There are a lot of myths about the Kasperskies’ success, and more of them still appear. Not so long ago at chat forums the discussed a story about how the Kasperskies sold the company and immigrated to America. What’s most amusing about this story is that the main character was not the computer genius himself, but his wife. According to some people, she is the only “tsunami” which can make the antivirus creator stand up from his couch. There is no any doubt that without her participation neither Kaspersky himself, nor his company would become a success.

And here is the opinion of Sergey Antimonov, the chairman of the board of “DialogNauka” close corporation (the company which not so long ago was the leading supplier of Dr.Web antivirus and the main Kaspersky competitor in Russia): “I know two women who are ideal for our industry – they are Olga Dergunova and Natalia Kasperskaya. Both of them are beautiful, intelligent, dedicated and loved! Thanks to them, the Russian branch of Microsoft and “Kaspersky Lab” achieved great results.

That’s what people say. But let us know what Natalia Kaspersky thinks herself.

This is the story told by Natalia Kaspersky, the Genral Director of “Kaspersky Lab” company:

Dreams of childhood

I was born in Moscow, my father had a PhD in mathematics and physics, and mother was a design engineer. Both of them worked in classified institutions, as most engineers did in the soviet epoch. 
I studied in a common soviet school and was an ordinary student, although an active one: I took part in public work and was even a member of the local pioneers’ staff. Being a member of the pioneers’ staff was, by the way, one of the most exciting experiences of my childhood: we were always doing something – making performances, travelling round the country.

Besides, I was keen on sport and played basketball for quite a long time. In my opinion sport is a great thing, it helps to develop self discipline, teaches to plan your time and to achieve the aims. At present I don’t have time for regular exercises, that’s why I try to spend holydays actively.

When I was a child, I wanted to become a vet or a biologist. I liked animals. I really wanted to choose this profession, but in the senior school I had problems with chemistry. As my parents are technically oriented, I didn’t have much of a choice. At first I studied for two years at a mathematical school, and then entered the department of applied mathematics of the Moscow Institute of Electronic Engineering.  Later it proved that mathematics is not my cup of tea. I am better in humanities.

Life with Kaspersky

I met Eugene (Kaspersky) in the January of 1987, in the KGB holiday centre called “Severskoye”. Some guys were making court to me and my friends. One night we were playing cards when there was a knock on the door. We opened, and there were seven guys with candles in heir hands. It was very romantic.
After that we were in the same company, we celebrated holidays together and went camping. Once, four of us went canoeing. It was the beginning of April, it was sleeting and our canoe kept on crashing into ice. I had no idea why I went there. But this trip proved to be really important for me. Kaspersky had already liked me, and this was the beginning of our close friendship.

Our love affair had poor consequences for Eugene’s studies. He got the only “Good” mark in “Excellent” diploma for scientific communism. We were “preparing” for the exams on a beach. We took our books, a pack of cards and a badminton set. It’s not hard to guess that we never had time for the books. And because of this only “Good” mark they wanted to send the promising student to Chita. I even decided to leave the institute and go with him, as a wife of a Decembrist.

But I didn’t have to: Eugene’s mother, Svetlana Ivanovna, stood up for her son. It took her a few months to explain to the command that the only son of a single woman can’t go to the back of beyond. However, the nervous atmosphere was not a problem for our relations. In the end, Eugene was allowed to stay in Moscow.

Eugene’s mother is a brave woman. She never lets her feelings show. Once I came to their place and decided to cook a dinner. I had no idea that before you boil a chicken, you need to was it and discard the giblets. But Eugene’s mother ate the muddy broth and the tough meat without batting an eyelid.

I was born when my parents were rather old – my father was 46, and they loved me dearly. I was a pampered child, all the housework was done by my mother. The main trait of my character is idleness.
By now I have definitely become more disciplined. But when I was a student (I studied in the Institute of Electronic Engineering) I didn’t take pains to write a degree work. The work called “A Mathematical Model of the Nuclear Reactor Cooling System” was written for me by my husband. My teacher often asked how I got the results. In such cases I left that class and phoned Eugene, who explained to me what I should answer. Once the teacher decided to have direct contact with Eugene, and I was eliminated as a useless link. As a result, Eugene and I got “Good” for the work.

I found a job in a design bureau, just a five minutes walk from home. That was the main reason to choose this job. I had an excuse for my passivity: our first son, Maxim, was growing; and soon I again went on a maternity leave.

Eugene worked as a programmer for the Ministry of Defence. Everything went all right, in his spare time Eugene made antivirus programs, and then there were very few people doing that. In 1991 he decided to leave. I was absolutely happy: for some reason I always felt uneasy when I had to tell that my husband works for a military organization. Eugene went to “Kami” company, which, as many others did at that time, tried everything from selling jogging shoes to making hardware. Eugene was occupied with antivirus development. After he sent his programs abroad, he soon became a popular person in the computer world.

As for me, I was bringing up the children and listening to the lectures of my mother who thought that I must find a job. In 1994 “Kami” decided to celebrate the New Year in a holiday centre. There I asked the director to give me the job of a shop assistant in the new department selling accessories and software. I chose the easiest way: the familiar company, the familiar team.

From the very beginning Eugene didn’t want to work with me. He thought that it could lead to break-up. And the time proved that he was right… And, besides, Kaspersky was considered an authority by other professionals, so he expected more attention from me. And I used to tell him: you were wrong here and wrong there. As for me, I also thought that my husband does not support me as he should…

“Kami”. Selling the antivirus

I started with selling accessories, but soon I was selling software too. That’s how I started working with Kaspersky antivirus (at that time it was still called AVP). I liked selling the product made by my husband, and I invented some tricks. Soon I started registering the product. In a while antivirus development became one of he company’s main activities, and I was offered the post of the manager of this department. For a shop assistant it was a good career move.

It wasn’t easy. I knew little about computers and almost nothing about marketing. I had no management skills. For sure, I could not help making mistakes. For example, I tried to sell everything myself, and that was wrong. But the business was developing, the department and the team of programmers grew bigger. I recollect this time with a kind of affection: it’s funny, but then people didn’t understand why they should buy software if they can take a floppy and copy all the programs from their neighbour’s computer.

In 1995 I visited a large IT show CeBIT in Hanover. By that time I was the manager of the antivirus project. There I understood how wide and exciting the computer world is. I also understood that I must study foreign languages not to get into the same situation as one of the “Kami” top managers did when he tried to show the waiter what we wanted for dinner – a chicken and some pork.

After return I thought that we could organize an own business. I offered it to Eugene, but he didn’t like the idea. It seemed that the big company (“Kami”) is more stable and reliable… I continued to work for “Kami”, but also organized a company named “Data Rescue Centre”. It specialized in data recovery in case of system failure. Unfortunately, for several reasons, including the little-known brand, this experience was not successful.

At that time Eugene wanted to leave the country, and he had opportunities to do it. A British company “Dr. Solomon” offered him and his team a job in London. And I couldn’t even imagine myself leaving the country. I considered emigrants to be a kind of traitors. Luckily, Eugene always wanted to be the first, and in “Dr. Solomon” he would be only “one of the many”. And in Russia he was already a well-known person.

Setting up the Laboratory

Then the situation in the market changed, “Kami” had serious problems, and in 1997 we separated. The team of programmers, including Eugene Kaspersky and me, decided to establish a company. We had long disputes about the name. But, remembering my first experience when I tried to promote an unknown brand, I offered to call the company “Kaspersky Lab”. I insisted, that’s my name. Eugene wanted to call it something like “Kasper & Co". Luckily, we didn’t choose this name – it reminded of the cartoon about Casper, the friendly Ghost. A good brand gives an opportunity to make money more quickly and easily. That’s why I insisted that Kaspersky name must be mentioned – it was already known. And I was right.

I became the General Director of “Kaspersky Lab”. Eugene didn’t want to take this post, and the idea to open an office belonged to me. Not everyone should be a boss, and not everyone is a good boss. I think that the people who do their work well are happy. Landau  was not a boss, for him it was enough to be the Landau. Eugene is our Landau, and I am just a manager, and it’s difficult to say who is more important. I know nothing about programming while Eugene is a computer genius. And he wouldn’t be able to be the head of a big team – he is too soft for that. Sometimes the manager has to take unpopular measures – to fire people and to punish.

I didn’t make a career to become a top manager. I just established a company, invited my husband and colleagues to work there and… advertised the vacancy of the General Director. But as the pay was little and the risks were huge, nobody wished to be the head of the new company. So I had to do it myself.
I remember that once at a Comdex show a comic who was hired to attract customers to our booth came up to me and, looking at the badge with my name, said: “Ah, you are Kaspersky! Now I know how you get your job!” And that’s true. I got my job by backstairs influence, through my connections, just because I married a computer genius. But later I had to work a lot to make this ingenious creation bring profits.

In 1998 we hired a commercial manager, and, a bit later, a chief financial officer. Now they form the core of our team. I, myself, never tried to be in charge of everything. And now, when I look back, I think that I was right.

I started my work when the whole team consisted of only three people. I did everything myself: packed the products, issued bills, found clients and delivered the orders. And, at the same time, I tried to pump out of the programmers what the next product will be like. Strictly speaking, you can’t even call that management. When our company consisted of 20 people, the need for division of labour aroused. We had to employ secretaries, to devise regulations (at least some kind of that) and development plans. (By the way, the hardest problem were the development plans. The programmers would do anything but give any figures, they even tried to persuade me that for programming you need inspiration, which, for sure, cannot be planned. So it was not an easy fight…)

When the company consists of 50 people, you need to organize another management level and learn to divide the power, introduce procedures for taking decisions and for communication. When there are more than 150 people, you realise that there are some employees you do not know. You no longer celebrate birthdays together, for there is no room where the whole team could gather. The atmosphere is no longer homely, and many “veterans” feel disappointed. It’s clear that the amount of responsibility and the problems complexity multiplies. At this stage I realised the need for introduction of development procedures. The process was painful, and it is not finished yet. The procedures are altered and updated regularly.

Now the company has 600 employees and offices in 10 countries. Control of the foreign offices is a separate problem. Very often, as soon as they get established, they start to demonstrate too much of independence and try to have their own way. Besides, the authority of Russia as a country of business is very low, so the offices (and most of them are situated in developed countries with business traditions) are eager to give advice on how to do business.   Some time ago I even had the illusion that if you listen to everybody and collect the useful pieces of advice, you can device a perfect international strategy. But then I realized that it was a mistake. You need to have your own strategy, and then you can use the useful tips given by the local managers, but these tips should not go being the limits of the general business strategy.

A humble estimate of own achievements

To organize a business you need to be venturesome. For sure, I do have this quality. I believe that all the entrepreneurs are a bit of adventurers. Besides, if it is interesting for you, I took up business only because of my weakness. After six years spent at home with children I was sick to death with housework. I couldn’t stand it any longer. So I just escaped from everyday problems. Housework is very hard and unrewarding. Nobody values it…

I never made a career deliberately. I don’t think it’s worth doing for fame or just for money. If you think about a career, you should always ask yourself a question, what it is for. I do not understand and do not approve of the people who just want to make a career, no matter which and no matter where. And if you want to start a business, you should also understand what do you want that for. Just to earn money? Or to make something useful for the people and to earn money? The second variant, in my opinion, is better. I don’t know if I could, for example, sell tomatoes. It is also a kind of business, but for me it is not interesting. That’s what I like about the market of technologies: we produce something, we make the life better and help people to deal with their computers. And I also think that if a person wants to achieve something, if he or she spends a lot of time and energy on it, puts the heart into it and follows some plan, then he or she will always achieve the result.

Patience and hard work can sometimes make up for the absence of some other qualities. I, for example, don’t think that I possess some extraordinary qualities. I just do my work, the same work every day. If you really want something and you do your best to get it, you are bound to succeed. You just should not lose your heart. There always will be some difficulties. I also had problems, but they can be coped with.

I don’t think I did something extraordinary. I believe that the main aim is not yet achieved. Yes, the company is growing and developing, but that’s no wonder. It’s not yet an achievement. And if we create a product which will be the best in the world, that will be and achievement!

So, that is the story. We have only to wish Natalia Kaspersky and the Lab to create a product which will be the best in the world… Although I, personally, think that Kaspersky Antivirus is already the best