Startup Story: Azizbek Kurbonov’s project ‘Sug'urta Bozor’

IT Park continues to talk about startups that earned success. Today we want to introduce you to the Sug'urta Bozor project and its co-owner Azizbek Kurbonov.

How did the idea to start a startup come about?

Azizbek Kurbonov is 26 years old. He is the co-founder and marketing director of startup Sug‘urta Bozor.

According to Azizbek, the startup was launched before he joined the project by several people associated with the insurance industry.

‘Initially, it was a Netkost project. The guys were interested in testing whether there is a demand for buying insurance policies online. According to the results, they received a positive response from the market. After the project began to look for a marketer, so I joined them, we became partners. Then we did a complete rebranding - we changed the product, name and visual component of the project, hired an in-house development and marketing team.’

Now there are 9 people in the team:

• Azizbek — CMO & Co-Founder — creates a marketing strategy. Finds the right communication channels to convey the values ​​of the product to the target audience; selects appropriate marketing tactics for quick wins and effective promotion of the product on the market; manages the marketing department, which consists of a digital marketer, designer and copywriter. In addition, he is responsible for high-quality recruitment of employees and scaling the project in the marketing and business plan;

• Tigran — CEO & Co-founder — a key link in building relationships with insurance companies. He is responsible for product strategy, studies insurance products and works on product implementation.

In addition, he participates in all processes within the project and is responsible for scaling the project in terms of products.

• Abdurauf — CTO&Co-founder — sets the course for the development of the project through the introduction of the necessary, effective technologies in accordance with the given product and marketing strategy. He guides the development team to achieve high goals in the shortest possible time, as well as studying new technologies and planning their implementation in the near future;

• Ulugbek — adviser&Co-founder — responsible for building relationships with investors, raising investment rounds and structuring transactions;

• Zhobir — backend developer — translates ideas of co-founders into code;

• Shokhzhakhon — frontend developer — responsible for creating the user interface of the site;

• Said — UX / UI designer — responsible for the correct transmission of values ​​to customers through the product interface;

• Shahzod — graphic designer — responsible for visual communication in all media and communication channels;

• Michael — digital marketer — is responsible for the effective allocation of the budget in online communication channels and for attracting customers.

What the startup is about?

Sug'urta Bozor is the first marketplace of insurance services in Uzbekistan.

‘We are bridging the gap between insurance companies and the public. That is, we help the public to insure themselves against risks, and insurance companies to increase sales of their products by providing them with an additional online sales channel.’

According to Azizbek, the insurance market is underestimated: a very limited segment of the population has access to the necessary insurance products, and this, in turn, leads to financial losses for people.

‘By opening access to insurance products that is convenient and understandable for people, we save money for the population, and help insurance companies develop new products based on market demand,’ Azizbek said.

How do you plan to develop the project?

According to Azizbek, the development of the project is what the team is currently working on.

‘Now we are focused on the development of the project, because without it there is no future. What we need for this: add the top most popular insurance products to the site, build the right communication with the audience and establish relationships with the maximum number of b2b and b2c partners, as well as develop unique insurance products for the needs of our clients.’

As for financing, according to Azizbek, they did not receive money to promote the startup from anyone, they invested in their project themselves.

‘Sooner or later, any startup will come to the conclusion that you need to enter a new market. In a year, we plan to enter international markets, where the online sales channel in the insurance industry is not developed.’

What was the most difficult part of working on the project?

As he recalls, the most difficult thing in working on the project was building relationships with insurance companies and everything else is accomplishable.

‘The main thing that a startup must remember is that market research is a difficult process in the absence of the necessary information in the market. Therefore, many startups want to solve a problem that either does not exist, or the problem is very small in terms of money. In addition, many startups do not know how to quickly create an MVP and test an idea.’

Azizbek’s opinion on startup industry of Uzbekistan

According to Azizbek, the startup industry in Uzbekistan is just beginning to develop.

‘Now there are worthy startups and funds that are ready to finance them. Venture funds are being opened, lectures and acceleration programs are being held. IT Park and Aloqabank, UzVc, Uzcard Ventures are actively working on this issue — thanks to their activities, the industry is already taking its first steps.’

As Azizbek notes, a startup has many advantages, one of which is that it can be flexible and act smartly.

‘A startup can change the vector of development due to the rapid implementation of changes according to the feedback received from the market. Yet, if the change did not work, he can return to the starting point. He can do things that big corporations cannot afford. Those. Startups can go for non-standard and alternative ways of developing their project, and this gives a huge advantage to the founders.’

As another advantage of a startup, Azizbek highlights teamwork.

‘In a startup, everyone does everything, and they do it effectively. There are no ranks in a startup, there is no such hierarchy. Therefore, the flow of ideas has no limits; in addition, the proposed ideas are quickly tested.’

Azizbek wishes young startups to be bold.

‘Don't be afraid to ask questions, knock on doors, test ideas quickly with minimal funds. If it did not work, you need to move on. Read books on the topic and build relationships with the right environment. Moreover, remember: working for someone and working on your startup at the same time is normal. There will come a moment when you have to make a choice, do not stop and go only forward.’