I began in Russia as a journalist for a magazine focused on the growth of SMBs in the country. Through interactions with local entrepreneurs, I became more familiar with the ins and outs of the Russian business culture. Lucky for me, I quickly picked up the native language, a skill that came in handy when Vlanita hired me to manage commercial real estate projects in Moscow. OOO “LSP”, my first official business, was co-founded in 2006 with Alexei Sapkin, a Russian native, former Press Secretary of the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Health, and a good friend I still work with today. From OOO “LSP” came English-by-Phone.RU, which teaches the English language to Russian students with interactive lessons instructed by native English speaking teachers from the US and UK.