curiosity and energy without being already set in their ways. 

Why did you choose Telerik Academy to partner in sourcing the said master junior talent? 

Telerik Academy paved the way for programming training in Bulgaria, and we believe it is the best way to nurture students' vital skills for the developer profession. The Alpha program's curriculum and hands-on activities indicate that the students will be well-prepared for the industry. 



The dedication required in the programe also confirms that the students are well motivated for the chosen career path. Recently, we held a Python hackathon and many students from Telerik Academy took part in it, and they did very well. With this, we have clear evidence and can be sure that the talents who choose your academy are proactive and collaborative problem-solvers. 

Thank you! And one last question - what's next for Childish?

We see the world moving towards data analytics and everything related to data, and strategically this is something that we will undoubtedly continue to develop. This is one of our main pillars, and together with the custom software development, it allows us to work on more exciting projects. Both directions are synergistic and help each other.
 
We hope that as the company grows and the profits grow, we will start dreaming about bigger causes and making a more significant impact with our work. We dream about having our school for children and youngsters leaving the care centres and institutions, but we are still working hard for it.  

Are you looking to jumpstart your career in IT? Find out more about our Telerik Academy Alpha programs. Are you a company seeking Master Junior talent? Then go through our business page or contact us directly.

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