Where Startups Are Born: Azimbek Sagynbaev on Habits, Inspiration, and Lifestyle

Azimbek Sagynbaev, city — Bishkek, CEO and Co-Founder MyDataCoin, Instagram

About Me

I live in Bishkek, create startups, and, like everyone else here, am a master of the art of standing in traffic jams. I am passionate about blockchain and focus on data privacy — this is the direction in which I build my projects and professional path.

I started my career in 2012 with military service at the state enterprise "Infocom". There, I fully immersed myself in the digitalization of the registration service. I opened the first 50 Citizen Service Centers (CSCs) in the country, participated in a company for collecting biometric data of citizens of Kyrgyzstan, developed a system for identifying citizens by fingerprints for voters during elections. I also implemented the "Safe City" system.

During my career, I also had the opportunity to work at the state institution "Ity-Service", where I improved the information system for the Tax Service and developed functionality for registering individual entrepreneurs. Thanks to the service, I managed to travel all over Kyrgyzstan and realize that I am a citizen of the most beautiful country in the world.

Family and work are my foundation. But over time, I realized: to avoid burnout and not turn into a robot, it is important to find time for yourself. Four years of life in Prague taught me to follow the example of Europeans and already be absent from work on Friday at 3:00 PM, preparing for an outing into nature.

Sometimes I go to the park or gym — to breathe, stretch, and clear my head. This is my way of maintaining inner balance: because to work effectively and support others, you first need to take care of yourself. Sometimes even a short walk can work miracles.

Where and How I Learn

Life is quite a teacher: it doesn't ask if you are ready, it just throws you into a situation and watches. I try not to miss such moments — I analyze where I made a mistake, what worked, and why exactly it worked.

Recently, I went through the Draper University acceleration program in California. There, during a week of survival in the wild, I received more life lessons than in a year of living in the city.

Either I upgrade my brain, or it starts upgrading anxiety — so I choose the first option. Moreover, being in a position where I am learning, I simply cannot afford not to know the answers to clearly formulated questions from junior colleagues — here conscience will not allow me to relax.

From recommendations — develop perseverance and train focus. It is important not how much time you spend learning, but how focused you are in the process.

I am self-taught, finding the necessary information on the internet. Today, young people have many opportunities for development — for example, free courses from EPAM. I also like the approach in the training courses of Attractor School. 

If we talk about events, I prefer intensives on YouTube. 

Environment

My environment is like a random playlist in Spotify: someone has been in favorites for a long time, someone just appeared, but is already playing on repeat. I respect everyone for their patience — especially considering that my character is sometimes like a bug in production.

It so happened that I am mainly surrounded by IT specialists — with laptops, eternal fatigue, and coffee dependency. But in fact, I am interested in communicating with people of different professions. The world is held up not only by code, but by those who save lives in operating rooms, prepare food, fix cars, and help us cope with problems when something goes wrong. A doctor cannot say: "We have tech debt, I'll treat later." And electricians are real heroes: if he makes a mistake, it is not just an error in the system, it is a real risk. And there is no longer room for jokes.

I try to regularly attend meetups, forums, and other professional events — I have participated in their organization myself more than once. Most often, I am invited, and if the schedule allows, I gladly participate. I recommend not missing such events regardless of experience level: you can make useful acquaintances, meet like-minded people, or get to a really valuable and inspiring meetup. Like-minded people in IT can be found in the most unexpected places: in the office, at hackathons, in Telegram chats, and bootcamps. The main thing is to be open, not only to code, but also to the soul!

Where I Spend Free Time

Sedentary work turns your back into a question mark, so I prefer active rest: table tennis, where you can scream as much as if you had a tax penalty, or trips to the mountains — where the phone loses signal, and the brain finally remembers that it is not just a processor for deadlines.

I also collect bugs — each one, with analysis and, of course, not without emotional coloring. I love working with Arduino microcontrollers, sitting with a soldering iron, and assembling, for example, a LED light music system. Going to a radio electronics store is almost a separate art form for me.

Where to Buy What

By duty — I am an army of Apple. But in work — strictly Linux: I prefer Ubuntu Server, Debian, and Arch depending on the tasks. From editors — VS Code. It is difficult to advise anything, because everyone has their own fetishes. The main thing is that it works as it should, and then even a toaster with AI.