Андрей Федоров. Путь к успеху (Andriy Fedoriv)

today I have the pleasure of speaking
with Andre feather live here in Kiev
Ukraine he’s a marketing expert
entrepreneur and speaker who’s developed
famous brands in Ukraine and abroad
andre cool meeting you again a person
well we had a nice banter nice
conversation when i was here last week
so a great idea to talk more because you
have a lot to say and from the outside
from my perspective you’re one of these
guys moving ukraine forward in a very
unique very interesting style let’s say
and you got this beautiful facility this
is only part of it obviously with bunch
of young people in here we’re actually
on a ping-pong table I came in there
playing ping pong feels alive feels
fresh feels new and again I’m constantly
like amazed by the environments I get
put in here in Ukraine because again
it’s like not what you expect at all
perceived reality versus actual reality
Ukraine is very far between
you know the perceived route reality is
the perceived division of Ukraine is
pretty bad the actual reality whoa you
get some interesting spaces so your
local audience knows you well you’re
you’re a big name here that I found out
you have a vlog people know who you are
less so internationally on the
english-speaking world
sure so while most people know who you
are here little backstory for the rest
of us who are you what have you done
what are you doing now mm-hmm
trying to keep it short introduce myself
like a marketing guy okay because I’m in
the marketing area and the marketing
field for the last a little bit more
than 20 years but they feel myself more
like an enterpreneur and I think the
more right definition of Who am I is
that I am Ukrainian interpreter for the
last 20 years I was doing
as much as I could for bringing
international marketing and branding
technologies mm-hmm to help only run
local businesses to become stronger to
become more profitable dynamic global
whatever and we are proud to have taken
part in the birth of a lot of Ukrainian
leading brands mm-hmm thousands of them
and I’m happy to have so we have handled
hundreds of projects right in Ukraine
for for the brand’s Ukrainians love and
see as part of the of their life we try
to bring international vision on design
to Ukraine to make it functional to
making minimalistic to make it clean to
make it really look cool Norway
over-decorated right good like that
sure and currently I’m active in three
main fields one is I have my own company
which is called Federative which is the
most wanted marketing agency in Ukraine
and marketing a design agency or company
let’s say with more than 80 people on
board in-house and we try to mix
business with creativity with art with
technology to really come up with some
kind of projects which bring change to
two big companies and to the market so
we are not now really interested in just
packing the business or just promoting
the business my biggest challenge now
that we are the changemakers and we use
brand as the instrument to kick-start
some kind of huge changes inside the
huge companies to really question or I
would say even disrupt some kind of old
fashioned or old school model or product
or service model or retail model and to
really reload the business rethink the
business through rebranding and through
really understanding that consumer have
changed and the environment have changed
and the things are crucial to do as fast
as possible right with this model
working we are now opening an office in
Berlin
and my big challenge now is to turn that
local success which we have in Ukraine
and Cas because we also have clients in
Moldova and Russia in Kazakhstan in
Uzbekistan and we have some some
projects we have done in Germany in
Swiss in Norway and even Saudi Arabia
but this is not the huge piece of our
cake we really want to go global as a
global I was a global Ukrainian creative
and marketing company and our goal is to
build company of about four five hundred
people present in major let’s call it
creative cities because Berlin is our
only first step we want to be present in
CF we want to be present in New York we
want to be present in London we want to
be present in Dubai maybe Shanghai
things like that and this is the plan
for five seven years because we really
think that our model is kind of unique
because it’s not a traditional agency
because we unite under one roof creative
execution right with business
consultancy and we focus not on
traditional corporations but we focus on
the on the run businesses we call these
owners fathers who are the creators who
are the creative leaders who manage
their own business and we really want to
help them to add more soul to this
business to add more emotion in order to
get more margins is that your angle you
try to add more so more feel yep in a
brand yes believe the minimalist we
believe that brand is emotions and brand
is a margin people are ready to give you
to pay you for having this kind of
emotions even and that’s why you cannot
split is it functional and mathematical
model or its customer journey when
customer is looking for emotions and
things like that
this is biggest part of my life also
this year we have launched the online
educational project which is called
superglue D something like superhumans
right where we try to discover I would
say research discover and share what is
the secret of success of one
percent of the most successful people
because what we found that if people are
really successful they always have some
kind of balance meaning that they are
successful in business they have happy
family
they look fit they look happy and
something is different with them and
it’s not only about the mindset or
skills or some kind of tricks or life
hacks it’s a mixture and we want to
discover that cover it right and let
best people in their categories share
their experience so it was super Lu D it
is this for Ukraine or is it for the
world I would say it’s for the world we
start from the Russian language because
a lot of our clients pick Russian and
they as I as I mentioned and Kazakhstan
Uzbekistan sure and what we see we see
the great demand for quality education
not for the basic things which are you
can hear from any kind of academic
resource but from very practical service
people came through that which people
brought from their own subjective
experience which they have from their
pains from the fuck-ups etc it’s more
personal
yes so it’s like a friend talking to you
like an older brother or like your
father really giving you their wisdom
not the basic Academical stuff you can
read wherever we started we started from
video format but we think it will be a
mix or elbe call it an omni-channel
education when it will be a mix of
people getting to know basic information
from online courses and lectures and
then getting the cream out of some kind
of interactions communities etc okay so
do you feel there’s a great need for
this yep in this part of the world do
you see that it there’s more of a need
here saying CIS former Soviet countries
or there’s a need everywhere business I
think that good education it’s a great
need wherever yeah and we are thinking
about I have launched my course which is
first on this platform which is called
the brand father mm-hmm it’s a course
for owners of the business sure
on how to create and develop brands
mm-hmm but I think that it is so
successful in Russia mm-hmm that it will
be great to launch it in English not
what not is a platform but as a
standalone course and to work with that
for China for India for even us for huge
markets because I really believe that
people lack some kind of very pragmatic
and practical view on marketing because
they’re the marketing by interpreter
it’s a little bit different from the
marketing from a marketing person in the
corporation right and that is our focus
if we asked what can be the best in the
world I think that we can bring
enterpreneur real culture for the
companies which are run by the owners
and to let the owners really use the
power of brands not the power of hard
sale not the power of pushing and
pulling the product through the
promotion right at the power of brand
which is built on emotions and own
values mm-hmm that’s what we do so you
have huge aspirations obviously these
are these are massive goals where’s it
come from like like what what started
all this in you will you always like
this did you start from day one as an
entrepreneur I would say it’s a good
question because it shows somehow what
is Ukraine in means of opportunities
because now traveling a lot yeah across
Europe I can say that when we speak
about Ukraine we underestimate the level
of innocence it has right it is so
underdeveloped and what it means oh it’s
terrible such a bad roads or such a bad
restaurants in small cities you all know
that but from other side yeah which
means that almost every segment it’s not
industrial yet yeah and it is a space
for people who really desire to the
things
I really believe they can do things and
I can say that if we speak about the
role model now it’s growing very fast
and that’s what I adore about Ukraine
that young people who are 16 18 21 25
treat starting their own business
like a real option yeah because when you
see the real numbers if you start
anything here mm-hmm
anything and you have passion yeah and
you are let’s say not really doing big
mistakes right you have a really great
chance to be successful like a
competition due to the lack of
competition for because there is not
enough companies there’s no enough
interpreters and because big players
sometimes are afraid of coming to the
market right you don’t have their money
you don’t have their level of competence
you don’t have their level of I don’t
know aggression sure it’s semi empty
because when people are afraid that
Ukraine is a young person if we speak
about the country Ukrainian is a
teenager as a country but don’t you
think it’s all – I mean he Bruce Empire
started right below us very very great
roads and we have great culture but if
you take a loop on Ukraine as a market
sure okay yeah in economic or not in
ecology armies it’s very own so okay
it’s the opposite the u.s. the u.s. is a
granddaddy when it comes to capitalism
yes but it’s an infant when it comes to
culture absolutely here’s the opposite
absolutely absolutely yeah and I was
last week I was traveling Western
Ukraine we spend a lot of time and
mountains we spend a lot of time in leaf
and I can say that if you ask me about
what is the main essence of the brand of
Ukraine I would call it wild
opportunities why it’s like Wild West of
America
one wild wild in a very good meaning
yeah because it’s honest honest
positioning why do you mean by wild if
you go to the mountains for example not
far from Munich right you will never get
an opportunity to have your ATV and goes
through the forests through them because
it’s completely wild nature right with
no limits no private property private
property and no regulation nobody do
what you want yeah and the nature is so
extremely untouched yeah uncultivated
why because to get there it’s only 80
kilometers sure but you spent three
hours driving your Land Rover because
the road is so shitty yeah that it cuts
it from the whole world so that’s a
metaphor for Ukraine in a way where
there’s barriers to entry people
perceive the barriers as being bigger
you have a war going on technically for
sure and so that’s like the road that’s
useful to get and so that keeps a lot of
players out of here yeah right
and the same wildness we have in
business in these of some kind of legal
regulations etc etc but you can use it
both way from one side you can consider
it said ok it’s not transparent enough
it’s not predictable enough it’s not
something like that but huge
opportunities huge margins huge huge
speed of business development for
example the growth rate we have in our
company for example if I compare 2017
yeah to 2016 it’s almost 30% whoa 30%
year-to-year this year we will have
approximately the same numbers what it
means that during 2 years my business
will almost double almost double but it
it will definitely double during 3 years
you don’t have this kind of numbers for
example in Germany right in traditional
segments like consultancy or something
like that being the market leader not
being there again we was two people now
we are four people no
and sometimes companies can can show
great results and it looks like a fairy
tale but when I talk to my people with
the same age maybe for example in
developed markets like Germany right I
understand that the interpreter as a
profession or is a way of doing things
it’s maybe the third option because
first two options they consider to do in
their life is first for example to go to
work for a government company to become
a civilian person to do something like
for CTE administration or whatever and
have a long life lifelong guarantee sure
that you will not be fired
you will not be rich no one but you
you’re you’re good yeah you will be you
will have your food you will have your
dress you will get the flat you don’t
have your car you can go skiing you can
do a lot of good things I’m going
through the park you’re the safe side
second option you can go to corporation
and for example I don’t know to one of
biggest global or German corporations
and I have talked to one guy to start a
/ yeah is done in their so-called
[Music]
incubator by one of the corporation sure
and I talked to him and I said what are
your problems he said I have two
problems which are very strange and
that’s what are the problems I said
first I’m loaded with money I’m loaded
with money my people does not think
about efficiency the way startups should
think about because when you are in a
start-up mode you don’t have spare money
right your pockets empty you have to
count every penny you mean because you
are you are so lean yeah
because otherwise you will die yeah your
model will not work but if you are
loaded with money from your incubator
mm-hmm and you know that you have 2
million euros by
you need 200,000 euros relax so comfort
come can be the killer the killer for
the food
and the second thing is that my the
policy of the incubator yeah because
they want to bring this kind of
intrapreneurial culture to the
corporation is following they insist
that 90% of people working in this
startup are taking from the employees
working in the company yeah and this
employees all have a guarantee that if
the startup [ __ ] up yeah if it’s
closed they will they have a guarantee
they will have work in this corporation
and he says my people do not care yeah
about spending money and about real will
be known in the game because for them
it’s a nice process it’s like a pleasant
trip
yeah right in Ukraine we have a survival
mode and for me a lot of times during
the last in 20 years it was a question
really leave or will I die as a
businessman ha because it’s only my
money I cannot get it from easily from
the bank or something like that I can
rely only on myself nobody can help me
in the government nobody can help me in
this and that’s why it’s like a wild
capitalism yeah yeah but I went I looked
at your website it’s very interesting
you have your biography there look like
a really smooth nice road you didn’t put
the hard parts in there then no
obviously no so there’s been times where
your backside yes sure
so there’s times where well look you’ve
had a war that does something no it’s
not let’s take a look once again I can
can easily put it in a couple of
sentences if you take a look in my
biography positive side started working
very early at 16 in 1995 became the
successful business journalist then in
three years switched to advertising
started to work in such an sarchie
then in 2003 and 2004 started his own
business with parties then in 2010
started his own business and then in
2017 went globally and started to go to
to to Germany nice right nice but if you
take a look on the other side it looks
approximately like that 1991 when I was
12 the coal Soviet Union crashed what it
means to my family very simple thing no
money no money at all no money for food
no money for gasoline no money no money
you you see your mother crying because
you don’t have food for the weekend Wow
and it’s after living a very like we
were always living in prosperity because
my parents were loud say they were all
involved in some kind of art like cinema
directors director in Philharmonic
Society and it was always paid in the
Soviet times but then the Soviet the
country you used to live in for 70 years
is switched off one day
block I can’t imagine and you can say ok
care about yourself no celery you know
no organization no nothing it’s a wild a
wild field so some organizations say ok
but we cannot say so you have to survive
you have to sell some things to inside
so I started working at 16 years old was
I’m happy to do that yes because I
wanted to help my parents of his money
and you have to understand what you do I
became a business journalist I wanted to
write about business because it was a
hot topic nobody understood what was it
and I was studying economy before as a
school guy because it was in something
new coming to town and it was my passion
from the very beginning and you have to
understand that in for example Germany
or us when you are 16 you are
considering what kind of college to
choose and I was feeding my family
completely from 17 years old my mother
my grandfather they were all dependent
on me
so it was not that I made some kind of
little contribution I started to be the
main source of money for my family
how’d that make you feel the time I mean
stressed I wound up growing up it pushes
you up it makes you know again confident
from once again you have your confidence
but then in three years you start to
feel yourself positive okay I work in
the best business magazine of the
country I have enough money to pay my
bills I start I first for the first time
ever I travelled abroad for the
immediate or so you feeling self like
becoming cool and then one day in
September 2000 1998 you come back to
your office
and you’re stopped by security guy on
the androids you said you’re going to
visit this Capital magazine it’s closed
it’s it switched off why here’s it why
because it was a huge financial crisis
in August 1998 in Russia in Russia
Russian market stock market went down so
it was a currency crisis stock crisis
and economical crisis okay it was a
complete disaster
and the owners of the magazine
understood that they will not survive
they have not enough money liquid to
really open the keep on operations so
there is no Andrei we gotta talk about
the future of your employment in outdoor
they said the door is closed come
everybody come tomorrow we will talk how
we proceed so 50 people collect together
in one room and the owner comes and said
look we were doing great thing we failed
sorry bye-bye he goes away and you say
sorry we were writing articles for three
months in advance we have a lot of text
which were accepted etc for them further
for the issues which will be published
in October in November etc will be paid
for that that know you can get your
documents here sorry bye bye
and people collect together go to the
metro station sit in little cafe one
bottle of cheap cognac drink like we do
on the funeral yeah okay so this
magazine is gone and everybody’s on the
street and you don’t know what to do and
I decided that the K don’t want to be a
journalist anymore
because I wanted to really do things I
wanted to really do things with my hands
and not to write about other things
other people doing things and I had a
lot of contacts a lot of networking
because I was taking interviews and so I
called a couple of my people I knew and
said okay I lost my job maybe you have
something and then called such-and-such
e and they said okay come come and talk
and because I knew I had a lot of
network right huge Network right I had
normal English which was quite rare at
the time and they said okay if you want
you can be a new business director new
business manager but you have to get
yourself some clients if you don’t have
clients sorry that’s it okay I was not
signal saying I was naive enough to
accept it like a proper way of doing
things so I called couple of guys came
and so I came back his clients and they
said oh go get more clients and that’s
exactly what I continue to do for 21
year ago I go for four clients and I try
to mix as I mentioned this kind of
technologies with this kind of thing but
then in five years I left
Sachi and we started our own startup it
was 2004 in the beginning of January we
started so half a year after we went
through the break break even and my
daughter was born in 1st of November ok
but in the end of November Orange
Revolution started and we were proud to
have our office at Chris Shattuck let’s
say 300 meters from Milan right right
and what it means you have a startup
you have your daughter who is not even
one month and you have all the crowd of
people standing at Maidan and they who
should oh you should come and you have
one client cause holding you and say
look you are great guys
you are Institute marketing but now we
are very happy with your project let’s
put it on hold for a couple of weeks or
maybe couple of months s before they
think finishes and you say ok no problem
but during today’s to day one and second
day all your clients call you and they
say ok sorry on hold on hold on hold on
hold on hold and once the Yuschenko came
out in the streets everyone stopped yes
you say ok we have to see what will go
where will it go because is that the
feeling when there well there been a few
revolutions you live through once that
once that momentum star starts everyone
wants to stop in business yeah
especially still teaching projects yeah
let’s go because we’re in strategic
consultancy we work about the long term
things it’s a trigger so main projects
are put on hold they do not cancel it
but it let’s make a little cold and then
we play it again so what do you do with
your staff then good question we keep
them but again this is a question you
understand your children at home you
have very limited cash you have already
15 people so you negotiate some clients
carry pairs at least I’m saying you
negotiate with your staff can we pay you
a little bit less but we have to survive
so and you really hope that it will be
okay are you watching the news every day
at home like what’s going on come down
you’re all the time in so it’s not I
come in the evening and so what you’re
on so I hear the news from the window
because everything I can see from my
window from yours you don’t have to
watch it and everybody is sitting in the
internet and refreshing the news every 5
minutes
Wow and your clients come to you from
the street because
to visit my done and have some hot tea
because you are in the center and a
great place to go to toilet and it’s a
very strange mood or mood mood at the
moment they say for for an office to be
in but okay everything worked perfectly
and we started to go better after that
in 2006 it seems to me in 2005 and then
four years in a row five six seven eight
great growth rate grows like 30 50
percent per year even more so you feel
yourself Wow so during this five years
from the very start when we were 15 in
2008 we were 170 people from scratch
from nothing like a startup and you feel
yourself I’m a great guy I’m a great
manager so at that very time how are you
thinking like this is gonna go on
forever you know at that moment we
believe that everything is ok no so
we’re done so every bad things all the
bad things stay behind us yes and it was
2008 when we all crashed the same wall
all the world yeah and they have this
story again and our revenue fall 80% and
I came back from being the strategic
vision or C or whatever to jump into the
very center of their operations and I
was living in the office smoking 24/7
for almost year and a half to make this
business survive and then how many
employees did you go down to it was we
lost half of our business let’s call it
like that and but we stayed profitable
but we lost half of our business but it
was a victory it was a victory at that
time because a lot of people just lost
all the business yes so you gotta be a
warrior here to stay on this is a long
fighter we call it a fighter yes
I call it business Buddhism when when
you don’t attach yourself to what you
have today brave right yeah
the question is that you never know
yes and after that I was so exhausted I
was so how to say you you come back to
the essence of things when you are so
pushed with all that drama and stress
it’s at and you can easily ask yourself
when you are done even when you have so
we were profitable in 2009 so next year
and when we finish the year and they see
a P&L and we are profitable and as the
general manager I’m done yes I am okay
and so next year looks much more easier
and they come to my shareholders and I
said okay you know what I don’t want to
continue because I was managing the huge
as I said it was a lot of administrative
work etcetera right and it was a lot of
shareholders it said I said I want my
own business
fulfilling my own vision of and my own
values on what I want to do sure I want
it to be small I wanted just to pay my
bills and maybe it will be 1015 people
but I want to have the little sport car
like a little company which is easily
managed I don’t want to be the boss of
the train yeah so I started further if
at that time and I believe that we will
stay small so we were hoping again and
during first three four years we were
almost 40 people we was growing again
like this very stern because we went a
strategic solution that we will focus on
Moscow Market on the Russian market
because it is very close it’s 55 minutes
flight and we have at least 75 years of
mutual mutual culture so we grew up
watching the same movies listening to
the same music and reading the same
books and speaking the same language
right it’s not so far didn’t like a big
divide going you see when you went to
Russia damaged it was it was different
already and
I was very clear about what are the
differences yeah there were like key
differences in consumer behavior and etc
but it is it was still manageable
yeah manageable and we got my big
success was that for 2013 which means we
got approximately only 45 percent of our
revenue coming from Ukrainian clients
meaning that more than half was going
from Russia and other markets so I
really was proud that I started to build
really international yeah
that we are not really local selling to
our neighbors yes sure but then one day
the next revolution started and you see
that things are getting quite worse and
you see all this terrible tragedy going
on at Maidan right and I was involved in
one charity foundation helping children
of people killed during my done aha we
wanted to collect money and to
distribute it to the to the families
sure we were successful in that but I
was it was even before the crime here
and it was before all the things which
happened in Donetsk right and I met my
business trip to Moscow my regular
business trip so I was stopped in the
airport and I was asked to wait so I
waited for maybe five hours in one
little room and then my one guy from
police came out and said you know what
do you need a translation I said no it’s
something like you are do you need a
translation from English language right
he said no I said okay due to the laws
of Russian Federation you are considered
to be the personal threat for security
of Russian Federation and you are not
allowed to enter our country you will be
sent back by the closest plane and
there’s we boarded the plane in Ukraine
no no no I’m already not in Moscow okay
you know I’m at the border in Moscow
yeah I mean in the empty airport in
Moscow Locke
in a room by police to to wait for
something and it’s not so pleasant when
your freedom is very limited and said
okay no problem
and it was six hours before the plane
and I must admit that the new terminal
it seems to me it was surely meet you
ever not mistake it is really one of the
best airports in the world in means of
coure occur in means of racketeering and
it was all big players like starbucks
bribed some other things and i said okay
guys no problem we wait for the plane
I will go grab myself some coffee is it
no you are not allowed you stay here you
are allowed to go to toilet to drink
water and to smoke this is three things
you can do all other things you are not
allowed but I said I am NOT a prisoner
they said yes but stay here and they
kept me there for seven more hours and
just brought me to the plane and send me
back so I understood that okay this is
over and what was going on in the ground
in Ukraine at a very time it was a
moment when the revolution was already
done
Maidan – Yanukovych Yanukovych crashed
etc it was a couple of weeks after that
only three weeks ok but it was at the
time when the Crimea was an open
question so it was some military forces
doing something there but no shooting no
killing no referendum no no right
it was like this meat zone yes means oh
no word no worrier yes so but you come
and you understand okay you have your
clients but you cannot visit them
anymore and so literally half of my
business like oh and they cut your right
hand please continue and then in Ukraine
you have the currency crisis when you
have your currency rate exchange rate of
8 greenest 4 door and then in 3 months
you have 27 for green as per per dollar
and somehow you have to manage it and
that was a year when we build the crop
so will you at that time you like day by
day were you just in survival mode
we like I just need here still in
survival mode that’s what everybody have
to understand doesn’t feel like it
this is like but you know using
development yeah it’s amazing
development we are growing and our
business is growing but when I speak
about business Buddhism what I mean by
that yeah yeah internally yeah and I
must do I do it go Europe why do you go
to more developed markets and do you
have they are not so developed I said
come on guys you are living in a woke up
world have you turned heard this term
Mucca Mucca Mucca no this is just how
scientists describe the world we have
right now okay Luca means vulnerable
unpredictable complex and I’ve forgotten
the world ambiguous vague ambiguous and
something like unpredictable turbulent
world where you have in this mode you
don’t know what will be the Boston
Dynamics dogs doing in three years and
what will be AI or Y or T or what will
be like everything is changed and there
is come and say you know what I cannot
teach you to be more corporate yeah I
cannot teach you to be more structured
but I’m bringing disruptive innovations
from a disruptive country for you to
balance his own and some kind of market
changes it’s like a blah blah blah right
for me it’s my air I live in that for 20
years
yeah literally I’m ready to lose
everything I have now tomorrow seriously
again look if my children will be alive
and if I will be in some kind of safe
piece of area sure it will be model
enough for me that’s why if I can enjoy
doing business today and do it is an
optimist hoping that everything will be
fine
definitely
so you have not blocked with this I have
some advantages that if anyone if you
want to put your business out to the
world
first of all you have the bet Vantage of
living in the turbulence it looked like
because you can you can pivot iterate
very quickly yes and then you’re the
Buddhism thing I like that because your
business but it’s a business Buddhism
you do that you’re not you know to touch
and this is the same visit technologies
sure you have your business model
working today but be sure it will not be
working tomorrow or talk to Nokia guys
or to Kodak guys about the
sustainability of the business yes right
and predictability of the business
that’s why that’s why I think that do
you think people here have an advantage
definitely though if they think they’ve
gone down the road long enough in
business here they actually managed look
I don’t want to look too self-confident
but this year I took my first classes in
Harvard Business School and this year we
did a lot of business meetings with
clients from Germany etcetera in Ukraine
we have a very strong problem which is
called that we underestimate our own
opportunities of neutrality so we always
in generally as a nation over a lot of
people you think okay we as a second
class we are the big class the C class
the [ __ ] [ __ ] it
we are the a class in what we can do
better and that’s why if we are not from
the corporate world I want yet I don’t
want to pretend to be more corporate
that are the corporates right right
right
I’m speaking about the interpreters
jumping it or diving it to some kind of
wild new segments because if you see I
don’t know blockchain crypto whatever
some kind of things which are
application related to ecosystems
related they’re all about disruptions
and the rules which are important to be
successful in this kind of types of
business are the same is to survive at
revolution you have to act extremely
fast you have to take all the
responsibility you have to manage little
troops like little groups like all this
scrum agile is all about that and we can
do that and
are grateful yeah because if you have
peace today peaceful sky today
nobody is killed it’s a great day and
you have to really enjoy it because
people don’t know when they come well
you know what I hate in some it’s not
only about Ukraine or Germany or yes or
whatever when people are alive when
people are not having some kind of
terrible diseases when people have quite
I would say amazing income allowing them
to have their food to have the address
to travel to travel yeah and then they
complain yeah they said oh I’m so dazed
I’m so dead
come on guys don’t be stupid because
when you have time the Revolution when
everyday somebody is killed yeah and the
revolution is physically 800 meters from
your office yeah and you have gasoline
cans how to say
canisters yes for gasoline it your
garage yeah full with gasoline because
you know that maybe if some [ __ ] starts
you hope to put your children to your
car and put the gasoline and you try to
reach the border right maybe because you
will know that definitely in half an
hour all the gasoline station will be
turned off and when you have some kind
of extra food like you know pasta or
butter or oil or some kind of canned
food just for the backup because maybe
no shops will be open for coming couple
of weeks this is not the agenda you want
to have yeah and when you get through
that and you come back to normal life
you are extremely happy do you feel like
you gain something out of that
expression Utley you’re more agile
definitely no again you are more
philosophic yeah and you really learn to
enjoy simple things well I think people
here in general enjoy they live
the day more because you don’t know what
tomorrow brings you know I can say that
in America in Germany this is the same
they live in the same I would say
unpredictable environment even if it is
globally like a planet yeah you don’t
know what Trump will do or what you know
but I’d say the American mindset is like
I’m gonna sacrifice today so I can have
a better day tomorrow in general like
people will put off a vacation I say
long time I see for work for works sake
okay well I think here because of you
get these cycles calm right and it puts
you on your toes and then I think it
makes you more alive in a sense right
you know in Ukraine it’s a lot of life
and the loss of I would say natural real
emotions sure meaning that you do not
pretend and people here don’t really
know well how to play social games to be
a good listener positive no yes straight
much more straight they like you say
like they hate you they hate you and yes
they show it and I I really try to live
today and I understand its when you see
so much death and so much loss and so
much unpredictability you understand
that if you spend five days for five
years or fifteen years working extremely
hard to build your capital yeah to build
your assets and then to relax you
understand okay it might be a wrong
strategy yeah because for 15 years you
do that and then everything is crashed
then question who is silly
that’s right for me the biggest
challenge is to keep this balance from
one side as I mentioned we have a
long-term vision I have a business plan
for seven years we have a very good I’d
say I am how many people how many
clients how many it’s all calculated we
have all our KPIs
yeah so we are not like monkeys who want
to gather enough drinks and bananas
before the sunset yeah and but from
other side I have to leave this day
yeah perfectly I have to leave this
summer should be the best time in my
life because I don’t know what will be
an example where we all be etcetera
etcetera
right and what do you think you crate is
right now 2018 like if you’re to give an
assessment on where you think the
business culture is and it depends what
industry obviously I think again I would
say something like that we are really
happy as a company to be as the
epicenter of changes yeah because all
big companies who are local etc somehow
talk to us some work with us yeah not
but they talk too sure what I can say
that currently what is my biggest
happiness source is that there are
thousands and hundreds of companies who
are heavily investing planning the
return of investment not in three but in
five seven ten years people build hotels
people build some kind of real estate
development they build offices they
built districts IT clusters etc etc set
so everybody does something right and
generally business of my clients is
growing huh if I take if I take eight
out of ten categories growing growing so
we all have problems not so enough
qualified staff no it’s all right but
it’s growing speaking of that but
because yeah because what was the
interesting I think about the revolution
mm-hmm when you speak about that in
theory for example when you think about
the Nazi Germany yeah in 30s
yeah and you read about all the terrible
things which happen there and just you
ask yourself wow how many people killed
but why have they stayed there
why haven’t they left one two three five
years before but being here I can say
it’s not so easy to live because you
always have hope
and you always have your emotional
connections and if you take my case
yeah okay as you mentioned I’m quite
successful too but luckily nobody wants
me in Germany u.s. I said it’s a next
fight yes
yeah nobody waits for us there they
don’t leave me yeah and it’s it’s it’s
true it’s the way the things are and the
second thing I hear my relatives my
mother my friends my connection my
favorite restaurants my streets my
memories my cars
my flats bye my children my children’s
school so all this life is here yeah and
I have my stuff yeah I have 100 people
who trusted me and this is not the
moment when you say okay I feel myself a
little scary I will take my backpack and
see you maybe in six months because you
will be like how the same not cheating
them but like yeah betrayed right yes
that’s the world and the question is
that when you think about for example
starting up again for example wherever
I’m almost 40 yeah you understand that
it’s a really crucial thing because here
you are how they used to that for the
last 10 15 years you are in the sea
level you talk to best people in the
country most talented most famous most
richest most powerful etc you know all
the presidents and the okay Prime
Minister was in my office and I know we
have done a lot of projects with again
you feel yourself like a real inventor
and then who are you there that’s
exactly that’s a great point because so
many people I write about this sometimes
like look a lot of people in the in
Ukraine think us is Hollywood movies
like just get there everything’s perfect
look us is great for certain things it’s
not great for other things
I love certain aspects in my country but
I know one place one person one whatever
doesn’t have it all so depending on your
life like
you might move to us and have a much
better life you might move to the US and
have a much worse life you might move to
the US and want to come back what I’m
saying it’s not a black-and-white so for
a guy like you yeah why would you
doesn’t make any sense make any sense to
live that’s why my dream yeah my plan is
to comment and say I really want to be
the citizen of the world
yeah for me for me yeah it means having
my core main office business here in
Ukraine yeah for me is having my home
here in Ukraine
sure but being successful not like a
successful refugee yeah but as a
successful interpreter yeah in that man
in that market and what I would say that
when I was thinking about that I wanted
to play the roles of the markets to
respect them to again and said but now I
understand okay if I try to be like a
German yeah Oh like American I will not
be competitive I will lose my power of
disruption of freedom of craziness of
fearless of being fast being again crazy
as I mentioned that’s why our strategy
now is to be ourselves and for me the
dream is not to escape but really to
have balance to have two legs one which
will be here to make this country better
sure because everything can be done and
there are so actually had to be done
yeah and I really enjoy that live in the
city where I go to the supermarket with
the brand which was developed by us used
the bank which was developed by us by
the gasoline at the gas station which
was completely built by us to go buy
some fish in the shop which was designed
by us I said I really it’s like it’s my
flat yeah you know it’s mine yeah I’m
the owner here of this city of this
country I love it and I want to make it
better but I’m not this kind of
inside the box Patriot wants to hide in
the box close this book and said I’m
here I’m here
sir I’m proudly pronouncing the time
from Ukraine yeah enjoy I don’t want to
pretend Berliner no I’m great yeah but I
can teach you a lot I can give you great
examples and we are brave enough to
change things though to question things
to do things that and this is my agenda
for the moment so what about what about
the young people here though what would
you say to them you’ve lived this
interesting journey and you came out of
Soviet Union it’s not the Soviet Union
now people have a different set of
challenges and advantages now growing up
in what 2018 so would you say like you
obviously hire young a lot of young
people here you’ve given them an
opportunity but as far as entrepreneurs
being after maneuvers what do you
suggest I’ll get it going in Ukraine I
would say I don’t need to give them
advices what I see is a huge wave of
interest towards enterpreneurship coming
sure during especially the last three
years huh it’s becoming trendy it’s
becoming sexy is becoming fashion to be
an interpreter it’s cool because as I
mentioned in Germany for example it’s a
number three option you have government
or corporation giving you a lot of
advantages aha
in Ukraine government question who you
want to do corruption or you’ve got a
really poor for life corporations there
is not so much that’s not so many
and it’s also representative offices
it’s not that you can fulfill yourself
like that’s why it becomes the first
option if you want to lead great life
you to get good money please be an
enterpreneur
open your business do it and do whatever
and I’m happy that during the last for
example almost four weeks so in May in
June we have given three speeches yeah
young enterpreneurs and into audiences
and one for people from more business
audience but one who wants to change
yeah and there were dances where 3.5
thousand four point one thousand three
point five thousand so it’s now not the
hundred thousands of these rayon people
mostly yeah who wants to develop and
great and I believe in that and that’s
why we will see what will happen you
never know what will happen that’s why
leave today enjoy tomorrow and
everything will be fine that’s maybe
what about this – I have no friend I
mean you gotta run I have to run so
let’s cut last question and because my
dear friends but they have to do some
business I have to meet some clients no
more chatting okay I’m gonna go quick
with this one and then we’ll finish up
with what you’re working on
I spoke to someone about this the other
day that leadership okay it can come
from the top but it can also come from
within and a lot of people think in the
world actually in the US or in Ukraine
that some leaders gonna come in and save
the day and good leadership is always a
great thing but the decisions to work
hard to work on your your healthy eating
to work on exercising education all
these things these decisions all come
from deeply within right what do you
have to say to that for people here like
because I look Americans it’s in the DNA
to sort of hate the government actually
like this way everyone owns a gun
because it’s actually in the
Constitution to this end up and form a
militia if the government ever gets out
of hand so what would you say for
Ukrainians in that sense where it seems
like many people not all people many
people expect a leader to have the
solutions it’s a good question because
we speak about that even with my
colleagues for our top managers about
this whole theory of holacracy coming to
change the air here in corporations and
again what is the real level of
efficiency in democracy or in some kind
of dictator mode yeah and when you have
the dictator against the democracy the
dictator wins and mr. Putin shows it
quite well yes that when you have too
many too many open discussions and one
guy said okay we’ll do this and they do
that
and nobody can stop them because they
spend time on different trying to find
the consensus to define even the agenda
for the meeting before before they
discuss the agenda he’s already there
and this is the problem but what to
speak about the leadership it’s a very
philosophical thing I think it’s a
choice okay it’s a choice everybody have
to make if you want to be successful if
you want to be happy
it’s your choice because again it’s a
long way you don’t have it as a present
you don’t have it for free it’s the
price is high you have to work hard you
have to lose a lot of opportunities etc
and you’re not at at the dodge heavy we
can hang it out relax absolutely yes you
sacrifice that I used to purify that yes
and this is your choice again yeah I can
say proper eating yeah also has its
price that’s why I can always say if you
are not successful if you’re not happy
if you’re not that ask yourself for sure
it’s up sometimes like terrible
coincidence which brings some kind of
tragedies to your life yeah and you
cannot manage that but how to react on
that it’s only a choice right but 80% of
people are weak they lack this internal
power they need some kind of external
support like they need a manager to push
them to punish them or to motivate them
that’s why the leadership is there but I
mean creative business and as you have
mentioned if you have seen we are not
like pushing anybody here we have
something content like ping-pong
environment but we work really hard here
yeah and that’s why I think that it’s an
organic broad process and I think that
people are developing world is
developing there really a lot of
information you can have an access to
and it changes everything changes people
see religion people chases stay people
see themself
people see whatever that’s why yeah well
I think that good leaders are always
good to have wherever they are in u.s.
or in Ukraine and cetera and what I want
I want to finish that is my main it
seems to me the main goal for the leader
in Ukraine is two things first is to
define the vision yeah because currently
we don’t have the say USP unique selling
proposition yes we are going to Europe
okay but what we bring there right what
do you bring we will be there in three
five years but why do they want why do
they want us what what is what making us
competitive this is one thing and second
thing I think I think it’s about
fighting for talents because I think
that for me again leadership and success
and even being having some kind of
internal passion it’s a synonym of being
intellectual or being clever because
it’s some kind of decision how you want
to behave yourself yeah because you have
to have some kind of plan some horizon
for your planning and if you are living
in the short-term mode
completely and you don’t have a
long-term picture you stay very local
and you don’t fight and you eat and you
live one beer and fat and and it’s a bad
strategy for life let’s say if you have
a proper life strategy you become much
more flexible and sometimes you can take
a decision okay maybe point is not so
bad also but option for for taking an
opportunities which are there on Germany
and this countries do the great job yeah
I can say and you cannot blame them on
that sure and the government of Berlin
impressed me with the level of
were they provided us and the level of
interest they show to our company to
really help us set up and business there
Wow and in your dream in Ukraine they do
nothing and I would say the government
of Berlin is quite open that they want
me to move there they are
it’s not a hint but they say if you
decide we help you with everything and
why do they watch you they’re so bad
because they want talented people to
support the strategy of Berlin as a
creative and starter capital of Europe
right and they have the filters how they
judge the companies they want in Berlin
yeah that’s the strategy yeah they have
analyzed our company it’s not so hard
you know the website creative plan etc
and they see oh this is the type of the
company we want to be in Berlin yeah
that’s why we have the option that or
option B option that for helping plan
yeah if you need to connect please this
is a local this this this is it and they
do the homework yeah Ukraine this is not
the agenda no this is not the agenda and
for me the question when the leader
comes for sure we have great land for
sure it can always focus on agriculture
and I don’t know
talking that okay Ukraine is so nice we
have such such a pretty pretty ladies
here but it’s so terrible if you look
only for agriculture and ladies yeah
it’s a complete [ __ ] it’s a complete
[ __ ] because you have to think about
different things yeah and I’m sure they
exist and I’m sure that the great leader
will come and open eyes for the great
opportunities we have and the things
which you can do in Ukraine which
inspire you and which are wonderful
because the main ingredients of the
people are here and an attitude and the
world is not perfect
bhana if you are alive you have to go
forward this is the last thing I want to
say thank you so much for you can
massage thank you and I hope some people
hear us in Canada in us and please don’t
be afraid of our country come do your
business do your travel enjoy and
welcome to gray I know one last thing
where can people find you at what’s your
instructor if calm you can go for
Fredrik calm they can also use YouTube
and type fedor if f e d o RI v vlog and
they can also look for Federative on
Instagram and three a and E are you why
you see I’m bad in Spanish sorry for my
bad english
you