"Your task is not to prove that you are right, but to create a product that the market needs," — Eldar Abdrakhimov on real success metrics

Eldar Abdrazakov, founder of Centras Group

How a startup can become a unicorn

Startups live in anticipation of a “big bang” — rapid growth, interest in the idea, and the emergence of a market. This mindset defines a new generation of founders, which can be called the “big-bang” generation.

However, large businesses expect not only ambition from startups but also competence. Startups in emerging economies typically focus on four key categories, not just industries, although real consumer pain points are deeper and broader. Large companies strive to address these pain points systematically and at scale.

Therefore, it is important to understand startup psychology and their approaches. According to a Kauffman Fellows study, only 1 in 140 venture-backed companies becomes a unicorn, and only 1 in 800 successfully exits the market and exceeds its initial valuation.

Why large business often does not accommodate startups

Startups think in terms of proof of concept, product-market fit, and market creation. Large business operates with a completely different logic: it has already passed the product and business stages and focuses on scaling, unit economics, segment coverage, and creating systemic value.

Large business is about execution, not just ideas. It thinks about the fields it plays in, micro-segments, clustering, product interconnections, and triggers for new categories.

In Kazakhstan, entrepreneurs are mostly first-generation founders. They were startuppers not long ago, but have already learned to build niches, achieve results through teams, and construct systems. The main rule is: I do not play the words — I play the systems.

If you want to work with large business, it is important to understand its DNA: product, value, experience, and direction of movement. You need to understand its strategic planning — how goals turn into operational actions and finances.

Large business thinks in frameworks. If you understand which framework drives the company — you speak the same language. If not — you will not be understood. Therefore, to find win-win solutions, you need to understand the language the organization speaks and what it actually wants.

How CEOs of large companies make decisions

No CEO lives by dreams — they are hostages of circumstances and focus only on the top priorities. If you are not in their top 5 tasks, most likely, they simply will not be able to pay attention to your proposal — they lack neither time nor energy. Any CEO’s priorities are profit, scale, sales growth, business development, and transformation of internal systems. They think not about launching one product, but about strategic win-win opportunities: what a startup can offer, what new markets to open, and which areas to strengthen.

Most CEOs are skeptical about pilots and experiments. But they are ready to invest in insights — understanding what a new initiative delivers. Even failure can be useful if it brings valuable conclusions.

It is important not to avoid mistakes, but to learn from them and understand how the business works from the inside: how decisions are made, what transformations are underway, and what management prioritizes.

Startups are often oriented toward quick results — this causes a disconnect. Large business thinks about scaling: products, clients, markets. It plays the long game, seeking scalable solutions rather than local successes.

A startup works with enthusiasts. Large business works with the “slow majority”; it plans how to scale sales and create new segments. It is important to understand what type of innovation you are dealing with: improvements, experiments, breakthroughs, or strategic wins. If your project is a strategic win, cooperation will proceed faster. But at the same time, business expects you to follow the rules of the game — a clear path to results.

Large business is not only strategy and analytics; it is organizational excellence.
Even if a company employs brilliant people, without clear processes and a learning culture, the results will be weak. The CEO’s main task is to create a system where the organization learns and develops.

To interact with such business, you need to understand its logic:

1. Where it is heading
2. What you can give it, and what it can give you
3. What problems it classifies and solves
4. Why not every brilliant decision is sensible at the scale of a corporation

Do not go directly — understand the system.

Large companies break down activities into processes, engage specialists who add value at every stage, think about scaling: new segments, upselling, cross-selling, new product categories. They also build solutions based on market triggers.

What is important to understand about large business

Large business is about value, not originality.

We constantly launch new products. Each of them must deliver results. For example, if we launch a new sandwich, we expect $1 million in revenue per month within a year. Everything discussed is always about real money and specific metrics.

Do not try to be original — be valuable. Find the intersection of your idea and the company’s tasks. Value is not a beautiful pitch, but a customer who pays. They are your main investor.

Often, startup founders fall in love with their idea. This is normal. But it is important to understand: you are not your startup. The idea is only the beginning. Sales, customer work, and flexibility are what matter.

A real Proof of Concept is not a budget, but a customer.

Business is a journey. And your task is not to prove that you are right, but to create a product that the market needs.