From Small-Town Bulgaria to Global Opportunity with ASSIST
For Iliyan “Ilko” Hristov, growing up in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, the world beyond his small town felt distant—almost unreachable. For students like him, who weren’t born in capital cities, opportunity often seemed like something that happened to other people—something glimpsed on TV, an elusive version of the American Dream. But then came ASSIST, and everything changed.
Applying online, Ilko’s background didn’t matter—only his talent, passion, and critical thinking skills. Those qualities earned him a place in ASSIST’s Class of 2019, sending him to Stuart Hall School in Staunton, Virginia. There, a world of possibilities opened before him, reshaping his future. “ASSIST was life-changing,” he says. “It gave me the chance to see the world in a way I never could have from my hometown. When you grow up in a city of 70,000 people, certain things feel out of reach—like they can never happen to you. But they can. If it happened to me, it can happen to anybody.”
At Stuart Hall, Ilko found himself in an environment that pushed him beyond his comfort zone, giving him the independence to shape his own path. “ASSIST gives you the opportunity to live on your own terms, to make your own choices,” he explains. “When you’re away from home, you have to become independent—and the earlier you do that, the better.”
That independence shaped not just his education, but his career. After completing his year with ASSIST, he returned to Bulgaria and graduated from American University in Bulgaria with a Bachelor in Business Administration. Soon, he discovered a new passion: marketing. His journey into the field began almost by accident—when his family’s business needed help, he stepped in as chief marketing officer, simply because someone had to. But with the skills, resourcefulness, and curiosity he had cultivated thanks to ASSIST, Ilko embraced the challenge, teaching himself everything he could about marketing and content creation. That hands-on experience led him to discover retention marketing—helping businesses maximize customer lifetime value by building long-term relationships with customers.
Today, Ilko runs his own marketing company, GrowMyMail, specializing in retention strategies for online businesses. His expertise spans email campaigns, SMS marketing, loyalty programs, AI-driven customer engagement, and predictive algorithms that optimize user experience. “Retention sales are the backbone of a company’s profitability,” he explains. “It’s five times cheaper to market to an existing customer than to acquire a new one. That’s how businesses scale from five figures a month to six, seven, or even eight.”
Beyond e-commerce, Ilko sees immense potential in applying his expertise to the healthcare industry, a sector that often overlooks the power of strategic marketing. His goal? To help medical professionals and businesses in Bulgaria and beyond harness these tools for sustainable growth.
Reflecting on his journey, Ilko credits ASSIST with opening doors he never even knew existed. “Before ASSIST, I didn’t have connections. I didn’t have a roadmap. I got in because of my talents, and that was enough. That’s what makes this program special—it finds students with potential and gives them the chance to see themselves in a new way. To dream bigger. To make things happen.”
From a small town in Bulgaria to running his own business and shaping the future of retention marketing, Ilko’s story is a testament to the power of opportunity. Thanks to ASSIST, he didn’t just glimpse a bigger world—he stepped into it and made it his own. Ilko remains active in ASSIST’s alumni network, helping at new scholar orientation in Switzerland in the summer of 2024 and getting together with ASSIST USA staff and alumni in Sofia, Bulgaria in January of 2025. ASSIST’s community and staff expect to continue a life-long relationship with Ilko!