The worst business decision I ever made was establishing a company in partnership with individuals who could easily overpower me. Antoaneta Pashova (whose husband, Ilia Pashov, was then the head of Actavis) and the unofficial partner, Dr. Petar Velev (owner of Ecopharm)—so my partners were effectively Mr. Pashov and Dr. Velev. Although Dr. Velev did not hold any shares, he controlled the company's finances through the Ecopharm accounting team. Both Pashov and Velev made promises they couldn’t keep, claiming they would bring clients to the partnership, which they did not.

The partnership proved unprofitable, and Mr. Pashov and Dr. Velev were dissatisfied, to put it mildly, as they were accustomed to significant success in the pharmaceutical industry. Numerous factors were beyond my control: an incompetent second general manager with an exorbitant salary, an excessive number of accountants, costly software, and insufficient staff in actual reservation roles. Additionally, I made several poor decisions independently without consulting Dr. Velev and Mr. Pashov. It had been agreed that this was a long-term project, with grand promises of numerous clients via their contacts, but these promises never materialized. Nonetheless, I never shied away during times of trouble and always took responsibility for my decisions.

To demonstrate my commitment and in the name of long-term development, I offered my Lozenets apartment as collateral, saying, "Take it to ensure you know I am more than equally invested in this venture." They accepted, and a week after we finalized the documents, they closed the company. They took my staff, and Mrs. Pashova, having gained experience by my side throughout these couple of years, started a new company called Business Travel Management. I wish them all the luck in the world because of Valentina and Ognian, who had been my loyal servants for ages before this. Dr. Velev and Mr. Pahov probably felt bad or even ashamed they could not actually bring clients as originally promised and decided to break free from a difficult project. Not all of their projects went well either.

I believe Dr. Velev resorted to such dishonest measures due to the massive failure and high costs associated with Credoweb. Everyone finds a reason to play dirty when under pressure.

"Let bygones fall where they may, It has been a dirty day."