A&S alum and Sibli co-founder Alik Sokolov talks about the realities of building a business from scratch

Alik Sokolov at King’s College Circle, University of Toronto. All photo credits: Kemeisha McDonald.

New College and Arts and Science alum Alik Sokolov (BSc ’13, MSc ’16) is no stranger to juggling work and studying. Even now, the CEO and co-founder of Sibli is managing his start-up while earning his PhD at the Department of Mathematics.

It’s the same recipe Sokolov has followed since he was an undergraduate working at UPS and then a master’s student working at Deloitte. Though it works for him, it’s not an approach Sokolov would necessarily recommend to everyone.

“I worked because I felt I had to. In hindsight, I probably had other options, but I just wasn’t aware of them at the time,” Sokolov says. “The difficulty with working and studying isn’t really in the bursts; it’s more in doing it for a very long time.”

Sokolov’s advice for those who attempt to build a career while earning their degree is to aim for work that has synergy with what they’re learning.

That’s the approach Sokolov took when he returned to U of T for his PhD while also delving into the world of entrepreneurship with Sibli, a company that is revolutionizing the mathematical finance space by applying generative AI to investing.

“It was more regret aversion,” Sokolov says. “I knew if I didn’t give this sort of thing a go, I probably would lack fulfillment.”

Sokolov is a consummate realist when it comes to the idea of building your own business. Although Sibli has been a success, he knows it may be an exception rather than the rule.

In Sokolov’s case, the risk was somewhat mitigated by his track record for success and having strong partners, like his doctoral supervisor Luis Seco, a professor in the Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

For those who are looking to make a go of it, Sokolov says there’s no substitute for good old-fashioned hard work.

“One thing that will be common with every single successful founder is they, themselves, or at least someone on their founding team, just doing a ton of legwork, talking to a lot of people, constantly learning and exploring.”

Sokolov’s pragmatism has not lessened his enthusiasm for entrepreneurism — or his feeling that universities can be doing more to encourage students in the subject. He believes growth in AI will reduce the cost of starting a business or testing an idea.

“It’s going to be easier and easier for people to be more entrepreneurial and just say, ‘Is this a thing that should exist?’” Sokolov says. “At the end of the day, nothing is going to teach you how to build your company faster than trying to build a company, even if you fail or pivot.”

Sokolov’s final words of wisdom are to gather like-minded and highly qualified people around you.

“Entrepreneurship is a team sport. You can be a solo founder, and you can go fast on your own, but you’ll go further with a team.”

Originally published on January 7, 2024, by A&S News on LinkedIn.