Maksym Kachan, 35 years

My name is Maksym Kachan, and today I am an entrepreneur in the electrical installation and electrical work sector for renovation projects. I am deliberately building a company not on the “founder-as-hero” model, but on systems, processes, and delegation.

My path in business began with a trade: I worked as an electrician, carrying out electrical installation work on construction sites and gradually developing my own vision of what quality service in the market should look like. Early in my career, I noticed a significant gap between how electrical work in an apartment or house is usually done on the market and what the modern standard should be in terms of quality, technology, and customer service. That is why I often brought my own tools to job sites and introduced different approaches to the work, focused on results and long-term quality.

For me, the transition to entrepreneurship was not a romanticized story about freedom or quick success. It was a conscious decision to take responsibility—for the quality of electrical installation work, the customer experience, the team, and the financial results. Today, the company has 34 employees, and we carry out electrical installation work for renovation projects, apartments, houses, and commercial premises. Kyiv is the company’s main development hub: we opened a branch there and later shifted our management focus to the city.

My approach to business is not about “comfortable stability,” but about scaling. I am building a system capable of growing to 200 employees while maintaining manageability, financial discipline, and consistently high-quality electrical installation services. To me, business is not a collection of ad hoc decisions, but a systematic model for a service company that operates independently of the owner’s constant physical presence.

How did the business idea come about?

The idea of starting my own company grew out of my dissatisfaction with how electrical installation work was being carried out in the market. I saw problems in three key areas: • low quality standards • poorly organized processes • a lack of customer focus. The turning point was a conversation with my wife. She suggested that instead of criticizing the market, we create our own electrical services company that would work to different standards. That is how the business began.

What key skills helped you launch the business?

Three skills formed the foundation for launching and developing the company.

1. Work ethic. I can work 14–16 hours a day, especially during the early stages of a business.
2. Attention to detail. In electrical work, even a minor mistake can have critical consequences, so it is important to me that electrical installation work is carried out as precisely as possible and in accordance with standards.
3. Systems thinking. I build the business around processes and oversight, not chaotic decisions.

What are the 3 most difficult challenges you overcame in the early years?

In the early days of the business, there were three main challenges.

1. Instability. I was carrying out electrical installation work while also handling sales, finances, and project organization.
2. Delegation. The turning point came when I realized that the company could not scale if the owner did everything alone.
3. Opening a branch in Kyiv. Launching operations in Kyiv was a challenging management milestone, but it was what gave the company a new scale.

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

The first crisis was a cash flow gap and a shortage of working capital. At the time, we had to use loans and borrowings to keep operations running. The COVID-19 pandemic was not a critical crisis: on the contrary, during that period I invested in development by opening offices and buying equipment. The full-scale war became the greatest crisis.

The company essentially had to be relaunched from scratch, as only two employees remained from the pre-war team. This meant:

• building the team again
• restoring processes
• building the company’s operating system.

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

Three decisions had the greatest impact:

1. Opening a branch in Kyiv. This gave us access to a larger market for electrical installation work and renovation projects.
2. Relocating to Kyiv. This made it possible to centralize management and make the capital the company’s main development hub.
3. Systematic delegation. Moving from a model where “the owner does the work” to a company model built around a team and processes.

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

The most valuable lesson came from placing too much trust in the manager of the Kyiv branch without sufficient oversight. Money that was supposed to be passed on for employee payments was lost because of a gambling addiction. This situation taught me an important principle: trust in business must be backed by control systems and financial transparency.