Dmytro Korelskyi

From a five-year-old programmer to the CEO of a company with 40 specialists — through hiring and the limits of working within an organization

My name is Dmytro Korelskyi — I’m an entrepreneur in the software development industry. Today, I’m building Sailrow and leading a team of 40 specialists.

My business journey began as an employee: I worked at large companies, grew professionally, and eventually became a team lead and team leader. At the same time, I increasingly felt constrained — there was little room to put my own vision into practice, share my experience, or make decisions the way I thought they should be made. Programming has been part of my life since childhood. From the age of five, I said I would become a programmer, and eventually I did. Later, I wanted to put my accumulated experience to work under my own rules — and that’s how I became an entrepreneur. Leaving a “comfortable position” with a steady salary to start my own business was frightening, but a conscious choice. For me, it meant giving up a career in large corporations in favor of building something of my own.

I don’t idealize this path. The desire to “do everything right” often collides with a reality in which the facts undo your plans. But these challenges are exactly what shape an entrepreneur. I’ve learned that business requires not only belief in success, but also a willingness to think through worst-case scenarios — to have a plan of action even in the event of complete failure. This isn’t about fear; it’s about inner resilience and the ability to keep moving forward under any circumstances.

Another important lesson is learning to let go. Sometimes, growth requires giving up familiar things: parting ways with clients who are difficult to work with, or with processes that can no longer scale. In my experience, decisions like these have repeatedly become turning points for growth — making room for new opportunities, people, and results.

Today, I’m happy with where I am. I believe I’ve taken the right path and wouldn’t want to change it. If I could give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be simple: keep going, and remember that even in difficult moments, things can turn out better than you expect. Life is constantly changing, and change doesn’t necessarily bring danger — often, it opens up new and unexpected opportunities. Even when you lose something important, inner strength can help you eventually regain much more.

For me, happiness is living my own life. Freedom is being able to live it the way I see fit.

Two interns during the COVID pandemic and a rented space — how Sailrow got its start

How did you come up with the business idea?

The idea came from an inner need to have an environment of my own — a space where I could share my experience and build processes the way I thought they should be built. During the COVID period, while still working at a large company but no longer going into the office, I rented a space and took on two interns. They were simply people I gave tasks to and worked with, without any formal arrangements. At the time, I didn’t think of it as a company or a business.

It was more a way to put my own approach into practice and organize the knowledge I had accumulated. Over time, this initiative naturally grew into a business: essentially, I kept doing what I had done for many years, but in a different format — with my own responsibility, risk, and freedom to make decisions.

Communicating with challenging clients and resilience to stress — what keeps a business going amid uncertainty

What key skills helped you launch your business?

Communication and the ability to deeply understand people’s needs — both clients’ and the team’s — were the foundation. Many of our projects come about and stay with us precisely because we take on tasks others turn down. Some find them too difficult; others see them as too uncertain and immediately build in excessive budgets. I can see how these projects can be delivered, find common ground with clients, and build trust. It’s at this intersection — understanding the task and communicating effectively — that workable solutions emerge.

The second key pillar is resilience to stress and tolerance for uncertainty and risk. These aren’t abstract qualities; they’re part of everyday practice: the ability to make decisions when there’s no guaranteed “tomorrow.”

The company launched on 10 February 2022 — and two weeks later, everything changed

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

The first and greatest challenge was the war. The company was registered on 10 February 2022, and within just a few days, reality changed dramatically. There was a moment when it seemed the business might simply not survive. The second challenge was a partnership that didn’t hold up in the face of reality. A partner came on board at the start of the full-scale war, but we parted ways toward the end of the year. The company hadn’t yet had a chance to establish stable operations, and the partner’s expectations for rapid scaling proved too high. The third challenge was an exceptionally difficult client. The project was challenging in every sense, but we completed it. This experience shaped us as a team in many ways and influenced who we are today.

The first year was the hardest — and the reality of war remains a constant in management

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

The hardest year for me was the company’s first year. All the subsequent crises were more “constructive” in nature: establishing processes, coordinating work, and strengthening operational resilience. The wartime context is a separate, ongoing challenge. Instability, disrupted schedules, and a fully remote team all make management more difficult, and many decisions have to be made manually. Ukrainian clients usually understand the situation and can be accommodating. European partners are sympathetic, but commitments still need to be met precisely by the stated deadlines.

Letting go of a department of eight people — and the company started growing afterward

Which decisions proved most effective in growing the company?

The decision to let go of an entire department of eight people had the greatest impact on the company’s growth. It was an extremely difficult decision, but in the long term it proved to be the right one and beneficial to our continued development. From this experience, I took away an important principle: sometimes, in order to grow, you have to let something go. It could be people, a client, or even a line of business that looks financially attractive but creates too much complexity. You have to make room — only then can you take the next step forward.

Every mistake is valuable in its own way — without singling out one

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

I can’t single out one particular mistake as an example, because I believe all mistakes are valuable experiences.