Meet Todor Stratiev

Welcome back to Life at AMPECO. From Software Engineering to Customer Success team members in our previous editions, this is the series in which we tell stories about what it is to be part of AMPECO’s dream team, what sort of personalities our colleagues have outside of work and what helps us attract top talent.

Today we introduce you to Todor Stratiev, Head of Solution Consulting at AMPECO.

Todor is an avid outdoor sports enthusiast. From ski-touring Bulgaria’s lovely mountains to surfing off the coast of Portugal, you should expect to find him enjoying nature with a healthy dose of adrenaline in his free time. He is also passionate about helping drive Bulgaria’s development through entrepreneurship and the overall positive effect the local startup ecosystem has.

He brings experience in change management and business consulting, gained in the aerospace engineering and telecom sectors in the UK and Spain.

Todor’s path with AMPECO began almost two years ago when he joined as a Sales and Account Executive. With time and in line with AMPECO’s scaling, his role has evolved to lead the company’s Solution Consulting team.

Todor, why did you start working at AMPECO?

That’s a pretty cool question and looking back, I think there are probably a bunch of reasons that led to me starting at AMPECO.

With time, I’ve figured that the pace and dynamics startups offer suit me much better than what I experienced with large corporations. I find it incredibly exciting to be part of building a company, especially in its early days. I want to be there when you build up the business and contribute to the development of the product with everything I learn from customers and prospects from around the world.

But why exactly AMPECO? Well, I always knew there were quality people behind the idea. I gained my first impression of the founders in early 2019 when I invited a good friend to go for some networking at a startup pitching event. Even in AMPECO’s early days, it was obvious that those people knew what they were doing – they understood the market and knew how to build and sell a great product.

Fast forward to a couple of years later, that same good friend had already joined the company and recommended me for the job. Things were picking up at AMPECO, and at that point, it was apparent my first impression was validated, and it’s worth joining such an ambitious team.

Why do you believe in AMPECO?

Well, I’m sure AMPECO will be a success. The only question is how big of a success it will be, and that’s really down to us.

I believe in AMPECO because I see all the good signs – a very experienced and highly driven team, a healthy working environment, the pace we’re growing with, the way we outperform our competitors, and the fact that seasoned investors trust us and back us.

Can you describe what a typical working day looks like for you?

My typical work day begins with planning where I’ll be working from – whether from home or one of our offices. That depends on the type of work I plan to do on the specific day – the extent it involves meeting other people and whether I’ll need more focused time. I usually commute by subway, and I also sometimes prefer the shared mobility services we have a company subscription for. My usual day involves contract negotiations with prospective clients, supporting our Sales team in some of the more complex conversations, and preparing tender responses for the larger opportunities we pursue. At AMPECO, we have ambitious scaling plans, so a substantial part of my efforts also goes toward finding the right people to join us and developing our team… it’s never boring!

What is your favorite thing about AMPECO?

This one’s easy – it would definitely be the people. My colleagues are genuinely nice, trustworthy, and open-minded, so I don’t really need to define a line between my work and life circles. We can talk about any topic and hang out outside of work, which, of course, brings us even closer together.

I would also say I really enjoy AMPECO’s industry. It is so promising, innovative, and fast-paced. There’s no doubt that e-mobility is bound to grow further, so it’s fascinating to contribute and be part of it.

Tell us more about the Solution Consulting team and what part of your work you enjoy the most.

Solution Consulting is a growing team focused on working with prospects to ensure they have a strong understanding of our platform and service as part of the process leading to a sale. More specifically, we support AMPECO’s efforts by:

• Guiding AMPECO prospects’ demo experience with Proof-of-Concept systems;
• Responding to structured opportunities like Requests for Proposals;
• Leading contractual negotiations as part of the deal-closing stages.

What I enjoy the most about my job is solving complex cases. Our function requires a deep understanding of both the specific customer’s needs and AMPECO product capabilities. As we enable a very young industry, my team is often expected to know what matters for the particular use case even better than the customer themselves. As one of the leaders in the field, we also get to work on the most exciting opportunities with the most significant energy businesses around the world.

Second, but equally as exciting, is the variety of people and businesses we work with. Our customers have different business models and are located in various parts of the world. I start some of my days early with a chat with a charging network operator in New Zealand and then finish speaking to an energy company in California. It’s valuable to listen to so many viewpoints and potential businesses we can work with and experience the cultural differences. As someone who loves traveling and discovering different cultures, this sort of variety truly energizes me.

What skillset do you need to work at one of the world’s leading EV charging software companies?

I would say it’s not rocket science. You don’t have to be superhuman, but you do have to have the right attitude and the skills for this sort of environment. You have to be, first of all, good at learning because this is a new industry. Half of the knowledge you will need five years from now probably doesn’t even exist yet. Alongside the attitude toward learning, one has to show genuine interest and readiness. Secondly, I would say you have to be well organized because in a scale-up, the pace is rapid and the industry we’re in is moving very fast too. So you must be good at managing your time and effort to make sure you can deal.

What do you do in your spare hours when you’re not busy presenting the right solutions for AMPECO’s customers’ needs?

Outside work, I spend most of my time “recharging my batteries”. This usually means sports, socializing, and spending time in nature, but it sometimes also means rewatching ‘the office’ and doing nothing.

What’s one thing you’re reading or learning that is important to you?

I quite enjoy reading about how psychology applies to my job – in recent years, that mostly means the psychology of sales, persuasion and decision-making.

One such book I’m enjoying right now is “Thinking, fast and slow” by Daniel Kahneman.

How would you describe AMPECO in 3 words?

To me, AMPECO is ambitious, friendly and exciting.