From €300 000 in the red to a breeding company investing UAH 4-5 million a year in research and development
My name is Dmytro Shatsman. I’m 41, married, and raising a 13-year-old son.
My main business is the research and breeding company «Eurosem», which conducts research, breeds and produces sunflower seeds. We operate mainly in Ukraine and Kazakhstan, have a presence in Moldova and Romania, and are also developing an online store for agricultural inputs and testing a startup in smart pest management.
This is a story about the journey from starting in the red to entering one of the most fiercely competitive markets—and about what kept me afloat during the hardest years. I never dreamed of working in agriculture. I began my studies in international economic relations at Karazin Kharkiv National University, but never graduated; I was expelled several times, as even then my focus was on work. Fate brought me together with a classmate whose father owned a seed company (sunflower, corn, wheat). In
my first year, I went into sales, and from spring to autumn I worked in seed cultivation. That’s how I immersed myself in the breeding and production cycle. Later, a friend and I started our first business—I was 21. Without experience in partnerships or sound business practices, it quickly fell apart. I stepped away for three years to work in construction: supplying materials and procurement.
I returned to agriculture at a large Kyiv-based company with revenue of around €200 million: first as branch director in Kharkiv, then as head of the seed division in Kyiv. There I saw the classic problem of rapid growth without systems: high revenue, but chaos in finance, planning, and management. In 2013, the company went bankrupt. My future business partner and I were left with a team, skills, and some obligations to counterparties—we took responsibility and started our own business. We began by growing and multiplying parent lines. After 2–3 years, we moved into research: we needed to stand out.
Today, we test up to 400 hybrid combinations each year. Our selection criteria are strict, and advantages are often just 0.5–3%, confirmed only through three-year trials across different regions and soil types. The full cycle from idea to sale takes approximately 3 to 5 years, while the world’s strongest breeding programs build their advantage over decades. “I earned my PhD myself, because when you delve into research and development, the degree becomes a tool—for expertise and for earning the market’s trust.” «Field of Knowledge» is our educational and service offering for clients and distributors: agronomic support, technology maps, precision farming tools, and training.
At a time when «cheaper at any cost» is heard more often than «better,» we maintain our service standards. Some services are free, while others are tiered: the more we work together, the broader the support. Few people create game changers in breeding—it’s not that kind of industry. Our annual investment in research—4–5 million UAH—pays off not only in yields, but also in trust: when we entered Kazakhstan as a breeding company with our own research and development, the market was willing to pay for expertise. We were shaped by crises: devaluations, halted shipments, and war.
We learned to be «antifragile»: - cash buffers covering 3–6 months of operating expenses; - a «Plan B» for key processes (logistics, laboratories, warehouses); - regular «time-outs»—brief risk reviews with specific actions. Antifragility isn’t heroism; it’s a craft. Quiet discipline beats drama. In parallel, I’m testing a startup in smart pest management. The idea is simple: see first, act next. Monitor pests and diseases, gather field data, and provide recommendations to reduce unnecessary treatments, save money, and protect the soil.
For me, this is a logical extension of breeding: the right genotype + precise technology = a consistent result.
A team, obligations, and expertise—the only things left after a company with €200 million in revenue went bankrupt
