Sergey Petrov: New Atlantis is a project designed for enterprising and bold people

"My dream is to create new things, new workplaces, to be useful not just for myself and my close circle, but also to all people,” Sergey Petrov shares.

PIA New Atlantis

Boryana Antimova

Before he took the position as the New Atlantis Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the 28-year old visionary and entrepreneur Sergey Petrov was well-known for being a young innovator and opinion leader with a promising carrier and an impressive personal drive. His life project tackles one of today’s most imminent challenges that we are facing. Namely, how to save the bees from dying on a world scale and prevent a massive ecological catastrophe from occurring.

A team of Bulgarians led by Petrov, who’s an engineer, developed a project aimed at saving the bee colonies through a smart beehive based on state-of-art technology. With this project Sergey won a scholarship at Singularity University, located in NASA’s base in the Silicon Valley and studying exponential technologies and their implementation as working business models. Today, the innovative Sergey is a CTO of Bee Smart Technologies, a company created by him that is developing smart beehives.

An inspiring lector: Sergey’s smart beehive project became an instant hit at the TEDxBG Conference 2014, an event for sharing ideas that would change the world.

Sergey Petrov was born on the 18th of September 1986. He graduated from an English Language School and went on to do a major in Aeronautical Engineering in Sofia’s Technical University. From 2006 to 2007, he managed eDynamo web-site building projects targeting North America. Between 2008 and 2014, he was a Senior Analytical Engineer in one of the biggest anti-spam companies in the world, Axway, whose clients include 9 out of the 10 biggest banks in the United States, the Ministry of Defense and over 1000 corporations.

In 2010, Sergey did an internship in Lufthansa Technik Bulgaria, where he actively studied the maintenance and reconstruction of commercial aircrafts. Between 2010 and 2011, he completed a Space Exponential Technologies course part of the Space Challenges program. In 2013, he became a team leader and mentor of young engineers and entrepreneurs together with whom he developed a small aircraft suited to fly in the stratosphere. 

From 2011 to 2013, Sergey completed his MBA in Sofia’s New Bulgarian University. Between 2012 and 2014 he created and managed Special Concepts, a project developing innovative technologies for space. 

In 2015, the young entrepreneur was chosen to be one of the “40 under 40”, an initiative of Sofia’s National Radio Darik, identifying Bulgaria’s new leaders. Sergey was also awarded by the government of Germany and SAP for his contribution in environmental protection and sustainable development. 

Sergey Petrov has been an inspiring lector in prestigious national and international events such as TED, DigitalK, Hello Tommorrow and many others.

The aeronautical engineer Sergey Petrov in an aircraft.

Mr. Petrov, I would like to congratulate you on your Deputy Minister position. How do you feel?
Inspired by the idea to work on something that interesting. 

What was your parents’ reaction when they found out about your nomination?
They were interested and slightly entertained by the idea. As you would expect, it is not so easy to comprehend by their generation. 

And your friends?
Most of them are simply interested in the idea of it, since things like that don’t happen every day. Last night I actually met a guy, who wanted to find out how this project works and how it can be used. When I told him all about its potential, he quickly switched from a position of scepticism to such of an inspiration. 

Did some people tell you that you are crazy to join an initiative like that?
“I don’t think this is actually something serious,” I have heard this more than once.

And do you try to explain why you are doing what you are doing?
No, I stopped explaining myself long ago. The important thing is to see the result in the end, it speaks for itself.

So, you are telling them, “Let’s wait and see, and then we’ll talk again.”
I don’t even make that comment. I rather say to myself, “We are going to do it!”

Principal Balanov handing in the decree, with which he is appointing him to be the New Atlantis Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Why did you accept the position?
Because I am a crazy guy. (He laughs.) Seriously, I have a soft spot for starting new things that are interesting enough to make me seem mad to be doing them. 

Einstein said that if an idea doesn’t seems crazy enough to him, he doesn’t even give it a chance.
Larry Page, one of Google’s founders, says: “ If your idea is not crazy enough to change the world, maybe it’s not worth your time.” 

Do you define this as your motto?
Absolutely. I am convinced that people should be doing things that are meaningful. I am not saying that everyday should be about looking for the meaning of life, nor that we should be constantly psyched almost to the point of losing touch with reality. But the primary incentive of people should be to create. And while creating, to think how they can be useful to others. This is the main reason why I have embraced such an outlook. 

You are one of the youngest Deputy Ministers in the history of Bulgaria. What would you say to the people commenting on this?
I am really not interested whether my youth would be commented on or not. I would rather like to work and account for something meaningful. And if it is possible not to make any age references about it, that would be great since age is really not something that matters.

Of course, experience is necessary when working on something that promising and I realize that I might lack some 10 years of it. But at the same time, we are talking about something unconventional, something that is happening for the first time in the history of manankind. Therefore, there is no way to have relevant experience to prepare you for such a thing. 

An inspiring lector at DigitalK 2015.

What did Principal Balanov say when you asked him why he chose you for this project?
Well, as far as I am concerned, I told him that I don’t need the position in order to be fully engaged and motivated for the project. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs sounds rather serious and responsible. I explained to him that I would simply like to have the chance to officially represent the Principality. I had no idea he intends to appoint me for such a prestigious post.

He mentioned several times that he believes in the young generation; that people like us can bring novelty to the world. I think he has a clear vision of how to build a country that would consist of young people with great potential and beautiful minds. He also said, that he needs to identify more people that represent novelty and I am happy to be perceived as one of those people.

When interviewed about your appointment by the New Atlantis Informational Agency, he said that he was greatly impressed by your cause, to save the bees from dying and prevent an ecological catastrophe through an smart beehive.
I am glad that he was impressed by my mission. And my biggest challenge is that smart people like him are not aware of the problem, and most people in the world have no idea about the gravity of the situation. So, I am really moved by the fact that someone else accepts the cause that we are fighting for as their own. 

Presenting the Bee Smart Technologies project at Pioneer’s competition for young entrepreneurs, the biggest one in the area of advanced technologies.

Regarding the New Atlantis project, some Bulgarians comment that “we should first take care of fixing our own country before creating a new one.” What would you say to them?
I will say this one more time, people should let their actions speak for them. When we have created something meaningful and when we have an actual result, we will succeed in proving to the sceptics that there is a valid alternative to being short-sided. If you want to change something and improve on it, you have to knock on many doors to find one that opens. To us, New Atlantis is the door on which we are knocking right now. 

Are you, the founders of New Atlantis, falling short on patriotism?
What does it really mean to be a patriot? We live in a world where most of my friends work in foreign companies, communicate with foreigners on a daily basis, watch foreign TV shows. “Patriotism” is a notion that is greatly abused. My heart skips a beat when I am in the Pirin mountain or whenever I hear a pipe from the Rodopi region. This a sheer example of the true patriotism that I carry. 

The fact that New Atlantis was created by Bulgarians, isn’t that a good enough reason to feel proud and patriotic?
Unfortunately, the simple fact that the Bulgarian government didn’t recognize the opportunity Vladimir Balanov presented to them, to join the island to Bulgaria’s overseas territory, is a clear illustration of the Bulgarian mentality. 

A presenter and a host, eagerly motivating children interested in space, at the European Space Expo in Bulgaria, aimed at introducing the European Space Agency.

What kind of people would you like to work with in the principality cabinet? Who would you accept as your partner?
This may sound as a paradox, but I have noticed that the people that share my outlook to the least extent, ultimately become the best partners. So, I would like to work with people that don’t agree immediately; that are trying to find possible pitfalls; that constantly ask questions and look for new solutions, regardless of the complex working dynamic that the latter might result in. And of course, conflicts will be inevitable.

My company, Bee Smart Technologies, makes no exception. I like to argue with people that are trying to prove me wrong, because this shows how invested they are in the idea. Therefore, in every project that I take on, including New Atlantis, I would prefer working with people that don’t blindly trust in everything I or other people say; that never stop bending their own perspective or questioning their own knowledge; that never stop looking for the new and interesting; that are willing to debate. For, I firmly believe that something great can come out of any dispute. 

You are a key force in the crowdfunding campaign for promoting New Atlantis and for creating an electronic registry, as well as an electronic government.
I would rather call this our first step, our first attempt to show our interesting and innovative idea to the world. What is more, I hope we will receive incredible feedback about what people think that we can use and how we can optimize our project.

Hence, I am very excited to create the first campaign for financing a new country. This is surely a precedent in the history of not only crowdfunding, but also in general; I haven’t heard of anyone else buildng a country in this manner. And this makes it even more fascinating to me.

And this is what mostly draws you to the idea?
While doing research on crowdfunding campaigns, the closest thing to our project that I found was “Let’s Save Greece.” (He laughs.) Of course, a slightly entertaining project, for it is aiming to collect 310 billion euro. And in our case, we are looking to collect hundreds of thousands less to inaugurate a brand new country, together. Not to save it, but to create it.

I have always prefered the idea of creating, rather than restoring something. When working with bees for example, you are supposed to help the strong colonies rather than the weak ones; you are helping those that are willing to create something new, as opposed to those who are headed in the wrong direction. 

Presenting his project for a smart beehive at Singularity University, based in NASA’s Ames Research Center in California.

You mentioned that you are offering something that is radically new. What is it exactly? What makes it so extremely innovative? 
What makes is so innovative is that it will basically represent a materialized version of Facebook. We will have an electronic registry, that will contain all the citizens of this country. We will create the first electronic government. Of course, it is not easy to deal with so many precedents. Currently, Estonia is the only country that is switching to an electronic government, through which as citizens of this country, the people could found companies online anywhere in the world.

We perceive this as our base for development. What the world identifies today as the most innovative form of government will be our starting point. For the first time in world history a country’s official currency will be a cryptocurrency. The citizens of this country will be those that have recognized the opportunity to use this country as a means to accomplish the things that conventional bureaucracy is constantly presenting an obstacle for. 

In other words, to use the country as an opportunity to all be on the winning side?
Let’s be clear about this, this project is not simply aiming at making profit, but rather at creating something new. How often do people face challenges in the way of achieving their dreams? But if they have а platform, a place where they won’t be punished for their mistakes; a place where they can succeed. This is more than an innovative idea. 

What would you say to the people that are hesitating on whether to join the cause? Why should they vote for it?
I would prefer not to appeal to the people to join the cause. What I realized is that Vladimir Balanov’s concept is to “see which people are going to follow us on their own. Let’s not beg the people to work for their own good.” We will be working towards creating something good, an entity. And whoever identifies himself as part of it, is more than welcome to join us. But we won’t be sending out personal invitations to everyone. 

And you won’t, figuratively speaking, speak out loud and sell the idea to everyone like in an a election campaign?
Absolutely not. Whoever understands the project will become a part of it. It is kind of like higher education. If you want to learn, you apply to college, though it is not mandatory. But if you want to grow, this is your decision to make. 

You mentioned that it is important for all citizens of the new country to participate with their own funds in the project. Why is that?
When you dedicate or invest something, even 10 or 50 dollars, you are, in reality, putting a price tag on the idea. When you believe in something strongly enough to support it with your own money, then you are actually validating the idea. We don’t need a list of people, we can extract that from Facebook. We need people that have fully grasped our idea and we need to see how many of them would invest 50 dollars for the idea to turn into reality.

Riding a bicycle is one of Sergey’s
strongest passions.

You have been an an inspiring lector in many national events. Out of all the people young and bright minds, as well as visionaries and entrepreneurs in your community, do you have someone in particular that you would like to join your team?
I am happy to be witnessing the recent formation of an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Bulgaria. And all entrepreneurs have the tendency to live in a somewhat parallel universe, including me. So, I would love for the people creating real things in Bulgaria to become a part of the New Atlantis community. 

In the country of beautifuls minds, all “Mensa Bulgaria” and “Mensa International” members, as well as all Nobel prize winners, are entitled to a special status and certain privileges. However, there are also those who haven’t taken the “Mensa” test and they might be asking themselves: “Do I have a place in this country? How can I contribute to its development?”
This is not a charity or a rescue project. If you want to take advantage of an opportunity, you first have to identify yourself with it and see how you can benefit from it. And if you decide to succeed through New Atlantis, I think the project offers a great potential to do so. 

As far as the “Mensa” membership is concerned, Vladimir Balanov has given his promise that everyone who later takes the test and gets a score higher than 148 points, will automatically become part of a privileged group.
New Atlantis is a project which all entrepreneurs and brave people are welcome to join. I read a very interesting article that identified 16 types of geneus. One can be a genius sports player or entrepreneur, but what is most important is to try new things. Here, we are trying something new that many different types of people can benefit from. And it they realize this, it would be great. 

"I see a bright future for Bulgaria,” Sergey’s funny caption below his picture in a street in Austria, bearing our country’s name.

Or maybe by participating in the New Atlantis project, some people might rediscover themselves; find new possibilities that they never thought of before?
I honestly hope so. This is not a conventional country. We are not working to create a social policy or anything of that sort. This is indeed an interesting and unprecedented opportunity. And it is happening in a very interesting time which allows for all the innovations that we are zeroing in on such as a cryptocurrency and an electronic government. The project is progressive enough to incorporate a wide spectrum of people that could identify themselves as part of it.

Maybe those that don’t know what a cryptocurrency is, would start to ask more questions? They shouldn’t be embarrassed to ask about things that they don't know, right?
To tell you the truth, I too don’t know anything about cryptocurrencies, but I would definitely use one. You don’t need to understand something in order to use it, right? The important thing is to trust the people that do understand it and those that you believe in.