Success Stories

Chris Velev, Upskill Digital Marketing: We’ll help you become a T-shaped digital marketing expert

Meet Chris Velev, founder of DigiMentals, and lead trainer at the most immersive Digital Marketing Upskill program. Chris has more than 10 years of experience in digital marketing and together with his team at DigiMentals, he is crafting performance strategies to grow e-commerce businesses and scale them profitably.  

And there is one other important thing that you need to know about Chris - as the lead trainer of Telerik Academy Upskill Digital Marketing, he will be one of your 16 trainers on the road to becoming a T-shaped digital marketing expert. 

Learning from the best, you will gain knowledge and transferable skills across different career levels and industries.  

But what is the secret behind the success of a digital marketer nowadays? And why is this role even more in-demand and crucial for business success since the pandemic?  

To get answers and help you get to know Chris, we simply asked him. Check the interview, and if you have any questions - you can ask Chris during our Q&A webinar on December 14. Register here.

Hi, Chris, we already know that you are an experienced digital marketing expert. How did you start your career in digital marketing, and what drew you to work in this industry?  

I stumbled into my career back in 2008. I was still in university, and what started out as a desire to help a family business became a profession for me. I became interested in Google Ads and SEO. Even back then, I saw the opportunity to drive business growth with the help of search engine marketing. 

I gained knowledge mainly by experimenting and applying everything I learned. The results were not late, and I became ambitious to go deeper. I added Facebook Ads and email marketing and saw even better results. I was hooked on it, and I wanted to fully develop my digital marketing skills, so I decided to look for a new challenge and found it at Progress. During my short stay, I learned a great deal about SEO.   

My next step was the creation of DigiMentals, where for almost five years now, we have been helping different businesses to achieve maximum results through SEO & PPC. 

Why do you think it is important for marketing professionals to have knowledge of digital marketing - SEO, email marketing and the full range of tools in the field?

In the last two years, digital marketing has become mandatory even for companies that are considered "traditional." It is one of the main channels that can contribute to business success, and it is crucial for every marketer to know and understand digital marketing.  

Moreover, digital marketing sits at the frontier of the overall marketing mix of almost every company. Knowing each of the digital marketing channels allows you to make the best decisions when building a business marketing strategy. 

What does a holistic marketing approach mean, and what are its benefits? 

The term T-shaped marketer, which has become very popular recently, comes to mind. It applies to a professional who has extensive knowledge and expertise in one specific area but understands all channels in the marketing landscape. Being a T-shaped marketer gives you the ability to interact and collaborate with the other teams effectively. 

And that is the purpose of the Telerik Academy Upskill Digital Marketing program- to create a solid foundation and help you turn into a highly valued 360-degree marketing pro. In addition, your trainers will be leading practitioners eager to share their know-how and experience with you. And along with the newly-acquired knowledge, you will receive valuable advice from each lecturer about your professional development after the course. 

What crucial skills should someone possess looking to work in the digital marketing sector? 

Adaptivity and curiosity.  

If you are keen to work in digital marketing, you need to be very adaptive and ready to constantly learn, no matter how much experience and knowledge you already have. 

How has the industry shifted since you first joined the sector? And what must professionals in the sector need do to be relevant? 

The industry is moving fast, accelerated by the pandemic, and with all companies moving online, digital marketers are even more in-demand and crucial for business success. 

If you do not follow the trends, you can seriously fall behind, which will affect your results. It is important to be analytical and to be able to handle data. It’s essential to understand the businesses you work with and their processes. 

Can you reveal a little about the Telerik Academy Upskill Digital Marketing program? Why is it an excellent way for professionals with relevant experience to augment their skills? 

The program covers an extensive range of topics in digital marketing. During the 3-month course, you will gain instantly transferable skills that companies demand while working on real-life cases provided by companies. In addition, you will get access to one of the leading industry experts, who will share their know-how and become your mentors. Together with them, we will guide you every step of the way.  

Completing the course equips you with the knowledge to make data-driven decisions using key digital marketing tools. Upon graduation, you will have the ability to develop successful digital strategies for a company, reach its target audiences and drive results. 

One of the most valuable aspects of the Upskill Digital Marketing program is the opportunity to discuss real problems or issues you've encountered in your work with your lectors - people with vast experience. 

During the program, you’ll meet with other ambitious professionals and will work together in teams. Each team is a to play a digital marketing agency, hired by a company to help it with its digital marketing strategy. Thus, in addition to the theoretical and practical knowledge, you will improve your soft skills and presentation skills. An essential element of any digital marketer's job is to "sell" their idea, whether working with clients or other teams in their company. 

What is your favourite digital marketing tool to use in your work? And which of them will the students use in the Upskill program? 

I use many tools, and some of my favorites will be available to the students in this edition of Upskill Digital Marketing. Each of them will have access to Ahrefs and SurferSEO.  

Ahrefs is like a Swiss Army knife for SEO professionals. It is vital for keyword research, analysis of backlinks of our site or the competitors’, and researching the overall performance of the competition on Google.  

SurferSEO is also one of my favorite tools that we will use during the course. It is beneficial for analyzing and optimizing the site's current content and creating new ones. 

What do you envision the industry to be like in the next few years? How will the profession of digital marketer change in the coming years? 

In the coming years, I think the main topic will be privacy. This trend will affect the way we collect and analyze data. Every digital marketer will need to use a more extensive arsenal of traditional marketing techniques and apply them cleverly in the digital environment. 

Based on your experience, what advice would you give to someone who wants to upgrade their skills or is at the beginning of their career in marketing in 2024?

Take your career to the next level with Telerik Academy Upskill Digital Marketing.  

Digital marketing is a vast area. The 3-month online program will  teach you how to see the bigger picture and will help you choose your own path. 

This investment pays for itself many times over the opportunities it creates. Examples are the successes of the Telerik Academy alumni who have found their way after completing the course. In it, they find their passion and profile themselves on one of the channels, after which they begin to grow as professionals in it. 


Joining Telerik Academy Digital Marketing could be your single most important professional decision. Ready to get started? 

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