Iliyan is particularly proud that he was able to pivot during the pandemic toward takeaway and catering and didn’t have to lay off staff.
ILIYAN FAILED TWICE BUT DIDN’T GIVE UP. HE MAKES THE BEST BANITSA IN SOFIA
Iliyan’s bakery failed twice before the business finally took off. “I see the two failures as a bo- nus because I learned a lot of things,” he says. He learned that “we were good at the craft but not at the business part.” Business Acad- emy for Starting Entrepreneurs supplied the necessary knowledge and some of the funds for a fresh start. Banicharnitsa Tradicionna (“Traditional Ban- itsa-Making Workshop”) opened its doors in 2018, staffed only by him and his mother. Ini- tially, Iliyan put in 18-hour workdays even as he continued working part-time toward a uni- versity degree in film and TV production. Soon
business was booming, and he hired more staff. This freed up the time and resources for him to complete his university studies. Today, Banicharnitsa Tradicionna sells a broad selection of banitsa (traditional Bulgarian puff pastry with an egg-and-cheese filling) and other savory and sweet delicacies out of the bakery in Sofia’s Geo Milev neighborhood and through the major takeaway delivery services in Bulgaria. Banicharnitsa Tradicionna’s sec- ond location, in downtown Sofia, opened in January.
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