Olena Kotovska

From 15 years in banking to fitness, investments, and film — through a full-scale war

My name is Olena Kotovska, and today I co-own several business ventures: the MalibuFit fitness club chain, the Invest UA Agency investment agency, and the Smart Movie film company.

My professional journey began as an employee. I deliberately chose banking because it was my dream, and I worked in a bank for more than fifteen years. It was a stable, structured career, with good positions and financial security. At the same time, over the years I increasingly realized that what I lacked was not status or stability, but a sense of purpose, involvement, and inner joy in what I did.

The turning point came with the start of the full-scale war. During this period, I received an offer to join a fitness business as a co-owner. Formally, it was an operating business, but in practice it needed a complete relaunch. Just two months after the war began, we had to restore operations: build a team of trainers and administrators and bring clients back to a city still in a state of shock and constant anxiety.

It was a difficult but highly formative stage that made me stronger as an entrepreneur. In the second year of the war, despite having lost most of our network because of the war, we continued to expand and opened another fitness club in Kyiv. This stage was easier for me, as we had the support of the team, management experience, and an understanding of the processes. At the same time, I became involved in developing our investment and film production ventures.

At the investment agency, my role focuses on working with investors, selecting and structuring projects, building trust, and developing long-term partnerships. At the film company, I handle organizational work as a producer, but as a manager I often take on creative aspects in an advisory capacity, so many visual decisions are made thanks to my input. I also produce other creative projects, including publishing and producing books. A core principle I have consciously chosen for myself is to “always say yes.” Since the war began, this principle has become even more practical. I stopped putting decisions off and became as open as possible to contacts, projects, and offers. The next opportunities, partnerships, and growth come from this openness.

The social dimension of my work also holds a special place. One area I actively support is financial literacy for service members and teenagers. Through my investment work, I saw that many service members receive significant sums of money but lack the tools and knowledge to preserve and grow it. Often, this money is spent impulsively, which does not provide service members and their families with financial security for the future.

We provide free consultations to service members and their families on investments and financial literacy. We suggest starting with small amounts and explain diversification opportunities—from securities and real estate to investing in operating businesses. This initiative is already running in a format we can implement with our own resources, and I see great potential for scaling it up.

Another socially significant project I am involved in is “Legal Weapon.” This initiative aims to protect Ukrainians’ rights and obtain compensation for moral damages caused by the war, using Russian frozen assets around the world. The project has already achieved practical results: 120 court cases won for civilians and service members. We created a chatbot that helps users prepare a legally sound claim, file it in their place of registration, and win the case (free of charge for service members). The claims concern moral damages—psychological distress, anxiety, shelling, and “life” in shelters. For me, this project is not about business, but about a systemic tool for impact and long-term justice.

Across all the areas I work in, people, the team, and community remain key to me. I believe in business that creates not only financial results, but also an environment of support, growth, and purpose. 

An offer during the war and relaunching fitness two months after the invasion

How did the business idea come about?

I did not come up with a business “from scratch” as an abstract idea. At the start of the full-scale war, I accepted an offer to join an existing fitness business that needed to be relaunched because of the war. Other businesses then naturally followed, and I became directly involved in their development as a co-owner. These include an investment agency that finds and prepares projects for investors, as well as a film company working in documentary filmmaking, podcasts, production, and distribution.

Listening to market signals and monetizing information through partnerships

What key skills helped you launch the business?

My foundation is the ability to listen to people and work with information. I pay close attention to signals from the market and the people around me: contacts, requests, media, and connections. I not only respond quickly to this information, but also work with it strategically—bringing interests together, connecting people, and coordinating collaboration. I consider my ability to monetize information, turning it into partnerships, projects, and financial results, to be one of my strengths. My second key pillar is a focus on sales and the team. I am convinced that people are everything.

Clients themselves asked us to reopen the club during shelling — business as a community

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

In the first year of entering business during the war, the biggest challenges came down to three factors. First, the war as a constant state of uncertainty, shelling, and responsibility for the safety of the team and clients. Second, the challenge of restoring demand. Third, a labor shortage caused by people leaving and changing life circumstances. The period of intense shelling in 2022-23 was particularly revealing. When we closed the clubs for safety reasons, clients called us themselves to ask us to reopen. For them, exercise and a familiar routine became a way to regain psychological stability. This confirmed that business is not just a service, but also a community that supports and empowers people.

$2 million for drone manufacturers and our own film distribution — two breakthroughs during the crisis

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

During the war, the business went through several waves of crises. These included pressure from landlords seeking unjustified rent increases, power outages, and the need to adapt operational processes quickly. The psychological wellbeing of the team was another challenge, requiring constant attention, communication, and support. The crisis in the investment business took a different form. People wanted to invest, but there was a shortage of quality projects that we could realistically offer investors. We deliberately undertook an in-depth search for and study of such projects. The first large-scale case was a drone manufacturing project, for which more than 2 million dollars was raised on a voluntary basis, with no commercial benefit to us. It was support for manufacturers and the army. Later, the market matured: projects and investors emerged. Today, we have more than a thousand investors and more than twenty investment projects. We offer equity investments, and people can invest in several projects at once because the entry threshold is not high. In the film business, the key challenge was distribution and theatrical release. We began by negotiating with distributors, and later decided to go it alone and build our own model for distributing and releasing projects. By the way, our 2 films have already had nationwide theatrical releases and won awards at film festivals.

Strengthening the sales department and systematic work with staffing — key levers for growth

What decisions proved most effective for company growth?

I cannot single out one decision that drove all the growth. Scaling was the result of a series of consistent steps. Key ones included relaunching the fitness business during the war, quickly building a team and bringing clients back, opening another club in Kyiv, and developing the investment business by building a portfolio of safe and profitable projects for investors and earning their trust. Operationally, strengthening the sales department and working systematically with staffing became the main levers for growth.

Every mistake is a lesson — none stands out above the rest

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

I do not single out any particular mistake. For me, every mistake is a learning experience.