How did this high-school dropout from Bulgaria succeed in fashion in Hong Kong?
Young entrepreneur describes unusual path that began with belief that technology would be king and creativity would set her apart
Hong Kong-based entrepreneur Boryana Uzunova says her decision to drop out of school at a young age has helped build her fashion and technology business.
The move did not only make her the co-founder of two start-ups in the city, but also one of the top graduates from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
“I had the luxury of having my parents’ blessing in my desire to learn in a non-standardised way,” Uzunova, 23, explains.
I had the luxury of having my parents’ blessing in my desire to learn in a non-standardised way
Her home country of Bulgaria, she says, has an education system that resembles Hong Kong’s in that it features a “very fixed curriculum where everybody takes the same classes”.
“However, I feel that our world today allows you to really absorb this type of knowledge in a much more efficient way. Even out of school, I could still read the books by myself.”
As a teenager, Uzunova recalls being aware that textbook learning might not afford the best preparation for her future. She thought technology would be king and creativity would make her stand out from the crowd.
At the age of 14 and leaping bravely into the unknown, she dropped out of school, bid farewell to her family in Bulgaria and moved to Japan to pursue her career.
