Efim Kolodkin stands out as a role model for aspiring entrepreneurs — someone who, from the very start of his career, wore many hats in the digital industry. He boldly launched new ventures, actively contributed to community development, and balanced it all with a full-time leadership role. One of his startups not only secured investment but also helped him earn the prestigious Global Talent Visa.
In this interview, Efim shares his journey — from founding Russia’s largest event-space marketplace to navigating UK immigration and exploring the unique advantages of British public education.
Right after finishing university, I launched my first startup — Bash Today, which ended up becoming the biggest marketplace for event venues in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The startup went through 500 Startups and was part of Sber’s first accelerator batch back in 2019. We raised funding from Sber and a few angel investors, including the former CTO of Avito. The traction we built even helped me get approved for a Global Talent Visa. In 2022, I sold my majority stake in the company together with my investor-partner.
Alongside building Bash Today, I co-founded the entrepreneurial club Business Update and invested in projects like VisaBot, a startup in the 500 Startups accelerator (Batch 22, 2017, USA). I've participated in IIDF accelerator programs with Bash Today and my digital agency, Uprising Agency. At Uprising, we design AI-powered solutions and help early-stage startups scale in the US and Europe. I also launched an AI-powered micro SaaS studio, iterating quickly to find the best advertising strategies in true lean startup fashion.
Since 2023, alongside my own projects, I’ve also taken on a full-time role. I recently worked on a travel tech project, helping launch a digital product and scale it from 0 to 1. It’s a platform that helps businesses easily book business trips for employees, manage travel analytics, and integrate everything with accounting systems. We’ve also developed an AI-powered assistant for companies and their employees, which makes organizing trips, budgeting, and reporting much simpler. I work remotely and currently live in London with my family.
What really drew me to the UK is that it’s the biggest venture capital market in Europe — there’s more investment here than anywhere else. London, in terms of VC deals, is on par with New York. At the same time, I wasn’t looking to move to the US for a few reasons, especially since I’m working in Europe right now and planning to grow my business here.
Another big plus is the education system — the UK has great free public schools that teach in English, which isn’t always the case in other European countries. And in London, you don’t really need a car, so even though the city is expensive, you save a lot on transport and school costs.
When I decided to relocate, this visa seemed like the most straightforward option compared to others. It also stood out because it gives the spouse the right to work, which isn’t the case with many other startup visas in Europe. Another big plus is that you don’t need to set up a company just for the application — I wasn’t planning to do that at the time. The process is relatively simple, and the visa offers a fast path to permanent residency and eventually citizenship.
I’d known about Immigram for quite a while and liked the way they worked and positioned themselves. I chose them mainly because of their attractive pricing — plus, they offered me a discount for two people. My business partner was also planning to apply for the same visa, so it made sense to go through the process together.
There weren’t any major difficulties during the preparation. The hardest part was probably collecting all the links, interviews, videos, and other materials. Filling out the form and writing about myself took some time, especially since I didn’t have everything ready. Also, asking people to write and sign recommendation letters was a bit of a task — both drafting and getting them signed.
I’d recommend preparing your case well in advance. Be ahead of changes in immigration rules, which could reduce the flexibility of the visa in the future. Therefore, it may be better to apply now rather than wait any longer. Start thinking about your personal brand — interviews, articles, public speaking. I didn’t create content specifically for the visa. I did it to raise awareness around my startup and attract investment, but in the end, all of that helped me build a strong case for the application.
I am constantly learning. In 3 months, I will become a certified AI business integration specialist from the US company Ingrain AI. Based on this knowledge and my experience in implementing AI processes and building AI-powered agents, I am creating an AI-powered micro-SaaS studio Uprising AI. Our goal is to identify the top 5 ideas to build and scale. We are also always on the lookout for founders who have already identified their idea and need help with sales, marketing, and development. This is the best way to describe what I’m currently working on here in the UK.
For now, I’m planning to live in and enjoy London — it’s an incredible city, vibrant and constantly growing. It is never boring. It’s full of interesting people, things to do, a rich cultural scene, and deep history. The climate might not be the warmest, but it’s quite comfortable — no extreme cold, no unbearable heat, and there are plenty of parks and green spaces.
At the moment, I’m not making any long-term plans specifically tied to the UK — I’ll see how life unfolds. In any case, this visa can currently be renewed an unlimited number of times, which gives me flexibility going forward.
