At talaint®, we celebrate visionary professionals who transform industries and inspire others to achieve greatness. Today, we’re excited to feature the extraordinary journey of Atanas Raykov, Vice President of Marketing at Rakuten Viber.
Nasko has dedicated his career to the ever-evolving digital and mobile industry, from pioneering mobile apps to shaping a super-app that connects over a billion users worldwide. With a vision that extends beyond innovation, he is passionate about creating impactful AI-driven solutions and strategic partnerships to revolutionise communication.
Through his leadership at Rakuten Viber and active mentorship in the startup ecosystem, Atanas is not just a tech innovator but a community builder, working tirelessly to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs. Curious about his journey and what drives him to shape the future of digital communication? Read his interview for talaint® and uncover the insights you need to know:
Could you say a few words about yourself? What industry do you work in?
All of my professional life has been in the digital and mobile industry – from the very early days of the mobile internet and smartphones to the mobile apps revolution as an investor, mentor, intrapreneur and then as a business leader for one of the leading mobile platforms, now a super-app in Bulgaria and the region – Viber. I’m currently a vice president in the company and have a broad responsibility covering marketing strategy, consumer monetisation, and AI offering roll-outs. I’m also an angel investor and an LP with the leading funds in the region – Eleven Ventures and Launchub Ventures.
What’s one fun fact about yourself that most people don’t know?
I’m a big fan of contemporary minimalist architecture and was very close to going into this field instead of tech.
What was your first job ever? How did it shape you?
It was with BTC Mobile (now VIVACOM) where I joined as an intern a very small team of super senior professionals from all over the world who had to tackle the hugely difficult task of launching the third mobile operator on the market. I learned so much about the merits of hard work and focus, but also about empowerment and the speed with which a young talent can grow in the right environment.
What’s the last thing you learned that really surprised you?
The other day, I was testing the new scheduled agent tasks at ChatGPT, and I was surprised by how fluid and intuitive the UX is.
Can you share a mistake you made that ended up being a great learning experience?
Some time ago, we hired a charming and very confident professional with a great resume for an important role in our team, but we did no thorough reference checks on him. In the end, we didn’t have a good cultural fit, which could have been identified as he had similar issues before as well.
What’s one professional achievement you’re most proud of and why?
I’m most proud of the amazing Rakuten Viber team that we built in Sofia from scratch. They are the key to why we maintained our leadership position in the region ahead of all our competitors.
What’s one challenge in the industry right now that excites you to solve?
I’m most excited about how we can bring to all our messaging users more AI services that are at the same time powerful, easy to use, reliable and safe.
What do you think is the next big trend in your industry?
Integrating AI (with agents) into more and more aspects of the person2person and person2business communication.
What’s your dream project that you’d love to work on?
The next fundamental shift in digital communication is probably much closer than we all think 🙂
I am just a person willing to…
always put my energy and talents in the service of the greater community good.
