Anna Kravchenko, 37 years

Today I am an entrepreneur in the beauty industry (ÉLAN ) and a chemical technologist. I create professional cosmetics from scratch, manage production, and develop an entire ecosystem around the product: beauty salons, educational programs, professional championships, and an international association. I currently live in Antalya, Turkey, where my factory and head office are located. We have a production facility in Dubai, two companies in Warsaw, and assets in various cities across Ukraine. In particular, Kyiv is home to two beauty salons and a large professional academy.

My journey in this industry began with hands-on work. I worked as a makeup artist, spending many hours with clients working with my hands, while also teaching. My expertise and participation in international competitions helped me make a name for myself in the industry. One important milestone was winning the world makeup championship—it opened up new opportunities and significantly broadened my professional horizons. From there, growth came naturally: from a small studio to a team, and later my sister and I joined forces and opened our first salon. The turning points in my life have often been connected with crises and the need to scale up.

The 2014 war, when I effectively left Donetsk, spurred me to create my own product. That was when we began developing professional cosmetics. Another important milestone was moving to Turkey. This experience proved to me that I could build a business in a country where, at first, you hardly know anyone, the culture is different, and not everyone even speaks English. It was a challenging but very valuable stage that significantly expanded my entrepreneurial thinking and my vision for the scale of the business.

How did you come up with the business idea?

The idea of creating our own product came from a practical need. In 2014, when the war began, the border effectively closed, and a significant number of representatives and supplies were linked to Russia. At one point, we literally had nothing to work with. As a practicing beauty professional and a chemical technologist by training, I understood exactly what a quality product for brow artists should be. So we began by developing our first product—a brow tint. We patented the technology and created the first tint that colored not only the hairs but also the skin.

Today, this seems like standard practice, but at the time this kind of solution essentially did not exist on the market. Product development continued in response to the real needs of beauty professionals: the introduction of several shades instead of one; • brow-lightening technology; • the ability to adjust the result and wash off the tint if the shade turned out too bright. When we began working actively with Arab markets, the technology of so-called colored brows was born. It involves pre-lightening the brows with special formulas, then tinting the central part. Today, we rank first in the United Arab Emirates in the popularity of this technique.

Another important product breakthrough was our fast brow-lamination technology. The procedure takes approximately 15–20 minutes instead of the traditional thirty and follows a different process. This development earned us an international award at the Cosmoprof exhibition in India for the world’s best innovation in this field.

What key skills helped you launch your business?

Three key factors have been at the heart of my professional growth.

1. First—continuous learning. I have four, effectively five, higher-education degrees, including in specialized fields.
2. Second—personal responsibility. I always start from the principle that the outcome depends on me. I do not shift responsibility onto others; I make decisions and take responsibility for the consequences.
3. Third—resilience and stamina. Entrepreneurship involves constant challenges, and the ability to withstand pressure is critically important.

I also strongly believe in the value of professional competitions and championships. They give you access to the best professional circles. In a way, it is like a business club within your profession: you keep growing through contact with ambitious people and world-class standards.

What were the 3 most difficult challenges you faced in the early years?

At the beginning of my career, when I was already known as a specialist, my first year of work did not seem too difficult: people in the market knew me, so getting started was relatively easy. The most serious challenges came a little later, when it was time to scale up.

1. The first challenge was the 2014 war. I found myself in Kyiv, while practically everything—my apartment, my life, my contacts—remained in Donetsk. I had to quickly get back to work and build a new foundation.
2. The second challenge was opening a salon and working around the clock. My sister and I opened a salon in the Gulliver shopping center in Kyiv. We were effectively working without breaks—every day from morning until evening, carrying out a huge number of treatments. At the same time, we had to deal with everyday matters related to relocation and family.
3. The third challenge was launching production in Turkey. We needed to obtain all the documents, approve the formulas, complete certifications, launch production, and reach the required volumes. This was a major stage in the development of the business in its own right.

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

1. The first major crisis was the COVID-19 pandemic. Beauty salons became places people temporarily stopped visiting. At the same time, demand for cosmetics also fell, as many people hardly left home. We adapted by changing how our products were used. People began tinting their brows at home, so we launched home kits and actively held webinars, livestreams, and online training.
2. The second crisis was the full-scale war and its economic consequences. Our strongest markets had historically been in eastern Ukraine, particularly Kharkiv, as well as Kyiv.

After the pandemic, foreigners could no longer travel to Ukraine, whereas previously about 90 percent of the students in my training programs had been from abroad—Koreans, Chinese, Indians, and people from other countries. Despite the shelling, Polish people continued to come to us—sometimes literally during power outages.

Today, the situation in Ukraine affects the entire market:

• salons often run on generators;
• clients visit less often for treatments;
• partners who used to place orders every two days may now order once a month and in smaller batches. Diversification across other countries helps us, but Ukraine remains our key market and our main professional community.

What decisions proved most effective in growing the company?

1. The first decision was to build the team to match the stage of business development. At the start, you need versatile people who can handle many different tasks. Once processes become systematic, the team needs to evolve by bringing in more specialized professionals. I see this cycle clearly: a team that is perfect for launching a company needs to be refreshed or restructured after about three years.
2. The second decision was to focus on people from within the industry. My core management team—about ten people, including directors and leading marketers—consists of former or current brow artists with ten to fifteen years of experience. They understand the customer, can handle intense workloads, and are multifunctional. They can create content, edit videos, set up advertising, and take part in strategic decisions. For me, this is also a matter of loyalty: people stay on the team for more than just their salary.
3. The third decision was to clearly divide responsibilities with our partners and establish a regular management rhythm. We hold monthly strategy meetings on Zoom, where everyone has specific commitments. For example, my area of responsibility may include a set number of negotiations with specific clients.

I do not believe that in my business you can fully step away from day-to-day operations for long, because innovation in this field is needed every day. As for scaling, doubling our turnover every year is a working standard for us. This is achieved through growing our customer base, repeat purchases, and a high level of trust in the brand. Our highest-quality leads come from our social media and my personal brand.

A personal brand creates a sense of reliability: clients know we will not disappear or let them down. Then a systematic sales model takes over: managers’ roles are clearly divided, checklists are in place, and the key task is to get the client to make an advance payment. After that, the director steps in, and the process moves to the next stage.

What mistake do you now consider your most valuable experience?

I do not tend to dwell on mistakes. For me, it is important to draw lessons and move on. I try to focus on the positive. For example, my children and I write down our dreams every day and practice affirmations. This helps us avoid getting stuck in negative thoughts. So I do not single out one particular mistake as the most valuable experience.