Daria Syrydchenko, 34 years

My name is Daria Syrydchenko, and today I am an entrepreneur in fashion production and related services. I build my business by combining craftsmanship, systematic management, and a considered approach to decision-making. I live in Kyiv, but work with an international focus: in addition to Ukraine, I am developing activities in the United Arab Emirates and collaborating with European markets. My professional journey began very early. I

worked from childhood, helping my mother, combining work with my studies, and from the very beginning looking for a way to pursue my own goals independently. This experience shaped my sense of responsibility, independence, and inner strength, which later became the foundation of my business. Fashion has always been at the heart of my interests. I studied at the Faculty of Economics, but at the same time I was creating things for myself and experimenting with the idea of my own brand. Over time, I honestly realized that what fascinated me most was the “inner workings” of the fashion business—the processes of creation, development, and production. This interest became a catalyst for growth: first came the initial clients for my services, and later Siri Factory, a full-cycle production facility for Ukrainian brands in the premium segment.

After the full-scale war began, I saw a new strategic direction for growth. Ukrainian brands began to expand into foreign markets more actively, and we added international services and expertise to help businesses scale abroad. The subject of women’s leadership holds a special place in my approach to entrepreneurship.

I believe that women entrepreneurs are no weaker and no less effective—we are simply different. Our path is not built on pushing ourselves to the brink and constantly competing, but on well-being, mindfulness, and inner strength. I believe that the feminine nature is a strength, not a limitation, and that embracing this difference makes it possible to build a stable, profitable, and sustainable business.

Today, I consciously move from within—listening to myself, my feelings, and my true desires. I don’t support the idea of “carrying everything on your own,” and I believe in the value of partnership, communication, and trusting people. Learning to ask for help, build healthy relationships, and create a strong support network has been one of the key professional and personal lessons for me. For me, happiness is the freedom to be myself and live in balance across different roles: entrepreneur, woman, mother, daughter, and friend. It is a state in which I feel equally comfortable on workdays and weekends, when work, growth, and life don’t conflict but complement one another. I believe that our inner state determines the quality of our decisions, our business, and life as a whole.

How did the business idea come about?

The idea for Siri Factory was born from my desire not just to “create a brand,” but to be involved in the process of creating a product. I started with my own fashion experiments and quickly realized that I was much more interested in building production and services for other brands—from the initial sketch to the finished product and production runs.

After 2022, a new demand emerged: brands began exploring opportunities to establish a presence abroad. We tested activities in Dubai—pop-ups, events, and local partnerships—and saw real demand. That’s how Fashiongate emerged as a separate business direction, helping brands enter new markets. I see UMCU as a creative outlet—a project based on accumulated experience, but one that allows me to work with ideas in a more experimental way.

What key skills helped you launch your business?

My foundation is a deep curiosity about the field, determination, decisiveness, and the courage to act even when you don’t yet fully understand the scale of the challenge. At the beginning, I was driven by interest and a sense of “play”; only later did analytics, management, teamwork, and process development come into the picture. I would also single out the ability to ask for help. Allowing yourself not to know everything, while clearly understanding what you need and who can provide it, has been one of the key points of growth for me as a leader.

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

The first challenge was a lack of management boundaries in working with the team. At the start, I saw the team as a family: no hierarchy, no rules, and complete immersion in the work. When the business began to require structure, this worked against me. A team of 4–5 people effectively fell apart during a peak order period, and I had to build a new operating model and restore the operational framework in a very short time.

The second challenge was finances and a lack of analytics. For a long time, I relied on intuition, without clear calculations or cost estimates. This led to cash-flow gaps, unprofitable projects, and the feeling of being constantly busy without achieving financial results.

The third challenge was loneliness in entrepreneurship. There were no entrepreneurs in my close circle and no one with whom I could discuss my decisions, and I often “paid” for this experience in money. With the new ventures—Fashiongate and UNE SEULE—the challenge is different: I have become more cautious and sometimes get stuck in analysis and perfectionism. Where I used to simply act and learn quickly from my mistakes, today I can spend too long refining a concept.

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

The most significant crises for the business have been COVID and the war. We were prepared for neither. My approach to navigating crises is not to change direction in a panic, but to get the internal engine running: keep doing what is possible right now. During COVID, we started sewing masks and protective garments. The war was more difficult because part of the team left the country; this period also coincided with my personal circumstances—I was pregnant at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. I allow myself a short time to process my emotions, then pull myself together and consider what the situation is revealing and how it can be used to support the team and the business.

My main takeaway is that a crisis is always a turning point. If you keep going, coming through it often makes the business stronger than it was before.

I stopped trying to be the one who “knows everything”

Which decisions proved most effective in growing the company?

The biggest growth came from changing my role as a leader. I stopped trying to be the one who “knows everything.” I allowed myself not to know, started asking questions, delegating, transferring responsibility to the team, and bringing in specialists and experts. The second component of growth was a stronger professional circle. I gained the opportunity to seek advice, discuss decisions, and avoid moving forward blindly.

Which of your mistakes do you now consider the most valuable learning experience?

The most valuable mistake was trusting blindly and failing to set boundaries. I confused stepping away from operations with handing over full access to information and management. At one point, several operations managers took some of the clients and team and set up a similar business. It was painful: effectively, half the business left. Today, I build the system differently: with clear access controls, accountability, discipline, and legal safeguards. It is impossible to build a large business on naivety—you need to protect yourself on all sides.

Siri Factory and the shift to systematic business-to-business production runs

2023: a leap to production runs worth millions of hryvnias