Unlike most white-collar professionals, Ruslan Shagiakhmetov’s career didn’t start in business school — it started on the turf.
After his dreams of a professional soccer career were cut short when he suffered a debilitating knee injury, Ruslan was faced with a choice: stay stagnant or grow out of his comfort zone. Taking a chance on the latter, he launched a wedding-planning business when he was just 19. He didn’t know how to grow the business, but he did know that each mistake was a learning opportunity.
It was an attitude that took him further than he ever envisioned.
His story is one of persistence when facing the unknown, a perseverance that’s propelled him from a stretcher on the side of the soccer field to director of regional operations at Larixon Classifieds.
A Cross-Country Journey of Discovery
After selling his wedding-planning agency, Ruslan hit the open road, capturing panoramic views across Russia for a project similar to Google Street View.
The work was both solitary and repetitive, but it was nonetheless profoundly impactful on Ruslan.
What he came to particularly enjoy was the people he met along the way. “It was a great opportunity to explore the country, meet people from different regions, and better understand the diversity of local cultures,” Ruslan says.
This perspective proved pivotal to the development of his interpersonal skills and would prepare him for a successful career in leadership.
Selling, Scaling, and the Business of Belief
Soon after his graduation, Ruslan accepted a position at a career classifieds site as head of sales.
In part thanks to his efforts, the company’s revenue doubled over just a few years, with Ruslan rising to the position of chief sales officer — responsible for managing teams across Russia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Furthermore, he came to appreciate that revenue wasn’t just a number; it was a reflection of team collaboration and a best-in-class understanding of competitive markets.
When the network was acquired in 2018, Ruslan used his experience and newfound perspective to found a company of his own.
The Startup That Taught Him How to Lead
In 2018, armed with a wealth of experience in both sales and leadership, Ruslan launched Luckru, a CRM consulting and automation firm.
While the industry was already saturated with plenty of competitors, Luckru stood out with a contract model that was practically unheard of among Ruslan’s peers: clients would only pay after approving each project phase, and they had the right to cancel at any time.
It was a decision that almost broke the company’s cash flow, but Ruslan was firmly set on building a strong reputation rather than just delivering a product.
“This was a radical move in our market,” he says. “It helped us build strong trust, and over the next three years, we grew into one of the Top-15 CRM integrators in Russia, increasing our revenue more than 10x.” Over five years, the firm grew to 40 employees and delivered over 300 projects, including major enterprise implementations across the UK, UAE, Israel, Russia, Australia, and the EU. Starting in 2020, Luckru consistently received awards from Bitrix24 — the top CRM system in Russia — as one of its top implementation partners.
Five Countries, One Operating Philosophy
While growing Luckru, in 2019, Ruslan was brought on as director of regional operations at Larixon Classifieds — a company that operates a portfolio of online classifieds platforms (like Craigslist or Zillow) across Cyprus, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.
There, Ruslan oversees the performance of local branches, manages a team of five country managers, and leads operations for a total of approximately 150 employees — including sales, customer support, moderation, and content teams. He’s also responsible for budget planning, P&L ownership, and strategic execution across regions, reporting directly to the CEO and regularly presenting updates to the board of directors.
It’s a role that comes with more than its fair share of challenges. In Mongolia, for example, he guided the turnaround of a newly acquired business without being able to understand the language. While partnering closely with a Mongolian translator, he analyzed internal data, conducted team meetings, and held one-on-one sessions to build a trustworthy team. The business in question, Unegui.mn, is now a market leader that’s seen its revenue increase seven times over since acquisition.
Thanks to Ruslan’s success in challenges like these, Larixon has seen an average compound annual growth rate of 37.43%, and all platforms under his leadership have become market leaders in their respective countries.
Ruslan Shagiakhmetov: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities
Even as he chases excellence in his career, Ruslan is determined to pass his knowledge along and contribute to the growth of young professionals. In 2021, he accepted an opportunity to serve as an external expert at the Internet Initiatives Development Fund in Russia, where he mentored startups on how to get their first sales engines up and running. In 2023, he was brought on as a startup mentor at Central Asia’s Prosperity Accelerator, where he helped founders prepare for investment pitches.
But Ruslan isn’t done learning himself. In 2024, he was accepted into Boston University’s MBA program, aiming to further develop his knowledge and skills.
Without shortcuts, templates, or guarantees, Ruslan Shagiakhmetov took the obstacles he was handed and turned them into opportunities for learning and improvement. His drive to rebuild and relentlessly tackle any challenge is proof that sometimes, the life you plan isn’t what you’re destined for but rather the one you make for yourself.