IT families: Odil Turdikulov, Saodat Ali-Akbar, and Umida Odilova

Odil Turdikulov, city — Tashkent, Director of BePro NORMA

Saodat Ali-Akbar, city — Tashkent, Head of Marketing at BeePro Norma, 1UZ, CEO of DiHunter educational center, Instagram

Umid Odilova, city — Tashkent, CMO at DiHunter, Instagram

About themselves

Umid. Currently, I am a manager at the IT educational center DiHunter, responsible for marketing, building partnerships, and development strategies. Additionally, I have a second job where I consult foreign IT companies, helping them open offices and assemble teams in Tashkent. Previously, I worked at IT Park Uzbekistan as a senior manager in the international department, where I learned a lot and gained insights into the IT ecosystem not only in Uzbekistan but also abroad.

Saodat. I am the Head of Marketing at BePro Norma, promoting 1UZ products, and also the CEO and founder of the IT educational center DiHunter. I am 27 years old, have a wonderful family, a supportive husband, and a desire to create something useful and inspiring for our society.

Odil. I am the Director and Co-founder of BePro Norma, which was established in 2013. Our company develops software products under the 1UZ brand, the main one being accounting software — 1UZ. Today, we have over 5,000 clients across Uzbekistan, and our software solutions help thousands of companies manage their businesses efficiently every day.

How they entered the IT field

Umid. As a child, I didn’t understand what “my dad is a programmer” meant. At home, I only saw him playing on the computer. But out of pure curiosity, at 16, I became a participant in the Tehnovation Challenge competition, which was held for the first time in Uzbekistan. That’s when I first became interested in IT, and together with other girls, we even created our first project.

Saodat. I entered the IT field through the convergence of two important aspects of my life. First, during my university years, I joined a startup accelerator, where I realized that ideas and projects can change society, the world, and people’s perspectives. At that time, I was studying at the Faculty of Biology of the National University of Uzbekistan. Yes, my bachelor’s degree is related to biology, ironically, but what interested me most back then was human genome programming. However, it wasn’t my true calling, so I turned toward a scientific startup accelerator, where there was always a shortage of marketers, project managers, and project administration specialists.

The second aspect is that my father ran an IT company and needed a marketer. At that time, I was studying for an MBA program, and this field resonated with me. Joining the IT company as a junior marketer, I learned how to design websites, communicate with programmers, build relationships, develop strategies, and much more.

Odil. I started my journey in IT as a student at the Tashkent Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technologies (TÉIS). After graduation and four years of working at various enterprises, my two classmates and I decided to open our own IT company specializing in designing and building local networks — from small office setups to large corporate networks with remote branches, including related server infrastructure. At the same time, we opened a training center for computer literacy and IT specialist preparation. We started with one room, bringing in equipment and personal computers ourselves. Thus, NetDec was born, which eventually became one of the city’s best training centers, preparing and certifying Microsoft specialists, programmers, and system engineers.

Later, we assembled a team of programmers consisting of our own students and partners, and began developing software. In 2007, we took on the creation of serious accounting and control software, and in the same year, the first version of our program was released. The first successful implementations of the program under the UZTO brand took place in 2008, and in 2009, UZTO was recognized as the best product at the BestSoft 2009 exhibition.

In 2012, we merged with the “Center for Training and Support of Young Programmers BePro,” and in 2013, with Norma Hamkor, which had a strong informational and legislative base and powerful experts — accountants, economists, and lawyers. Thus, BePro Norma appeared on the Uzbek IT market. Today, the company has more than 5,000 clients using 1UZ programs. Our plans include developing products using AI and exploring new directions in IT.

Support and development

Umid. My parents always supported me and my sister, saying that anything is possible if you want and try hard. They didn’t pressure me about choosing a profession or forbid me from starting to work part-time or even opening my own online store during my teenage years, where I handled deliveries myself. The only condition was: “As long as it doesn’t interfere with your studies,” and we tacitly agreed to this. As for help, my youthful idealism didn’t allow them to directly influence my affairs. It was enough for me that at home I could vent, and I received moral support.

Saodat. We were always raised with the belief that we can achieve anything if we want and put in the effort. This requires knowledge, skills, and willpower to combine them and move forward in life. There were never gender-based restrictions like “this is for boys” or other prejudices. We were also never told that something was impossible to achieve. I clearly remember how my mother used to tell me as a child that all limitations are only in my head and that I could achieve everything I ever dreamed of.

Joint projects or initiatives in IT

Umid. I don’t think my dad expected that my sister and I would also end up in IT. But now we have jointly developed and launched an educational center for training IT specialists to meet companies’ needs. My dad previously had his own center, NetDec, so he gladly accepted Saodat’s proposal to open a new center.

Saodat. My dad and I work together, and despite prejudices that children of executives only hold nominal positions or work formally, in my case, it’s the opposite. My father always said and continues to say that the highest expectations are placed on me as his daughter. This creates great responsibility but also allows for faster results — because the more you invest, the more engaged you become in the processes and motivated. In a family business, whether in IT or any other field, a lot of energy and drive are involved. I think that’s why I grew quickly as a specialist. Saodat and I recently started working together at DiHunter, which has revealed our sisterly relationship in a new way.

Odil. As Saodat said, I always told her and continue to remind her that the highest expectations are placed on her as my daughter. After all, employees of any company will always pay closer attention to the work of management’s children — their behavior, productivity, and usefulness. We have been working together for three years now, and I am happy to see how she has deservedly advanced in her career with great enthusiasm. During this time, our company, BePro Norma, has grown significantly and continues to develop. We moved into a large and comfortable office, and then together decided to open an educational center to train new talents. We want to raise a new generation of programmers and IT specialists, provide the market with qualified personnel, because we know what skills and knowledge they need to be in demand in modern IT companies.

Recommendations for a happy family life

Saodat. Regardless of the field of activity, the main thing is that all family members understand that they are loved, valued, and respected. We respect our parents’ experience and knowledge and listen to their advice and guidance.

Umid. As the younger one, I’ll say that working in IT didn’t significantly affect our relationships, but working together on a project is unusual. I can now openly argue and discuss work ideas with my sister and dad, which is often even fun, because in childhood I was told not to contradict elders.

How IT families differ from others

Umid and Saodat. To be honest, before we started working together, there weren’t many conversations about IT at the table. But today, we have plenty to talk about; common topics and interests help communication and strengthen relationships. I think any family where everyone works in similar fields will understand us. And the fact that our field is IT doesn’t significantly change the dynamics. For example, our mom is a scientist and professor, but that doesn’t prevent her from participating in our discussions, since we usually talk not about technical issues but about product sales/marketing, partnerships, and development strategies.

Odil. The values are the same, regardless of technology and education. Family is the most important thing. Kindness, honesty, loyalty, reliability.