The moment things shifted
In 10th grade, Dameli Bozzhanova had a clear direction. She intended to study law in Kazakhstan. It was a sensible path, one that many ambitious students pursue. But somewhere between secondary school and university, that certainty dissolved. The pull toward law faded, replaced by something else entirely: an interest in business and technology.
This reorientation was significant enough to reshape her entire educational trajectory. Rather than remaining in Kazakhstan to pursue her original plan, she made the decision to study in the United Kingdom. She enrolled at Cardiff Sixth Form College, then went on to the London School of Economics. The shift from law to business and technology was not a minor adjustment—it represented a fundamental change in how she saw her future.
What they tried
Dameli's education in the UK gave her exposure to both the academic side of business and the practical realities of the technology sector. The London School of Economics provided rigorous training in how markets, companies, and economies function. But education alone was not her destination. After completing her studies, she took a step that many graduates consider but fewer actually take: she joined an early-stage startup.
The company was Kolleno, a London-based software business. When Dameli joined, the company was at a particularly vulnerable stage. It had four people on its team and no revenue. There were no established products generating income, no proven business model, no track record of success. For many, joining a company in that position would seem risky—a leap into uncertainty with no guarantee of return. Yet this was where Dameli chose to apply what she had learned.
What worked, what didn't
The early years at Kolleno were formative. Dameli worked alongside a small team building something from an extremely limited foundation. There were no shortcuts or established playbooks to follow. Every decision mattered because resources were constrained and the margin for error was thin.
Over the course of five years, something shifted. Kolleno transformed from a four-person operation with no revenue into a cash flow-positive software company. The business had moved beyond survival mode into sustainability. It was generating enough income to cover its costs and continue operating independently. This was not a dramatic exit or a headline-grabbing acquisition—it was something more fundamental: a company that had proven it could sustain itself through the value it provided to its customers.
The path to that point was neither straightforward nor guaranteed. Building a software company requires solving technical problems, understanding customer needs, managing limited resources, and making countless decisions with incomplete information. Dameli's role in that transformation remains part of the company's history, but the specific challenges overcome and lessons learned along the way belong to that particular context and time.
What they'd tell someone else
Reflecting on her trajectory, Dameli has spoken about what drew her to this path. "I've always admired entrepreneurship, the idea that you can build something from almost nothing," she said in an interview with The Times Of Central Asia in 2026. This statement captures something essential about her approach: not a romantic notion of startup life, but a practical appreciation for the act of creation itself.
Her experience suggests that the path forward is not always visible from the beginning. She entered 10th grade with one vision and left university with another. She chose to work at a company with no revenue rather than pursue more secure options. These decisions were not made because she could predict the outcome—she could not. They were made because each choice aligned with her evolving interests and what she wanted to learn and build.
For others considering a similar shift, whether from one field to another or from stability to uncertainty, Dameli's experience offers a quiet example: that changing direction is possible, that education in unfamiliar places can open doors, and that joining something small and unproven can lead somewhere substantial. The specifics will be different for each person. But the willingness to follow developing interests rather than lock into an early decision appears to have served her well.
- In 10th grade, Dameli was set on studying law in Kazakhstan.
- She studied at Cardiff Sixth Form College and then the London School of Economics.
- Joined Kolleno, a London-based startup, when it had four people and no revenue.
- Five years later, Kolleno became a cash flow-positive software company.
