The Investor's Path
Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2025 5:02 am
The new millennium was marked for Leonid Borisovich by the fact that he founded the company ru-Net Holdings, which specializes in investments.
The first major investments were made in such projects as Ozon and Yandex. As Leonid Boguslavsky himself later admitted:
"I was not the initiator of these purchases. My partner at Baring Vostok Group, Elena Ivashentseva, believed in these projects. And even after the deals, I did not believe in the business prospects of Ozon.ru and especially Yandex for a long time."
However, it was thanks to the efforts of Leonid Boguslavsky that Yandex retained its position during the so-called "dot-com crisis" in the early 2000s. And by 2008, Yandex took 9th place in the list of the most popular Internet search engines in the world.
The investor's career job seekers database developed quite rapidly, and in just ten years the entrepreneur acquired the status of a major investor in dozens of companies around the world - in Russia, the USA, Europe, Canada, Turkey, India and the countries of Southeast Asia.
In 2011, several Russian online publications named Boguslavsky Investor of the Year.
A partial list of companies in which Leonid Boguslavsky has invested:
Yandex
iContext
Ozon
Headhunter
Digital Access
Biglion service
Ring Central
Epam
Delivery Hero
DataDog
Snapdeal
Sequoia
By the way, DataDog turned out to be one of Boguslavsky's largest projects - in 2012, the company's assets were valued at $11 million. As of 2021, this figure has grown to $55.57 billion.
"I carefully consider every decision and take responsibility only if I am confident of success. However, I sign 80% of the projects that the team offers me. In rare cases, when they did not notice something, or experience tells me, I decline the offer."
In addition, Leonid Borisovich participated in meetings of directors of Ozon Holdings LLC, Ivi.ru LLC, Yandex NV and Ozon Holdings Limited. And in 2018, he became a member of the Supervisory Board of Sberbank.
Currently, Leonid Boguslavsky prefers foreign companies and startups, although he admits that “if the situation in the country were more stable, I would gladly invest more in Russian business.”
Boguslavsky Leonid Borisovich
The entrepreneur believes that the most promising projects are those related to the development of artificial intelligence and the latest high-tech medicine. His investment fund currently has several such companies. In total, the investment portfolio of Leonid Boguslavsky's fund includes about 40 companies, 6 of which are Russian.
"I can't say which startup is the best. That would be insulting to the other cool guys."
Today, Boguslavsky is already 72 years old and has invested $50 million in 12 Western startups. However, he has no plans to stop.
"I always wanted to become a legend, like Federer or Djokovic, who have won several Grand Slams but won't stop. They want to make history. I can't just stop either."
The first major investments were made in such projects as Ozon and Yandex. As Leonid Boguslavsky himself later admitted:
"I was not the initiator of these purchases. My partner at Baring Vostok Group, Elena Ivashentseva, believed in these projects. And even after the deals, I did not believe in the business prospects of Ozon.ru and especially Yandex for a long time."
However, it was thanks to the efforts of Leonid Boguslavsky that Yandex retained its position during the so-called "dot-com crisis" in the early 2000s. And by 2008, Yandex took 9th place in the list of the most popular Internet search engines in the world.
The investor's career job seekers database developed quite rapidly, and in just ten years the entrepreneur acquired the status of a major investor in dozens of companies around the world - in Russia, the USA, Europe, Canada, Turkey, India and the countries of Southeast Asia.
In 2011, several Russian online publications named Boguslavsky Investor of the Year.
A partial list of companies in which Leonid Boguslavsky has invested:
Yandex
iContext
Ozon
Headhunter
Digital Access
Biglion service
Ring Central
Epam
Delivery Hero
DataDog
Snapdeal
Sequoia
By the way, DataDog turned out to be one of Boguslavsky's largest projects - in 2012, the company's assets were valued at $11 million. As of 2021, this figure has grown to $55.57 billion.
"I carefully consider every decision and take responsibility only if I am confident of success. However, I sign 80% of the projects that the team offers me. In rare cases, when they did not notice something, or experience tells me, I decline the offer."
In addition, Leonid Borisovich participated in meetings of directors of Ozon Holdings LLC, Ivi.ru LLC, Yandex NV and Ozon Holdings Limited. And in 2018, he became a member of the Supervisory Board of Sberbank.
Currently, Leonid Boguslavsky prefers foreign companies and startups, although he admits that “if the situation in the country were more stable, I would gladly invest more in Russian business.”
Boguslavsky Leonid Borisovich
The entrepreneur believes that the most promising projects are those related to the development of artificial intelligence and the latest high-tech medicine. His investment fund currently has several such companies. In total, the investment portfolio of Leonid Boguslavsky's fund includes about 40 companies, 6 of which are Russian.
"I can't say which startup is the best. That would be insulting to the other cool guys."
Today, Boguslavsky is already 72 years old and has invested $50 million in 12 Western startups. However, he has no plans to stop.
"I always wanted to become a legend, like Federer or Djokovic, who have won several Grand Slams but won't stop. They want to make history. I can't just stop either."