How Ukrainian startups are surviving the battle with Russia

For all the troubles that startup founders have when fundraising, getting kidnapped isn’t usually excessive on the record. However once I requested Stacy Pavlyshyna and Roman Sevast their location after we spoke on Zoom this week, they declined to call the small village the place they have been staying — and operating a distant startup — in Ukraine.

“We now have $2 million in our account,” mentioned Pavlyshyna, who co-founded the design startup Awesomic with Sevast. “Lots of people have simply been kidnapped. We don’t really feel protected to share our actual location.”

Danylo Fedirko, the pinnacle of Advertising at Related Software program in Lviv, isn’t frightened about his personal security. However he has different worries. When we final spoke — three weeks after Russia invaded — Fedirko’s father was coaching with Ukraine’s Territorial Protection Forces. Two months later, he’s achieved and expects to be deployed to the battle, Fedirko informed me final week.

“It’s like one other universe,” Fedirko mentioned. “Truthfully, I’m not nervous — but. I simply don’t perceive. I haven’t accepted [it] but. Most likely, if he might be actually despatched there, I’ll begin to get nervous.”

The Ukrainian tech scene has needed to adapt to the realities of wartime, and hundreds of tech staff have fled the nation. However with distant work already the norm, startups have in no way stopped their efforts to scale their companies. Bolstered by an emergency $750,000 fundraising spherical with backers from Y Combinator, the Pioneer Fund and Flyer One Ventures, Awesomic’s slate of workers and contractors has swelled from 100 to 170 because the battle started, Sevast mentioned.

And though some purchasers at Related have been frightened concerning the threat of outsourcing their software program improvement work to a rustic underneath siege, Fedirko mentioned he’s additionally seen an uptick in curiosity from clients who wish to present assist to Ukraine by doing enterprise there.

The Ukrainian startup group has turn into much more tight-knit, sharing sources like contact data for so-called “angel drivers” who know unpopular roads to assist evacuees get to security. The entire nation has entered “startup mode” in its unification in opposition to the chaos, Sevast mentioned.

“Everybody desires to assist one another,” Sevast mentioned. “It’s a particular environment while you unite with random individuals with whom you’ve by no means talked earlier than, however they assist you to prefer it’s your finest buddies.”

Evacuating the workforce to security

Round 80% of Awesomic’s Ukraine-based workforce has stayed within the nation, many with relocation assist from Awesomic. Quite a lot of them are working from bunkers with unstable web connections, Pavlyshyna mentioned. Most Ukrainian males haven’t any alternative however to remain, however many ladies at Awesomic have additionally stayed in Ukraine, together with Pavlyshyna herself.

Each Sevast and Pavlyshyna turned down an early alternative to depart. Within the days after the invasion, Sevast and Pavlyshyna had an appointment to safe visas to the U.S. — they have been set to be a part of the primary Ukrainian delegation to SXSW in mid-March. However they selected to remain in Ukraine whilst Russian forces invaded, Pavlyshyna mentioned. “Military wins the battles, however we have to win with the economic system,” she mentioned.

It’s a sentiment that Pavlyshyna has heard all through her community of younger Ukrainian creatives and entrepreneurs, whilst thousands and thousands have left the nation.

“I strongly hear a story of ‘Keep right here, and preventing for the nation,’ as a result of it’s dwelling,” Pavlyshyna mentioned. “If we lose this battle, we may have no dwelling to get again.”

Awesomic has helped a few of its workforce relocate to safer elements of Ukraine.Photograph: Awesomic

That would change if issues get too harmful, Pavlyshyna mentioned. Already, Awesomic has helped a few of its workforce relocate to safer elements of Ukraine. The corporate additionally rented two villas in Egypt, a preferred trip vacation spot for Ukrainians, for Awesomic workforce members to make use of for a couple of weeks at a time. In a weblog put up on Wednesday, Sevast famous that the corporate would offer monetary assist, together with paying 100% of the bills for workforce members to see psychologists to assist with PTSD.

Even in comparatively protected Lviv, Fedirko’s house ground shook from bombing within the space a number of weeks in the past, he mentioned. It was “actually scary,” Fedirko mentioned, however he and his colleagues nonetheless normally really feel protected sufficient to disregard the air raid sirens that interrupt their days, signaling a missile launch.

“It’s simply, like, ‘Oh, so there’s a siren. OK. I’ll go far-off from the home windows,’” Fedirko mentioned. “We proceed to work.” Additionally they proceed to play: When Fedirko and I spoke on Friday night, he talked about that his colleagues have been consuming wine on the workplace.

Taking over arms

Each Awesomic and Related are donating cash to assist with the battle efforts, and each corporations have workers who’re within the battle. Related has now purchased two drones for a senior UX designer who has gone to combat, Fedirko mentioned. A designer and a developer at Awesomic have additionally joined the Ukrainian forces.

And like Fedirko, a few of Awesomic’s workforce is younger sufficient that their mother and father are preventing, Pavlyshyna mentioned. In these circumstances, Awesomic is providing monetary assist the place it’s wanted.

Fedirko himself had an emotional urge to go and combat, particularly when Kyiv was initially prone to occupation, he mentioned. For now, he mentioned he feels that he’s serving to to assist the economic system by working and paying taxes. He mentioned he’s “prepared, emotionally” to be drafted sooner or later.

Awesomic donated 1,000,000 UAH ($35,000) to the charity fund “Come Again Alive,” which purchased 496 armored vests for the Ukrainian troopers.Photograph: Awesomic

Sevast, too, mentioned he would both be a part of the forces or dedicate himself to volunteer efforts if he weren’t obligated to his workforce and traders.

Pavlyshyna sees her best contribution to the battle effort as working to rebuild the economic system and strengthen the tech trade in Ukraine. Awesomic largely sells to international clients — principally within the U.S. — and the enterprise brings in cash at a time when financial sectors like agriculture have been crippled.

“Everybody can resolve whether or not they can bake bread [to] volunteer, or do any form of work, and we determined that we have to do that effort,” Pavlyshyna mentioned. “I believe we simply want to speculate extra of the time right here, and possibly dedicate extra of the time — as we already doing — to sharing data, mentoring the group, so extra startups will seem and can succeed.”