Entrepreneur Dmitry Potapenko gained fame in 2015, after his speeches at the Moscow Economic Forum. Then, not embarrassed in terms, Potapenko criticized the government for introducing a food embargo, inadequately inflated lending rates and the Platon system. He compared the relationship between the government and entrepreneurs to a “dialogue between a butcher and a cow”, which “gently looks into the eyes and holding a knife under the throat asks the question: “What do we have today - beef or milk?”

Potapenko later apparently decided to convert his fame into political capital and joined Boris Titov's Party of Growth. The businessman explained his departure to politics with the desire to "improve his work to help entrepreneurs" and coordinate the aspirations of "economically active citizens in the regions."

Forbes spoke with a truth-seeking entrepreneur about the relationship between government and business, lost freedom, Moscow rallies and the future of the Russian economy. And then in six points he systematized Potapenko's ideas about current situation in the country.

On the Dialogue between Government and Entrepreneurs

There is no dialogue as such. It is not needed, first of all, by the authorities. It is necessary to clearly separate "business" and entrepreneurship. Don't overestimate yourself.

There is a dialogue between a large commodity business that takes place in a non-public space. It is built on tribal relations, clan ties, where everything is determined by one simple but significant requirement - can you call the first person directly.

I am not a business. I'm a businessman. And the government does not conduct any dialogue with me. She should not - they interact with me with the help of a "taser", countless decrees and decrees, simply dictating the royal will. And if you look at the top 500 Russian companies, then they are all connected with the clans around our president. And there is no dialogue, this is a family conversation over tea.

We, the remaining 145 million citizens, have nothing to do with them.

How the economy should be

As for economics, in my understanding, the correct model is something in the spirit of the Austrian school of economic thought as a philosophical fundamental principle, and in practical implementation- a cross between the German and South Korean economies.

But you need to understand that in order to implement such a model, you will have to make certain sacrifices in 2018-2019. I have no doubts about who will be the next president. But he will have to make a sacred "sacrifice" of some politicians who cause a certain irritation in people. And at the moment when Dmitry Anatolyevich is being filmed, I will be the first to stand up for him. Because it is not Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev who determines the current policy of Russia.

In general, I would close 90% of ministries and departments. And the task of the state would be to create conditions for economically active citizens, because this is the salt of the economy. I would like 85% to work for themselves. A citizen should be able to earn for himself and his family.

All other functions belong to the system of redistribution, control and suppression. Of course, the functions - punitive, should remain with the state, because any particular will be emotional.

On tribal relations and palace coups

The tension created between the clans will be the key moment that will resolve the current situation. Russia is a country of palace coups.

The system is being torn apart from the inside, because there are not enough resources for everyone. The more the participants get drunk and satiated, the faster they will burst. Everything is like in the animal world. Therefore, the suppression of protest actions is a senseless expenditure of state resources. They do not pose a danger to a system that is dangerous to itself. The more they tighten the screws, the deeper they dig a hole for themselves. Civil society, meanwhile, due to mismanagement of internal and foreign policy- only crystallizes.

People begin to feel like citizens who have no place in this tribal structure. Therefore, the authorities should be thanked for this brutal suppression of rallies. They crystallize the society, shaping the understanding among its members that today the protesters are being persecuted, and tomorrow they too will be targeted.

The same schoolchildren watching videos on the Internet came to the rally (organized by Alexei Navalny on March 26, 2017 - Forbes) not for the sake of money, but because of the understanding that nothing was destined for them in this life - not even a Ford Focus on credit.

About the recipe for success for young people

It all depends on the skill level. There are no magic pills and "blue oceans" (the concept of economists and INSEAD professors Kim Chan and René Mauborgne, who argue that in order to succeed, companies need not fight competitors, but create " blue oceans» uncompetitive markets - Forbes).

I started back in 1987 doing business with my classmate, still without any legal documents, they were engaged in bartering records. As the years go by I see that key factor success is a sincere, lively interest and experience that needs to be stuffed. Before opening my first company, I painted houses, unloaded wagons, was a foreman - and this was also an entrepreneurial experience, and quite a tough one - when fellow students did not justify trust and ran away, it happened to harness for three. The scope doesn't matter. Russia still needs the fiercest competition among entrepreneurs.

In Europe, business is different - calm, rustic and tedious, without splashes. I see this in the children of my partners. Children find themselves in an environment where there is no external pressure, realizing that they will earn their €1,500 and you can live on them - not rich, but not bad.

Europe in its own way is such a village, where for many years and decades nothing can change. I see this in my business there as well - a chain of 12 stores in the Czech Republic and a plant in Belgium, where no one expects big fluctuations.

About the lost freedom of the 90s

After perestroika, the government was weak, and crime was weak. However, crime was stronger than power. And now the power has strengthened, and itself has become criminal. Although it is legitimate, but its methods come from the 90s.

In the 1990s, real freedom appeared. But at that time, let down by the fact that society did not have the skill to handle this freedom as a professional tool. And this inability turned into the most significant problem of our civil society - we lost our freedom. We have been losing the right to make a decision for 20 years. Now there are no mechanisms for influencing the authorities, civil society must again learn to defend its freedom and exert an effective influence on the authorities.

What, for example, truckers are doing now (protests against the Platon system - Forbes) is just regaining the right to be heard.

Even those who vote for stability understand that the government will change. Those who say, “if not Ivanov or Petrov, then who”, must realize that power is not a sacred matter in the hands of one person, but just a tool. And the president, prime minister and any public office is just a function to be performed.

But we all the time begin to paint them in some color - Vasya is good, and Petya is bad. Change Petya to Vasya and everything will change. The problem is that the whole control system is categorically wrong.

On the criminal prosecution of entrepreneurs and the article on extremism

The dynamics in the number of criminal cases against businesses is not particularly improving, and this despite the President's instructions. We have almost 200 thousand criminal cases. And only 15% of them are based on real facts, the rest are started as a way of taking property.

There are almost 2,000 criminal cases per region. Governors, mayors, heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Investigative Committee and the prosecutor's office are in no hurry to line up to review cases and return illegally squeezed. I don’t see the return of this property complex, everything is quiet and blessed.

And until these businesses and property are returned to entrepreneurs, it is pointless to discuss economic policy. After the return, there should be a second approach, when those who claimed that this is a criminal prosecution will go for a landing. Those who selected - the Ministry of Internal Affairs, tax authorities and further down the list. The President gave the order. The guarantor of the constitution, a person who can punish, favor and pardon. In the meantime, in fact, the heads of investigative committees, mayors, governors and heads of tax and fire inspectorates simply "put the bolt" on this order.

Schemes of criminal prosecution remained quite primitive - either additional taxes, or 159 - I (fraud). And now it is still becoming widespread attraction for extremism. My colleagues sold one carload of wallpaper to Turkey, and a day later they testified at the Prosecutor General's Office and the FSB - they were charged with extremism. And the wallpaper trade is a front. The very fact that such cases appear is shocking. This is partly the effect of a “low base”, but such cases should not be at all in relation to legal entities and commercial structures.

Dmitry Valerievich Potapenko — successful businessman, publicist, expert, his videos on YouTube are of great interest to the audience. Dmitry Potapenko is a senior partner of Management Development Group Inc, represented in such countries as the Russian Federation, Bulgaria, China, the Czech Republic and Belgium by many retail chains, manufacturing enterprises and restaurants, including Gastronomchik, ProdECO, Mark, HozMag, Planet Parade, Uno Pizza, ArtPrague. According to experts, annual turnover Potapenko's business exceeds $300 million.

Dmitry Potapenko is an adherent of domestic retail, a critic of the authorities for their attitude towards Russian business, became widely known after a vivid video at the Moscow Economic Forum in December 2015, Potapenko's quotes hit the news and scattered across social networks. Dmitry Potapenko ran from the "Party of Growth" to the State Duma in 2016, but did not pass.

Childhood, education

Dmitry Potapenko was born on March 30, 1970 in Moscow. In Potapenko's biography on the Know Everything website, it is reported that Dmitry's parents worked in the GRU: according to him, he became the son of two colonels of the Main Intelligence Directorate.

IN primary school Dmitry studied well at school. But in the future, he ceased to show interest in learning. Potapenko also actively participated in the social life of the school. He was an active Komsomol organizer, attended all sorts of circles, was engaged in karate.

After graduating from school, Dmitry Potapenko entered the Moscow Institute of Radio Engineering, Electronics and Automation.

From his student years, Dmitry began to live independently. He managed to test himself in various kinds of activity - in his career there was work as an orderly in a mortuary and a psychiatric hospital, and as a personal bodyguard of an oligarch Vitaly Malkin, he was even a security guard in the closed gaming club of a famous businessman Otara Kvantrishvili(killed in the 90s of the criminal authority). Dmitry Potapenko wrote about these stages of his career in his biography "An Honest Book on How to Do Business in Russia."

Business career

Potapenko took up commerce at a young age, when he resold chewing gum to his schoolmates.

“In the third grade, I was already fartseval chewing gum next to the Mozhaisky hotel. In the fifth grade, our five-meter kitchen was pasted over with inserts from chewing gum with Donalds - then it was a rarity, ”Potapenko himself recalled in his biography, noting that he did not dream of being a businessman, but was one.

Further, his commercial experience made itself felt in his student years, when Dmitry Potapenko sold at Gorbushka (a market in Filevsky Park near the DK im. Gorbunova) various audio, video and computer equipment.

Dmitry Potapenko early discovered the grip of an entrepreneur and already in 1989 established CJSC Black Bars, which was engaged in unloading and loading, sealing interpanel seams and industrial mountaineering. It was during this period that Potapenko combined his studies at the institute with many other jobs, as an assistant pathologist, bodyguard and security guard.

In 1992, in partnership with Natashkyang Korotia Systems, which imports electronics to Russia, he created the Tusar chain of electronics stores.

After graduating from the institute in 1993, Dmitry worked for Grundig for five years in 1995. In this firm, an energetic young man made good progress in his career: starting from the position of a leading manager, Potapenko became deputy president.

Further, in the biography of Dmitry Potapenko, many different very prestigious positions appear. He was the general director of a wood-based materials plant in the Podrezkovo microdistrict, established the production and export of competitive chipboard, served as deputy head for investment cooperation at Creditimpex Bank, was deputy head of the Logos companies, in addition, Potapenko became the head of the company in 2001 " Wholesale centers.

In 2003, Dmitry Valeryevich headed the St. Petersburg and Moscow offices of the Pyaterochka retail chain.

In 2005, businessman Potapenko took one of the main positions in the Management Development Group. He developed networks retail, planning, organizing and stimulating work with an assessment of the result obtained and the definition of current trends.

“The main part of our business is food stores and inexpensive canteens that are at the forefront of demand: ProdECO, Gastronomchik, Orange, Merchants, Housekeeper, Restaurantchik Real Fish, Restaurantchik, Real Meat”, “Pizza Uno”, “Canteen No. 1”, canteens at enterprises and business centers. We earn not on a margin, but on the number of clients served, ”Dmitry Potapenko wrote in his biography about this stage of his business career.

Political activity

Dmitry Potapenko announced in February 2016 that he was going to join the leadership of the Just Cause party, which should be headed by a business ombudsman Boris Titov. The reason for entering politics, according to Potapenko's biography on Wikipedia, was the desire to "improve his work in helping entrepreneurs." In the 2016 State Duma elections, Potapenko ran for the Party of Growth in the 97th Kaliningrad single-mandate constituency (Kaliningrad region), but was not elected.

Dmitry Valeryevich was also included in the federal part of the federal list of the Party of Growth, which, following the results of the elections, did not overcome the five percent barrier to enter the State Duma.

Dmitry Potapenko is an expert at the Moscow Economic Forum. In 2015, Potapenko's speech at the Moscow Economic Forum aroused great interest, the video gained almost 300 thousand views on YouTube in a day.

In that video, Potapenko named four blows to the Russian economy: an embargo imposed to redistribute the market under “specific companies that stuck to government officials”, exorbitant lending rates, the destruction of products, and the Platon system, which the businessman calls a tax Rotenberg. “Now the dialogue between government and business is a dialogue between a butcher and a cow. An affectionate look, a knife under the throat and the question: “What do we have today, milk or beef?”, ”said the businessman.

Expert career, videos, quotes

In his career there is a place for journalism, work as an expert on radio and TV. Potapenko wrote articles for "Elephant", "The Secret of the Firm", hosted the author's programs "Hour of an Entrepreneur" and "Cash Transfer" on City FM, "Potapenko's Course" on Ekho Moskvy, "Business and a little personal" on Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda. As an expert, Dmitry Potapenko is a frequent guest in economic news, many media outlets turn to him for comments.

Dmitry Potapenko constantly uploads videos on YouTube, and they are gaining tens and hundreds of thousands of views. In his videos, Potapenko discusses the problems of business and the Russian economy, he is known for harsh statements against the government.

For example, he argued: “There is no justice and never will be. The industry will not develop. Tomorrow will be even worse. The authorities will be the same. We can say that a permanent stabilizer has come - the stability of sliding.

“It's time to legalize the already existing two Russias. One is pro-government, the second is all the rest. And in order to coincide de jure and de facto, a wall must be erected on the border of Moscow so that the "smerds" do not enter the capital and do not spoil the view of the walking "boyars". In the Forbes ranking of the top 500 companies, private enterprises are no longer there. Either state or quasi-state. Approximately 4-5 million people are associated with them, especially close to the emperor. It turns out, 5 million people against 140 million,” Potapenko said in an interview with SP.

“It is often claimed that Russia has low taxes, which makes me mad. They say on TV that taxes are only 13%. But in fact - 43% minimum, because every salary is paid insurance premiums. Today they make up 30%. 43% of each salary - this is the amount paid by the employer as a tax agent. Also, entrepreneurs are charged additional penalties for actually spent taxes. And this is a mass phenomenon, ”Potapenko noted in an interview with SP in 2017.

Dmitry Potapenko spoke about how the “fateful” programs of the Medvedev government affected the economy, the lives of Russians, that 47% of the population survives thanks to the garden, about the prime minister’s promise to push the “horizon of global competitiveness and national security” by 2024, that the authorities are deceiving the people , referring to external threats that allegedly hinder the development of the country, the causes of the crisis must be sought within, among the elite engaged in plundering Russia.

Criticizing the pension reform, Potapenko said: “I propose to promise voters a million dollar pension. Just add in small print: "on reaching 120 years." And in general, you will never lie, because someone will definitely receive this pension. Speaking seriously about retirement age, then there is a bargain: protest or near-protest? A normal protest - it arose, and everyone went out into the street. And when we say “you know, we thought here, we will probably protest” ...

Dmitry Potapenko is a talented businessman, strategist and real business shark. It is able to survive in any conditions - the current crisis only contributes to its development. Perhaps the point is in his extraordinary approach to problems.

The statements of Dmitry Potapenko are sorted out by quotes - each of them is accurate, concise and correct. Out-of-the-box thinking, interesting appearance (height under ninety meters and weight per centner), wardrobe atypical for a millionaire (hardly distinguishable from a simple citizen). And the manner of doing business is also non-standard - the retail chains he manages remain afloat during the crisis and sanctions. What is the secret of this man?

From security guard to general: resume of Dmitry Potapenko

Dmitry Potapenko's biography is worthy of a separate book. Businessman says:

“I am a native Muscovite in the fourth generation. There are no more…”

It is known about his championship title in karate. On his personal life: Married and two children. He likes to gain knowledge: "I studied a lot and still study." In addition to the diploma of the Moscow Institute of Radio Engineering and Automation, there are specialized economic "crusts" MBA (economics), BABT at the Ministry of Economic Development, MBA (Business & EconomicOption) California State University (HayWard). Such a powerful base allows our hero to build the right business strategies and stick to his own opinion.

In the late eighties and early nineties of the last century, the hero's career was far from economic: a nurse in the morgue, a security guard from a casino, a bodyguard for the president of the Russian Credit Bank. Working at three jobs, in 1989 Dmitry registered his first company "Cherny Bars", which was engaged in industrial mountaineering. In 1992, he opened the Tusar electronics retail chain, a project supported by Natashkyang Korotia Systems.

The track record of Dmitry Potapenko is impressive:

• From 1995 to 2000 - Vice President for Sales and Marketing at GrundicGmbH in the Baltic States;
• From 1998 to 2001 - CEO OAO MEZ DSP, Vice-President of PBK CreditImpexBank (connection with investment development);
• From 2001 to 2003 - Deputy of Logos companies, General Director of LLC Wholesale Centers;
• From 2003 to 2005 worked as a manager for the Pyaterochka sales network (Moscow and the region);
• From 2005 to the present day - the founder and co-partner (managing director) of ManagementDevelopmentGroupInc. ( trade marks"Gastronomchik", "Prodeco", "Mark").

Not all enterprises are the property of the hero. But the businessman made an obligatory personal contribution to the work of each of the entrusted "offices".

Pride in what you've done

“I have always worked and very hard,” Dmitry admits. “And I will work, because life is work ... and every time on a different one.”

For example, at GrundigGmbH he created marketing and positioning strategies for the organization. Looking for ways to reduce tax payments. Organized wholesale and retail trade operations with a turnover of $ 120 million / year. At GrundigGmbH, Potapenko conducted many internal trainings for employees, developed new services and products, and did work related to cooperation with South Korean, Chinese, American and German partners.

In a large European plant for the production of furniture parts and chipboard "MEZ DSP", Dmitry had a lot of work - from restructuring the organization to compiling an anti-crisis management algorithm. Prescribed a business development project with CreditImpexBank. Various areas of activity required optimization - from working with customs and credit relations to adapting the company to fiscal audits. Managed a lot of management affairs - from a team of 2,500 people to structuring a team of directors (according to the Myers Brix typology). Engineering knowledge also came in handy.

In "Logos" and "Wholesale Center" he created a group with seven different directions - each was a channel for wholesale and retail sales of printed materials in Moscow and the Commonwealth. Here, too, we had to start with the process of restructuring. Everything has already been worked out - from products, services, training programs and seminars to procurement control, logistics and implementation. New activities also had to be planned.

In Pyaterochka and Karusel, Dmitry Potapenko's network business included more than 150 objects. I had to interact with the "power-holding" bodies of Moscow and the Moscow District. This affected work with the Leningrad region and the Northern capital. Solved many issues related to the acquisition of plots or ready-made buildings. Dmitry controlled and coordinated many architectural projects in the required instances (all shopping malls created in the same concept). Studied merchandising, planned and supervised the activities of specialists. He took control of investments and financial flows, organized the pricing and marketing policies of the company.

In the same place, he prepared the company's shares for going public as valuable papers, and on the stock exchange - as a new issuer. There were already 10,000 people in submission.

The modern ManagementDevelopmentGroupInc includes at least one and a half dozen retail chains, restaurants and industries. The total turnover of all "wealth" is more than 140,000,000 dollars a year.

Dmitry about the crisis

The indefatigable Potapenko believes that before the crisis, entrepreneurs did not work, but “ruled”. The pace of the economy's decline makes us panic, but not Potapenko.

He believes that there is no crisis in Russia, since there is no ... its own stock market. Western partners are simply curtailing their projects, and we ourselves are to blame for the fact that for 20 years we have been engaged only in administration.

Potapenko declares: everyone started working only with the advent of the crisis. And until that time, everyone worked “just sucks” (quoting a businessman):

“It is now that they have begun to set some goals and reduce the costs associated with business processes. And before that, many had a business in order to show off in front of the women, ”Potapenko states categorically.

subway millionaire

Dmitry himself does not “squeeze out”: he calmly rides the subway (there is ticket), train and any other public transport. Not because he does not have his own cars - there are five of them in the garage (Mitsubishi Pajero, Lexus and KiaRio brands). The question is how exactly it is convenient for him to move around, when there are always 5-6 flights or transfers per week.

He believes: the fetish in the form of a super-expensive car is a real schizophrenia. And the person who thinks it's cool has serious problems with an inferiority complex.

The impact of the crisis on the work of Potapenko's enterprises

The crisis affected the work of organizations headed by Dmitry. It is recognized that the level of demand fell, sales fell by 16%.

Among the measures taken by the businessman to keep afloat are:

• staff reduction (40%);
• reduction in assortment (from 15 to 60%);
• area minimization outlets(from 5 to 40%);
• deprivation of top managers of bonuses (0.5% of the total turnover of networks).

Measures allow you not to go at a loss and increase profits. Rigidity in decisions is familiar to Potapenko: in 1998, in a week, he fired almost 1,500 people from the Skhodnya-Mebel factory.

The emotional component of business is not about Potapenko. Even with regard to own products. In interviews, he often shocks with statements: he does not eat in his own establishments and does not buy groceries in his stores. “So you can stop seeing the main nuances,” the businessman explains the position.

Economist blogger

The originality of thinking is supported by the relevant theoretical knowledge and the huge practical base of Mr. Potapenko. Dmitry has his own website, where he expresses his opinion. In 2016, The Honest Book on How to Do Business in Russia was published. What is said is worth listening to.

For example, being a co-owner of a food chain, Dmitry strongly doubts the need to label products for their usefulness. First of all, it will affect the price. Any such measure contributes to the growth of corruption: every entrepreneur will try in any way to get the coveted green badge for his product.

As for the issue of import substitution that arose after the imposition of sanctions, Potapenko responds as follows:

“We can talk about this only when everything is completely domestically produced - from the potatoes that are planted in the ground to the tractor that will process them (and even the hands with which they will be harvested). And for this to be so, it is necessary to revive our own scientific school and invest in technological development. But this process will take at least 10-15 years.”

Investments, according to Potapenko, are very necessary. Moreover, in those areas where technological processing takes place or intellectual labor is involved. Dmitry emphasizes:

Money has no nationality. And we don’t have the money itself because we are tied to raw materials. This means that we must first attract investments for the extraction of raw materials, then attract money from the sale of the extracted in order to invest them in something useful, for example, the processing of the same hydrocarbons.”

When asked what awaits his particular industry (and the Russian economy) in the near future, he gives an answer: those players who bring their prices closer to the level of economy segment supermarkets will make a profit in terms of products. For food production, a decrease in the weight part and composition of products should be expected. As for catering, the "seer" predicts the heyday of cheap canteens. We should also expect an increase in the use of barter schemes.

Time will tell how right our hero is. While he manages to successfully combine not only leadership large enterprises but also many other parallel responsibilities. And he is only happy: it expands his knowledge and potential, helping him to be head and shoulders ahead of his competitors.

Youtube star

Dmitry has a very popular YouTube channel ( link), currently about 100,000 subscribers (For comparison, Oleg Tinkov's business secrets are 193,000). Quite a lot, given the theme. Check out one of the exciting videos.

Dmitry Potapenko: “I've been advising you not to get involved with Russian banks for a long time. You will be raked"

“Our state wants rich citizens. Because the state is not an abstract being, it is concrete people, people with billions. And your "small change" will help them accumulate another billion.

Dmitry Potapenko: “Banks that imagine themselves to be the police need to be supported”

“I transfer money to my daughter, wife, friends. If the girl who sits in the bank thinks that this is how I finance terrorism ... Let's help crash the banking system, no one forbade cash.

“Ponty power will not save the economy and demographics. Russia will have a hard time throughout the 21st century.”

“We are a very heavily state-owned country. We have stopped developing. Our stability means total control, which destroys the economy. The conclusion is simple: two terms, no more.”

Dmitry Potapenko: “Revenues are falling, taxes are growing, and the authorities don’t even twitch their eyes”

“The new cash desks will only give fines to cultural centers and a set of broken tax links. State on companies with a turnover of up to 60 million rubles. a year you only need to know that they exist.

Dmitry Potapenko: "The ban on weapons will not help, the authorities in Russia will start killing with hammers"

“The authorities are doing everything right, the question is for us: are we ready to sell our dead every second, do stuffing, falsify criminal cases. We are doing this with you, not some other Russia.”

Potapenko: “In Russia, there is a consensus between society and the authorities: they lie to us, we tell them. National Idea»

Dmitry Potapenko: "The authorities are strangling themselves, Putin can no longer make any decisions"

“Thanks to the authorities for what they are doing. Of course, we scream and become marginalized, but in general, this is good for the development of the country. The crisis cannot be avoided, it is good if it does not happen before 2021-2022.”

Dmitry Potapenko: “Why do we need 10 million migrants by 2025? Feed the servants and vote"

“There will be only 3 strata: servicemen, guest workers who feed them, and the titular nation. The latter will die out, because it is their children who will have to feed those who miraculously survived to retirement. This is waiting for those who are now 45.”

Dmitry Potapenko: “Medvedev retired for 20 years? Why are the authorities interested in our income?”

“What kind of Russians and whose income does the government care about? Everything is fine with the income of those Russians. If we talk about us, the orphans and the poor, then the main thing is that we bring income to their pockets.

Dmitry Potapenko: “Do you want a business without costs? Master the technology of 20 years ago"

Dmitry Valeryevich Potapenko became famous thanks to criticism of the authorities and recommendations on doing business. Behind him great experience Since his work in retail, he currently runs a company specializing in the management of online retail objects, writes books, hosts author's programs on the radio, uploads videos on YouTube.

• FULL NAME: Potapenko Dmitry Valerievich.
• Date of Birth: March 30, 1970 (aged 48)
• Education: Moscow Institute of Radio Engineering, Electronics and Automation.
• Business Start Date/Age: 1992 / 22 years old.
• Position: Managing Partner of Management Development Group Inc.
• Social networks: https://www.instagram.com/potapenkodmitry/.

Mr. Potapenko is a figure that draws attention to himself and does it quite consciously. He does not miss the opportunity to criticize the existing government, laws Russian Federation and the entire system of the modern Russian economy, in which the place of private business is, to put it mildly, unenviable. At the same time, Dmitry Valeryevich promises to teach how to create a business in such unprofitable realities. From this we can conclude that, contrary to his loud and often contradictory statements, Dmitry Potapenko's business is, among other things, also business consulting.

Biography facts

According to Dmitry Valeryevich himself, he is a native Muscovite in the fourth generation. Indeed, he was born in an ordinary Moscow family. After school, he entered the Moscow Institute of Radio Engineering, Electronics and Automation, where, after graduating in 1993, he received a diploma in process engineering.

In his student years, he launched a stormy trading activity- sold musical and other equipment at the famous Moscow Gorbushka. This was his first entrepreneurial experience. In some sources, there is a mention of the first business organized by him in 1992, that is, while still a student. And it was, apparently, a large-scale project - commercial network Tusar stores specializing in the sale of electronic equipment. However, there is no mention of this activity on the official website of Dmitry Potapenko.

entrepreneurial path

In general, it is a very difficult task to know for sure the entire entrepreneurial path of this figure. Reliable information in open sources is negligible. Dmitry Valeryevich himself, in interviews from different periods, refers to his rich experience in business, but without specifics.

In a structured way, Potapenko's entrepreneurial path can be described as follows:

The entrepreneur is actively developing in the retail industry, initially specializing in technology, and then moving into grocery chains.

From 1995 to 2000, Potapenko makes a career in a well-known German manufacturing company household appliances Grundig, in 5 years has grown from senior manager to vice president of marketing in the Baltics.

Then Dmitry had a short banking episode in the early 2000s, when he tried himself as vice president for investment development at CreditImpexBank.

And in 2003, the businessman returned to retail again, but already in grocery, becoming the head sales network"Pyaterochka" in the Moscow region. There he worked for 2 years, gaining considerable experience.

Finally, in 2005, Potapenko became the managing partner of the European company Management Development Group Inc., whose activities, however, seem to be very vague. The official website refers to the main brands of this group of companies, but no links, or at least brief information on the nature of their activities does not contain. According to the entrepreneur himself, understanding the theory and practice of sales, he deals exclusively with network projects with a specialization that is familiar to him.

These are grocery chains in the format of an inexpensive convenience store, eateries and cafes designed for an undemanding client, the production of semi-finished products, as well as building materials.

Political career

The wide popularity of Dmitry Potapenko as an ardent critic of the authorities, who is not afraid of loud accusatory statements, began with the Moscow Economic Forum in 2015. Then he entered into an open confrontation with State Duma deputy Vladimir Gutenev and criticized a number of economic decisions by the country's government.

Many bloggers still like to quote his statement, which has become winged:

“The dialogue between business and government has been going on for the past 20 years like a dialogue between a butcher and a cow, affectionately looking into his eyes and holding a knife under his throat with the question: what do we have today - beef or milk?”

After that, the businessman continued to shock the public and journalists with statements in his direct and unsophisticated manner. They are already afraid to invite him to serious and large-scale forums, but in the regions they are delighted with this speaker. Representatives of small businesses willingly purchase tickets for his master classes, where he teaches how to establish retail networks, create customer bases, how to build working systems in business, and much more.

Seeing the wide resonance of his statements in the public environment, Dmitry Potapenko decided to go into politics.

In his own words, this step became a challenge for him and an opportunity to figure out whether it is possible to change anything in the country's political system at all.

“It would be foolish to talk about the worthlessness of the authorities without trying to change anything yourself. My life experience is practice and result, I don’t know how to work otherwise.”

The newly minted politician spoke about the confidence that he would get into the Duma, because he had everything for this: a store of knowledge, skills and people's support. His goal was to get into the system and change its principles of operation.

In 2016, the businessman ran for State Duma from the Kaliningrad constituency as a member of the Party of Growth. The results of these elections did not allow Potapenko to change the political system, since he did not overcome the percentage to pass the barrier.

Journalistic activity

But the journalistic and consulting activities of Dmitry Valerievich after the historic December forum went uphill. Many journalists seized the opportunity to irritate the authorities and began vying to call Potapenko for interviews, which he gives willingly and rarely hesitates in expressions.

This practice even resulted in the author's program on the Ekho Moskvy radio. It is called "Potapenko's Course". In the Internet media, the businessman is also well accustomed and is happy to comment on the news. business environment in the own column of Slon Magazine of the media holding, also known on the Dozhd TV channel.

All this activity inspired Potapenko to write books that are largely based on his speeches and master classes for aspiring entrepreneurs. In 2016, The Honest Book on How to Do Business in Russia was released. A year later, Dmitry Potapenko presented a new creation to the readers - "Business is verbs and nouns that end in numbers."

One of the videos of the program "As a matter of fact", in which Dmitry participates