Award Winner Expands Opportunity Into Success

Not many small business owners have the opportunity to travel anywhere in the world to grow their businesses, but as a winner of British Airways’ “Face of Opportunity” contest, that’s just what Georgi Georgiev ’10 did. Passionate about travel and languages, Georgiev founded Languatica, a global language immersion travel company, soon after his 2010 graduation from the Holt School. By January 2011, his entrepreneurship had caught the eye of the global airlines and won him a free ticket to any of their locations—for the purpose of stimulating business growth through face-to-face interaction. “This once-in-a-lifetime event comes as we are seeking expansion into the European and Asian markets, and this opportunity will provide unlimited networking prospects,” Georgiev said of his award. He signed 24 additional language programs to his company as a result of his five-week around-the-world trip.

An international affairs major, Georgiev was thinking big from the moment he stepped onto the Rollins campus after leaving his home in Bulgaria. “I was given a dream to continue my higher education at one of the best institutions in the United States,” he said. “I came to Rollins seeking every opportunity that the school provided inside and outside the classroom.” He sought and found them. In his years at Rollins, Georgiev established and served as president of the campus Rotaract Club, served as vice president of the International Student Organization, became one of the first Holt School members of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, participated on Rollins’ varsity sailing team, and volunteered for several charities, including Holiday FunFest and Habitat for Humanity. During school breaks, he traveled.

Inspired by entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson and Steve Jobs, Georgiev—who has now traveled 35 countries and learned three languages—is still thinking big and maximizing opportunity. He recently moved his company from Hilton Head Island to New York City. “I came to realize the importance of location for growing my company and myself, and decided to move to New York, one of the rapidly emerging start-up scenes,” he said. “We are currently in the process of partnering with a New York City-based language learning technology company, which will open up new markets for us. We are a three-employee company at the moment, expecting to grow in the next year.”

By Renée Anduze