Anna Dembitska, 32 years

Ten years in international telecom with my brother and co-founder

My name is Anna Dembitska. I am a co-founder of Vacotel, an international telecom business connecting people and markets through voice routes and SMS solutions. For ten years, I have been building Vacotel, a B2B company, together with my second cousin.

We started by trading voice traffic between operators around the world, gradually expanding into bulk SMS messaging and custom IP telephony for corporate clients. Today, our team includes more than 29 specialists from Ukraine and other countries. I am responsible for development and sales, while my cousin handles finance. This division of roles allows us to balance fast decision-making with steady growth.

My original career plan was in finance. I studied finance and auditing, worked part-time in the field, and steadily improved my English at Green Forest. In 2014, I made a conscious move into sales, a step that shaped my future path. Within a year and a half, I understood how the telecom market worked, managed key accounts, and made my first choice in favor of freedom: I left a company that undervalued me. Almost immediately, my cousin and I founded Vacotel.

My path to building a business has never been easy. In the early years, we reinvested everything, paid no dividends, borrowed very little, and relied on a high level of trust from our partners. We lived from one turnover cycle to the next, but grew consistently. I learned early on how important delegation is: trying to do everything yourself only holds back growth. Our SMS business stalled until a strong leader took charge, and once each area had someone accountable for it, the company's momentum improved.

Reputation has always been another pillar. In telecom, trust is currency, and my first contracts rested on personal relationships, reliability, and honoring commitments. We have faced many challenges along the way. The COVID-19 pandemic effectively shut down the in-person ecosystem and industry trade shows, which are at the heart of telecom networking. We persevered thanks to the relationships we had already built and our internal discipline.

Working in markets with complex cultural dynamics has been a learning experience of its own. Negotiations with partners in the MENA region take longer, and trust develops differently there. Patience and a steady pace became my key tools. Our business rests on clear values. To me, freedom means being able to tell the truth and act honestly without looking to others' expectations. Our Ukrainian identity is a matter of principle: we do not work with Russia or Belarus, and our partners are concentrated in Europe, the United States, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia. Teamwork is another foundation. Brief daily calls with our international sales team replaced «quiet group chats» and noticeably improved performance.

Outside business, I am drawn to movement and challenges. Snowboarding, wakeboarding, and kitesurfing are how I stay active. After a knee injury, I completed a full rehabilitation program and returned to kitesurfing, which was a personal victory. Yoga helps me keep my body and mind in balance.

My long-term passion project is a small winery of my own. I am learning, tasting, and living in the here and now as this dream gradually matures. When it comes to advice, I always tell women in business: the main barrier is fear, and theory cannot remove it; only action can. Once you start, you will see that you are capable of more than you initially thought. I will continue connecting the world through technology, service, and partnerships. Alongside that, I will pursue my dream of a local winery of my own. I am almost happy. Ukraine's victory will make that happiness complete. Until then, I am doing my part to help build an independent, free Ukraine.

A client base and a sense of injustice: what prompted us to start our own business

How did the business idea come about?

The idea for our own business emerged from a combination of practical experience and a conscious decision. On my brother's advice, I went into telecom sales, where I gradually built a client base and a reputation in the niche. After I left the company because the terms of our working relationship changed and I felt unfairly treated, we decided to start our own business.

90% of communication in English and partners with different mindsets

What key skills helped you launch the business?

Communication and negotiation were the key skills behind our launch and growth. The ability to reach agreements and work with different mindsets, particularly with international partners, became an important competitive advantage. English proficiency also played a significant role: around 90 % of our work communication is in English.

Another important skill was clearly dividing business roles: just six months after launching, my brother and I established a structured division of responsibilities. I focused on interconnections and business development, while he focused on finance.

Growth through sales, deferred payments, and reinvestment

What were the 3 toughest challenges you addressed in the early years?

The first and most important challenge was working capital. Scaling in telecom trading is virtually impossible without sufficient working capital. We took out almost no loans: we received one-off financial support from an acquaintance, then grew through sales, negotiated agreements, deferred payments, and constant reinvestment.

The second challenge was earning the market's trust. A new company has no name and therefore no established credibility. Personal professional relationships helped: partners I had worked with before agreed to work with us on minimal credit limits, allowing us to build our processes gradually. The third difficult stage was building a team. Competition for experienced managers is high, and our ability to offer market-rate compensation was limited by the need to invest in working capital. Referrals proved the most effective recruitment channel, outperforming traditional platforms and recruitment agencies.

The SMS business that stalled until a strong leader took charge

What crises has your business faced, and how did you overcome them?

The first significant crisis was the COVID-19 pandemic. International trade shows and in-person meetings came to a complete halt, while direct dialogue with partners is critical to our business model. During that period, we focused on existing clients we had worked with before the pandemic and maintained our existing interconnections.

The second major challenge was launching our bulk SMS messaging business in 2018. I had only a general understanding of the field and lacked technical knowledge, so managing voice traffic and the SMS business in parallel proved difficult: one segment grew while the other declined. The turning point was bringing in a specialist who took charge of the area and effectively built it from scratch. Once responsibility was delegated, its development accelerated significantly.

Delegation that initially seemed impossible

Which decisions proved most effective for the company's growth?

Decisions to delegate had the greatest impact. First, giving managers full responsibility for individual business areas instead of trying to control everything myself.

Second, stepping back from personally managing some accounts and gradually handing partner relationships over to the team. This was not easy, because some partners had preferred to work exclusively with me since the business began. I deliberately invested time in building trust in the team to make the transition smooth, without compromising communication or results.

I chose the wrong field, and I have no regrets

Which mistake do you now consider your most valuable learning experience?

I consider choosing the wrong field of study my most valuable mistake. Sometimes I think that choosing an IT field, such as Data Science, might have led to different results. At the same time, I do not regret my path: there are many opportunities for self-directed learning today. I keep learning, attend international conferences, and explore new areas we could develop using the business's existing resources.

A million in turnover in the fifth year