Section 1: About me. Dossier.
«To stop making assumptions about what other people think and resenting situations and circumstances, learn to accept reality without judgment, and fill my heart with gratitude for everything that comes into my life. »
Mariia Karnaukhova
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Join the clubSection 2. About the business. Dossier.
Section 3: Biography.
My name is Mariia Karnaukhova, and I am the CEO of the online auction marketplace UBIZ, one of the top-5 platforms in the Prozorro.Sale system.
Our platform has facilitated UAH 4,9 billion in transparent sales for the state and businesses. UBIZ was the first in Ukraine to hold cryptoasset auctions; we developed a complete product stack (in-house IT development, Amazon cloud infrastructure, a mobile app, a Telegram bot, advanced search and monitoring), maintaining uninterrupted operations during blackouts. Our approach is simple: we do not just sell assets—we give them a second life and make government opportunities accessible to small and medium-sized businesses and investors.
My professional journey was not linear; it was more a series of deliberate pauses and decisive accelerations. Until 2014, I built a career in fields related to public administration and politics. A master’s degree in political science and ambitions in the public sector shaped my path forward. The Revolution of Dignity, marriage and the birth of my two daughters were not a break, but a moment of reassessment.
I saw three years of maternity leave not as «leaving the game», but as a strategic investment: I worked on my PhD dissertation, closely followed the country’s transformations and sought to understand where my expertise could be most useful. My return to the workforce came through finance and technology, with an invitation to join the Ukrainian Exchange. There, I led the commodities markets division and worked with teams to build an electronic trading model as the foundation for a new, transparent market.
It was during this period that three principles emerged that would later become my professional DNA: clear, understandable rules, scalable IT solutions and equal access for every participant. At the same time, the Prozorro.Sale ecosystem was taking shape in Ukraine: electronic auctions for selling state and bank assets, including real estate, land and bankruptcy assets. Although this involved a different asset class, the market logic was familiar to me: open competition, digital tools and maximum private-sector participation.
I could clearly see how my exchange experience could naturally underpin this new public infrastructure. The next step was moving into electronic platforms. Following the consolidation of several technology operations, I joined UBIZ, initially as a board member, and became its CEO in 2021.
My focus has remained unchanged: transforming the platform into a product company with a human approach to service. User-friendly interfaces; step-by-step support throughout the customer journey; rapid feature development based on real needs—from map integrations and monitoring tools to an app and a Telegram bot.
A particular milestone was introducing innovations that had previously seemed impossible, including Ukraine’s first cryptocurrency auctions. The full-scale invasion became the toughest test of management decisions.
A crucial step was moving UBIZ’s infrastructure to the Amazon cloud. This ensured uninterrupted operations during blackouts and allowed us to maintain our market share when competitors’ local servers could not cope with the load. The second priority was the team: relocations, swift replacements, accelerated training for new specialists and a culture of calm, clear communication with customers under stress. From the outset, our business model put people first.
For us, a manager is not simply an intermediary, but a genuine customer partner who helps make complex procedures clear and free of unnecessary stress. Today, in a market with nearly 50 authorized platforms, UBIZ remains among the leaders. This comes from combining a strong product with strong service: round-the-clock support, rapid development tailored to business needs, marketing informed by managers’ «frontline» insights, and a sustained effort to challenge the belief that «you cannot win fairly when dealing with the state».
My approach is to build trust through the process: transparent auctions, a willingness to explain the rules and proof of real value for small and medium-sized businesses, which often find a second life here. My grandmother’s legacy: community work. My grandmother, Liubov Konstantynivna, raised six children and founded a civic organization for families with many children. I continue her work in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district. This is not about politics; it is about people: legal assistance, financial support, consultations, psychological support for military spouses and advice for children applying to universities. «This is not public work for PR or self-promotion—I simply do what I believe is right. It is part of my management DNA»
I have two major goals:
I would tell myself: look people straight in the eye. Do not be intimidated by status. Do not stay silent when you disagree. And to all women entrepreneurs: do what intuitively feels right for you. Do not play «men’s» games. Women’s intuition is a tool that business underestimates. Know your strengths, do not be afraid to ask for advice, prepare, plan and move forward—at least one step every day. «Success comes not from reckless courage, but from courage backed by preparation» When people ask how UBIZ survived, I answer: we do not just sell assets—we bring them back to life. And how did I survive? Because my life belongs not only to business, but also to the people for whom I want to change this country.
Through my professional journey in electronic trading and my desire to build transparent, open systems.
Blackouts showed that businesses depend on people, not offices. Flexibility, team autonomy and cloud solutions allowed us to withstand the challenges and move forward.
Excessive caution and fear of taking risks in the early stages.
Section 4: How can I be useful? Experience I can share.
What experience are you willing to share?
For me, systematization begins with documenting the business’s operating system. Not «in my head», but on paper and in numbers. We fully documented how the system works: the service architecture (marketplace, accounting, CRM, analytics), the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in the process, and the critical metrics for platform operations. We also worked through every possible failure scenario and rapid-response mechanisms.
The second key step – moving from basic recordkeeping to management analytics. When decisions are based on data rather than intuition, the business starts operating instead of «putting out fires». Although intuition matters too. Our priorities therefore became automated rules rather than manual decisions, quality of service (QoS) monitoring, and transparent metrics visible not only to the CEO but to the entire team.
My role as CEO is not to manage every process. I am responsible for the architecture, rules, metrics and pace of growth. And I never tire of repeating: if the CEO can be replaced for a week and the system works just as well, it means things have been done right.
For me, customer segmentation became the key growth lever. A CRM is not a management tool unless it contains clear segments. We deliberately segmented customers by type (small, medium-sized and large businesses), actual profitability and potential (what else we can offer that customer within our capabilities).
This immediately changes the team’s focus. You stop «serving everyone the same way» and start managing growth. Very often, the rule holds true: around 20% of customers generate most of the profit. These are precisely the customers who need a different approach—through service, product and speed of decision-making.
Growing x2 – is not always about acquiring new customers. Often, it is about finally understanding your existing ones
Section 5: Club value
