From sharing a bed with her parents until she turned 19 and earning a meager 80p per hour as a waitress, Katya Varbanova's journey to success is nothing short of remarkable. At 32, she now commands an impressive £2.4k per hour for her consulting services. Her viral marketing company has generated over £1.5 million in revenue in just the past three years.

Katya says despite sharing one small room to sleep in, her lifestyle in post-communist Bulgaria set her up for success as a "scrappy" entrepreneur in the UK.

Katya, who has 250k+ followers across all her social media @theofficialkatya said: "My parents made sacrifices to support me. It goes to show the importance of believing in your kids”.


"We lived in a tiny apartment, so they could invest in my education, my piano lessons, or tennis practice. They dreamed of big things for me and I am blessed that they told me from a young age that I could be anything - because it helped me believe in myself too."

Katya Varbanova, now the CEO of the multi-faceted online business Viral Marketing Stars, oversees a customer base of over 20,000 worldwide and boasts over 250,000 followers across her social media platforms.

Leaving behind her humble beginnings in the small town of Montana, Bulgaria, Katya ventured to Liverpool at 19 to pursue studies in law and business. Following her graduation, she traversed cities like Liverpool, London, and Leeds, eventually establishing her business in the UK.

PHOTO | COURTESY  Katya Varbanova

Presently, Katya resides in Malta with her fiancé, Jamie Nudelman, at the age of 32. She attributes her ability to travel freely and take time off as needed to the success and flexibility of her business.

She added: "When I moved to the UK I had zero connections and barely any money. I didn't know one person, it was a huge leap of faith but as a Bulgarian, I learned from a young age to get scrappy because you have to do your best with the cards you’re dealt with. And unfortunately, coming from wealth wasn’t on my card deck”.

"Me and my mum got the cheapest flight to London and got trains to Liverpool with two suitcases.

"I took out a student loan, lived in shared accommodation, my parents helped as much as they could and I got a few part-time jobs to make extra income (all of them at £10 per hour or under)."

Source: The Sun