Today, I am an entrepreneur in marketing with a narrow but far-reaching specialization — using Google Maps as a sales channel and as infrastructure for chain businesses. My path does not fit the typical story of ‘leaving a job and building a business from scratch.’ I started working at the age of 15, and at 18 I joined a large distribution company with a clear development system, real career growth, and a focus on results rather than fixed pay. In practice, I have always worked according to a results-based approach.
Over time, the company transformed under the impact of the events of 2014 and supply problems, and we moved into services, including work with Google Maps. Within this system, I built teams and branches, effectively creating a business within a business: I established departments, opened 12 branches, became head of sales in Kyiv, and came close to becoming a co-owner. When it became clear that a partnership would not be possible within that structure, I decided to leave with the team. It was not an emotional decision, but a logical continuation of work in which I had already developed strong expertise and wanted to build on my own principles.
Together with my partner, we created GE Marketing, retained the team, and eventually became one of Ukraine’s leaders in Google Maps promotion. The next step was developing GridWyse — a SaaS platform for centralized Google Maps management for chain businesses. We did not invent a fundamentally new product; we took what was already working and developed it into a systematic, scalable solution.
I think a lot about the role of education. It is important for certain professions, such as medicine or law, but in my case, practical experience played the decisive role. I completed 9 grades, studied well, and had no problems with my grades. However, when I had to choose between studying and working, I chose work. I was transferred to another city and did not complete my formal education. Although I had the opportunity to resume my studies, I consciously decided not to spend my time and energy on it and focused on professional development. Education gave me basic skills — communication, negotiation, and finding solutions — but I achieved my key results through practical experience. I also notice that people who achieve significant results often had difficult starting conditions or limited resources, because this builds an inner drive to move forward.
In life and business, I follow simple principles: I do not take what belongs to others, and I do not deceive people. My business goals are to expand GE Marketing into every Ukrainian city where the company is not yet present, and to develop GridWyse into an international product, recoup its investment within the first year, and enter the US market. Looking five years ahead, I envision full coverage across Ukraine and the platform’s growth in European and American markets, with a place among the leaders.
For aspiring entrepreneurs, perseverance and patience are essential. It is important to focus on actions that actually generate revenue. I do not support the idea of turning a hobby without an economic model into a business, as this often leads to disappointment. Work should eventually bring satisfaction, but results must be at its core. It is also important to work with professional lawyers from the outset to avoid systemic mistakes.
I can call myself a happy person. For me, happiness is first and foremost about the people around me: family, partners, children, parents, and people with whom I share mutual support and trust. A strong circle of close relationships creates a sense of stability and inner balance.
Social responsibility is also important to me. We provide ongoing support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, although we do not publicize most of this work. We also help an orphanage in Ternopil, meeting both day-to-day and critical needs. In addition, we carry out initiatives to promote history — digitizing museums free of charge by creating 3D tours and integrating them into Google Maps to make them accessible to a wider audience. History is a personal interest of mine: I read a lot, do research, and try to understand the context of events more deeply.
How did the business idea come about?
There was no idea as such. I was offered the opportunity to work in this area, and I agreed because I knew it well. I had a negative experience working at another company, where I was treated dishonestly. So I decided to start my own project with the team and build a company based on the principles I believed were right.
I introduced the approaches there that I had previously been unable to implement, and that is what produced results. We did not invent anything fundamentally new. We took a working model and significantly improved it. In a manner of speaking, we turned a bicycle into modern high-speed transport.
What key skills helped you launch the business?
At the age of 18, I started working for a book distribution company. We worked intensively with clients, making around 100 contacts every day, and approximately 90% of them ended in rejection. This experience made me highly resilient to objections.
I developed strong communication skills, the ability to work with people, and the ability to build teams. Within the company, I created and developed my own branches.
The ability to keep moving forward despite difficulties was also important. There were many situations that could have broken me, but I learned not to give up.
As a child, I tried my hand at various activities, but often did not see them through. Over time, this turned into an inner motivation to follow things through to completion.
What 3 most difficult challenges did you tackle in the early years?
The first serious challenge was the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. We lost a significant part of our team because we worked offline as sales representatives. Due to lockdowns, businesses were closed, and access to clients effectively disappeared.
Despite this, we managed to adapt. During the pandemic, we made a number of decisions that not only stabilized the situation but also enabled the team to earn more. We significantly improved our internal processes and increased our efficiency.
The second major challenge was the start of the full-scale war. The hardest part was the uncertainty during the first few weeks. However, by the third week we had fully resumed sales, and we stabilized technical processes within the first or second week.
The third challenge was Google’s decision to temporarily restrict the operation of Google Maps in Ukraine. This directly affected our business, since around 80% of our services were connected specifically with this tool. For approximately a year and a half, we were unable to provide a significant portion of our services.
We quickly restructured: we began developing other areas, including website creation, social media, and virtual tours. This allowed us to maintain financial stability — there was no significant decline in revenue or salaries, apart from a short transition period.
What crises has your business faced, and how did you overcome them?
The biggest ongoing challenge is recruiting and onboarding staff during wartime. We rebuilt our hiring model: whereas most of the team used to be men, women now make up more than half.
The labor market is changing rapidly, so recruiting and onboarding the team require more attention and flexibility. Energy restrictions and seasonal challenges, particularly during winter, are additional factors. These affect both business processes and the overall emotional climate, which we take into account in our work with clients.
Which decisions proved most effective in growing the company?
Introducing a co-ownership model had the greatest impact. We built a system in which someone can join with no experience and grow into a co-owner within 3–5 years.
This fundamentally changes the approach to work: responsibility, motivation, and long-term thinking increase. People begin to see the business as their own asset rather than a temporary job.
What mistake do you now consider your most valuable experience?
The most valuable lesson came when I tried to invest in something I did not understand and was not prepared to develop systematically.
My experience with cryptocurrency is one example: I invested but did not pay attention to it, returned to the issue six months later, and ended up losing around 50%.
This gave me a clear rule: if you want to do something, you need to understand it deeply. Otherwise, it is not an investment, but a gamble.
A mistake is valuable only if you learn from it and change your behavior.
