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What’s It Like in Our Eastern European Offices?

We have been working with our Bulgarian colleagues since 2001 and have a nearly seamless working relationship. Here are some of our cultural differences.

Annika Hey

Annika Hey

Design Principal

Atanas Atanasov

Atanas Atanasov

Software Development Manager – Agile Frameworks

Björn Stansvik

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Daniela Nazim

Daniela Nazim

MentorMate Alumni

Dimitar Dobrev

Dimitar Dobrev

MentorMate Alumni

Craig Knighton

Chief Operating Officer

Eleonora Georgieva

Global VP, Delivery

Georgi Dormishev

George Dormishev

System Administration Manager

Ivaylo Kostadinov

Director, Software Engineering - .NET

Jamie Bolseth profile picture

Jamie Bolseth

MentorMate Alumni

Jay Miller

President

Jeni Kyuchukova

Director, Quality Engineering

Jessica Anderson

VP of Finance and Administration

Liz Spolyar

Global Director, Continuation Engineering

Nick Curran

Nick Curran

Technical Architect

Nikolay Lyubchev

Global Director, Talent Acquisition, MentorMate

Stefan Tsvyatkov

Director, Software Engineering - Mobile

Stefan Tzanev

Chief Financial Officer

Vesselin Dobrev

Vesselin Dobrev

General Manager (Bulgaria)

Sylvia Vassileva

Sylvia Vassileva

Software Development Manager - Spok

Filip Gajtanovski

Software Development Manager - Storyworks

Krasimir K. Nikolov

VP of Technology

Katherine Kelly

Director of Operations (USA)

Carrie Siewert

Strategic Account Manager

Brady Swanson

Global Director, Marketing

Eve Poeschl

MentorMate Alumni

Ryan Peña

MentorMate Alumni

Vassil Vassilev

Software Development Manager - .NET

Pavel Petrov

Director, Software Engineering - LAMP&FE

Ivan Peev

Senior Technology Manager

Bob Reuss

MentorMate Alumni

Vera Kasapova

QA Manager

Greta Yamacheva

QA Manager

Robert Samuelsson

General Manager (Sweden)

Kyle Simmons

Solutions Architect

Robin Thomas

Solutions Architect

Nataliya Naydenova

MentorMate Alumni

Adam Malone

Alexander Dimitrov

Enterprise Architect

Andrea Kates

CEO, LaunchPad Central

Andrew Eklund

CEO, Ciceron

Andrew Marinov

Angel Nikolov

MentorMate Alumni

Anurag Shukla

Aron Wolde

MentorMate Alumni

Ashley Goodridge

Office Assistant

Benjamin Gramlich

MentorMate Alumni

Chris Black

MentorMate Alumni

Christa Haeg

MentorMate Alumni

Colin Lee

MentorMate Alumni

Deyan Stoynov

MentorMate Alumni

Dimitar Danailov

MentorMate Alumni

Dobrinka Tabakova

Doug Leatherman

Emily Genco

MentorMate Alumni

Fanka Vassileva

Gabriela Zagarova

MentorMate Alumni

Gary Conkright

CEO, physIQ

Gary Fingerhut

Executive Director, Cleveland Clinic Innovations

Gavin Finden

MentorMate Alumni

Georgi

Graham Klang

Hyusein Hyuseinov

Senior Automation QA

Ian Good

Global VP, Operations

Iva

Jack Cosentino

James Williams

John Byrne

Kaloyan Stoilkov

MentorMate Alumni

Kosta Hristov

Krasimir Gatev

Senior Android Developer

Lazar Petrakiev

Lyubomir Dobrev

Senior .NET Developer

Lubomir Velkov

Marin Yotovski

Mark Smith

MentorMate Alumni

Martin Dimitrov

MentorMate Alumni

Martin Kalyonski

Mike Hagan

MentorMate Alumni

Nikolay Andonov

Nikolay Arhangelov

Riley Panko

Guest Contributor

Roger Ferguson

MentorMate Alumni

Ryan Sysko

Chairman, WellDoc

Ryan Blake

MentorMate Alumnus

Sarah Rockholt

MentorMate Alumni

Sean McDevitt

CEO, Sensei

Siyana Slavova

Stanislas Walden

MentorMate Alumni

Stanislav Atanasov

Stanislava Bogdanova

MentorMate Alumni

Stefanie Trimble

MentorMate Alumnus

Stephen Fluin

Stoyan Stoyanov

MentorMate Alumnus

Tessa Cacek

Staffing Manager

Tom Clemens

MentorMate Alumnus

V8 JavaScript Engine

Viktor Mitev

Yolanda Petkova

Marketing Design Lead

Pete Anderson

Lead Product Owner, Target

MentorMate Software Development Lead Vasil Nonchev

Vasil Nonchev

Java Software Development Manager

Dilyana Totseva

QA Manager

Stanimir Nikolov profile picture

Stanimir Nikolov

Software Development Lead - iOS, MentorMate

Rosen Kolev

Technology Principal

Dimitar Mihaylov

MentorMate Alumni

Nikola Genov

Software Architect - .NET

Neli Todorova

Software Development Manager - LAMP

Yavor Dimitrov

MentorMate Alumni

Georgi Karanedyalkov

Software Development Lead - Android, MentorMate

Denislav Ganchev

Technology Principal

Stefan Shopov

QA Manager

Konstantin Rusev

Java Developer

Borislav Dimitrov profile picture

Borislav Dimitrov

Senior Android Developer, MentorMate

Tsvetelina Lazarova

MentorMate Alumni

Dimitar Gadzhev

Developer

Plamen Stoev

Software Development Manager - Front-end

Jake Nelsen

Senior Experience Designer

Zlati Pehlivanov

Zlati Pehlivanov

Senior Software Engineer II

Kate Tolmie, MentorMate Senior UX Designer

Kate Tolmie

Senior Experience Designer

Martin Angelov

Director, Software Engineering - LAMP&FE, MentorMate

Dimitar Zhelev

Senior .NET Developer

Joel Swenson, MentorMate Content Writer

Joel Swenson

Content Manager

Kiril Ivanov

Quality Assurance Analyst

Viktor Hristoskov profile picture

Viktor Hristoskov

Software Development Lead - iOS, MentorMate

Violeta Nikolcheva

Database Developer

Biliana Kadakevlieva

Senior Quality Assurance Analyst

Chris McLeod

Senior Solutions Consultant

Antonii Georgiev

Junior .NET Developer

Alexander Rusev

Front-End Developer

Matt Erickson, MentorMate PR and Social Media Manager

Matt Erickson

MentorMate Alumni

Brian Buchkosky

Global Director, PMO

David Tran, MentorMate VP of Solutions

David Tran

MentorMate Alumni

Kristin Krueger

MentorMate Alumni

Magdalena Chervenkova

Business Analyst

Denny Royal

Chief Design Officer

MentorMate Technical Account Strategist Joe Bodell

Joe Bodell

MentorMate Alumni

Viktoriya Chuchumisheva - MentorMate HR Manager

Viktoria Chuchumisheva

HR Manager

Kalina Tekelieva Headshot

Kalina Tekelieva

Senior Content Marketing Artist

Daniel Rankov profile picture

Daniel Rankov

MentorMate Alumni

MentorMate Senior Business Analyst Alexander Alexandrov

Alexander Alexandrov

BA Lead

MentorMate

Clint Rowles

VP, Business Development

Nikola Donev - SysAdmin

Nikola Donev

SysOps & DevOps Lead

Tseko Tsolov

Frontend Developer

Denislav Lefterov

Automation QA Analyst

MentorMate Content Writer Dilyana Kodjamanova

Dilyana Kodjamanova

MentorMate Alumni

MentorMate Project Manager Emma Jorstad

Emma Jorstad

Project Manager, Lead

Georgi Georgiev profile picture

Georgi Georgiev

Software Development Lead - LAMP, MentorMate

Martin Panayotov profile picture

Martin Panayotov

Senior iOS Developer, MentorMate

John Blake

John Blake

Senior Account Manager

Tyler Compton

Tyler Compton

Solutions Architect

MentorMate Software Developer Nikola Peevsk

Nikola Peevski

Software Developer — Lamp & Front-End

Aaron Whitney

Director of Client Strategy

MentorMate Senior Cloud Engineer Veliko Ivanov

Veliko Ivanov

Senior Cloud Engineer

MentorMate Senior Project Manager Suzanne O'Brien

Suzanne O’Brien

Senior Project Manager

Svetlin Stanchev profile picture

Svetlin Stanchev

Software Development Lead - Front-end, MentorMate

MentorMate Senior Cloud Engineer Todor Todorov

Todor Todorov

Senior Cloud Engineer

MentorMate Senior QA Analyst Kate Stamatova

Kate Stamatova

Senior QA Analyst

Frank Anselmo profile pic

Frank Anselmo

Global Director, Project Management

Gyuner Zeki Headshot

Gyuner Zeki

Solutions Architect

Galin Stanchev

QA Analyst

Sarah Hoops

Business Development Manager

Brenden Diehl

Business Development Manager

Anna Krivova profile picture

Anna Krivova

Software Development Lead - Front-end, MentorMate

Ivelina Kavalova profile picture

Ivelina Kavalova

Senior Business Analyst, MentorMate

Paul Sanders

MentorMate Alumni

Jim Cikanek

Senior Client Strategist

Samuil Yanovski profile picture

Samuil Yanovski

Software Development Manager - Android, MentorMate

Krasimir Gatev profile picture

Krasimir Gatev

Senior Android Developer, MentorMate

Kristina Goryalova headshot

Kristina Goryalova

Talent Acquisition Manager

Elena Petrova Headshot

Elena Petrova

HR Specialist

Jay Matre

Senior Business Architect, MentorMate

Lilyana Dimitrova

QA Specialist

Josh Marquart

Chief Strategy Officer

Mario Gorki

Senior Mobile Developer

Simeon Zhekov Headshot

Simeon Zhekov

Cloud Engineer

Hristo Stoyanov Headshot

Hristo Stoyanov

Cloud & DevOps Lead

Ben Wallace

Enterprise Architect

Boyan Stoyanov

Data & Dota Specialist

MentorMate Director of Software Engineering Petya Ivanova

Petya Ivanova

Director, Software Engineering - Java

Sebastian Ortiz-Chamorro

VP of Engineering, Latin America

Consuelo Merino profile pic

Consuelo Merino

Director of Operations

Developers can be sourced from many continents. China and India are development hot spots, as are many cities in South America and Eastern Europe. Each country has a distinctive culture and unique set of challenges, but with careful planning and understanding each can be a great development center.

MentorMate is built on offshore mastery. Our CTO Dimitar Dobrev has managed our Bulgarian development offices since 2002. Since then, we have expanded to a total of four development centers in Bulgaria and our collaboration with our offshore teams has become almost seamless.

veliko-tarnovo

Why Bulgaria? Initially it was necessity, CEO Bjorn Stansvik and CTO Dimitar were friends and founded the company together. Dimitar lived and worked in Bulgaria and had the connections to build a mobile development operation. Since then MentorMate has had the opportunity to switch countries (even stop offshoring altogether) but after careful consideration, we decided to stay with Bulgaria for several reasons. Primarily, the culture in Bulgaria is similar to our own. They have a western work ethic, capitalist democracy, and similar societal norms (greetings, marriage traditions, relationships). Basically, they think a lot like us, and have similar wants and needs. Additionally, compared to India or China the time difference is much more manageable.

Of course there are still some differences, which are important to understand.

Bulgaria Facts

map of europe with bulgaria highlighted

  • Land Area: 42,683 sq mi
  • Population: 7.36 million
  • Monetary Unit: Lev (Lev to USD)
  • Government: Parliamentary Republic
  • Capital: Sofia (pop. 1.2 million)

Greetings

  • Man Greeting Man: Similar to American customs. A firm handshake with eye contact. A light hug and pat on the back is not uncommon for friends.
  • Woman Greeting Woman: Light handshake is normal, a kiss on each cheek is acceptable if two women are friends.
  • Man Greeting Woman: Standard handshake.

Gestures

  • Head Nodding and Shaking: One of the biggest communication differences in Bulgaria is nodding your head actually means no, while shaking your head means yes. It is the complete opposite of most other cultures and might lead to some awkward miscommunications.

varna-sailing

Language

  • Language Breakdown: 85% Bulgarian, 9% Turkish, 4% Romani, 2% Other
  • Second Languages: 60% of adults speak a second language. Most common second languages are English, German and French. English is considered the language of business.

Time

  • Punctuality: Although always important in a professional setting, has even greater meaning to Bulgarians.If you are unable to make it at the appointed time an apology and explanation should be given.
  • Timezone: UTC+02:00

bulgaria-shopping-mall

Culture

  • Vacation Months: Many Bulgarians choose July and August to visit the sea shore or travel.
  • Drinking Age: The legal drinking and smoking age in Bulgaria is 18.
  • Tone: A direct, sometimes blunt, style of communication should not be mistaken as rudeness or frustration. It is normal.

Meetings

  • Business Lunch: Bulgarians are fond of having meals after important meetings. This is an ideal time to get to know each other and develop a relationship.
  • Consensus: Even though the business culture is hierarchical, similar to American businesses, Bulgarians prefer to reach a consensus before making any major decisions.
  • Proximity: Bulgarians put greater emphasis than Americans on face-to-face meetings when building a new relationship with a partner or customer.

Attire

  • Formal: During work hours, dressing formally is recommended unless it is explicitly stated that casual dress is acceptable.

As we continue to operate as a global company with offices in the US and Bulgaria, understanding cultural differences is important not only to us but to our clients. Our advantage in lower costs will only make sense if we are able to maintain high quality development. Communication and team work between American and Bulgarian developers and management is critical in maintaining high quality standards and keeping projects moving efficiently. It is crucial that we continue to innovate with new technology and methods to bridge our differences in location, language, time, and culture, for the seamless collaboration that our clients expect.

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  • Culture
  • Staff Augmentation
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MentorMate1350 Lagoon Ave, Suite 800
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, MN 55408

+1 612 823 4000
Bulgaria
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