*Oleksandr Voloshyn is the co-founder and CEO of Postello startup, founded in 2020. Graduate of the Pre-Acceleration Program and BootCamp from CfE Accelerator.

Oleksandr, why did you implement this idea in your startup?

• From 2017 to 2020, I worked in a lead generation company where I was a co-founder. We grew well and our staff already has more than 25 people. Before the pandemic, I left the company, but the idea came to me while working there as COO because I noticed many points on which we spent a lot of time, and made templates for a long time so that they were personalized and of high quality. I wanted to optimize all of these processes, so the idea of Postello was born back then.

So you applied to Accelerator as soon as you developed the idea of a startup?

• During the pandemic, I began to actively work in this direction. I came to CfE because I wanted to gather as much knowledge as possible, to get enough of it. I have always approached such things comprehensively and therefore understood that I needed to collect different visions and talk to people who had already gone through all this. In the Accelerator, I got everything I needed because I just took everything, learned everything, and used everything. I always say that if a person wants, he will find a way. Therefore, when I had specific questions about some blocks or approaches, I wrote to the mentor and they answered with all I needed. Usually, someone lacks something because of laziness, not because there are not enough tools. I knew why I came and what I needed.

Has your vision of the product changed from the idea you originally had to the one you came out of the Accelerator with? 

• Yes, at first I had a slightly broader idea, but then I realized that I needed to focus on something specific. One of the teachers explained to me very clearly that I should be able to make clear decisions. With this realization, the product emerged even more clearly.

Were you afraid to launch your product on the market?

• Not at all, I have no such fear. My previous experience with the US, Canadian and Australian markets may have had an effect. It was obvious that it was necessary to sell, therefore, when there is a desire – there is no fear.
  The only thing we had difficulties with was that we did not know how to properly practice some CEO processes, we needed someone experienced in this matter.

What were Postello’s turning points?

• The first one is a big growth spurt because of what was happening in the AI field, it increased our numbers by 400%. We have a telegram bot that constantly sends us data about new registrations, engagements, and so on. There could be 700 applications per day. We were not even ready for this, because the team was small. But it’s nice 🙂
  The second moment is a change in the composition of the team. Then I had a drop in motivation, but when I saw how the applications were flying – it gave me energy and I understood what needs to be done, it is necessary to find new people for the team. I knew that the perfect team was somewhere out there and it was only a matter of time before I will find it. Technical skills and professionalism are important by default, but I am an empath and I need to understand that we will work with the team and we will be comfortable, in spirit. Perhaps this is also my personal growth because when recruiting a new team, I avoided the mistake I made before – I was afraid to ask uncomfortable questions. It is necessary to discuss everything immediately and in advance, so I did so with the new team. The third point is a full-scale invasion. We quickly adapted to work, but emotionally, each of us experienced some kind of break.

Did something change in your personality when you started working on your startup?

• Yes! My vision of things and my views, in general, have changed. When I started immersing myself in the startup story, I realized that there are no negative experiences and everything is “okay”. I used to think that everything should be perfect from the first time, but now I know that it is possible to make mistakes and it is all experience that makes the project better and stronger. I trust those I work with more – there is no micromanagement. I have noticed that when you trust people and believe in their professionalism, they reach more and work more calmly. Everything happens synchronously when you take it easy.

What are Postello’s goals in the near future?

• We are looking for a marketer who is well acquainted with the foreign market. Also, we want to change the business model a little bit. We will work on changing the functionality because now we understand users better, we will add new languages and thereby increase our audience.

CfE will set an example of Mr. Voloshin’s approach to things: clearly, comprehensively, without panic, but with a great desire to create what he set out to do😄. Therefore, let me remind you that our programs are already waiting for your registration, go ahead!

* Dmytro Horilyk – CEO of the DrugCards startup that participated in BootCamp from CfE Accelerator in 2021.

Why was this idea chosen for the start-up, and what was the impetus?

• I have been working in the pharmaceutical industry for many years, but all my life I wanted to be an entrepreneur and create something new. It all started with a public organization that was engaged in training people in the field of pharmacology. Then it grew into a consulting business. My brother also worked in the pharmacological field and we saw certain points in his work that we would really like to optimize so that we don’t have to do it manually. It was the monitoring of the literature on medical preparations. If there are 80 medical journals in Ukraine, then you sit and read these 80 journals every week/month. It was too hard.

Since I was in consulting, I have some connections in the industry and we started doing small cast devas to see if others had this problem. After that, we realized that it has a demand among people.

How was your experience at the Accelerator?

• Initially, we did not think of creating a start-up, at that time it seemed to us that it could be a good business. We knew nothing about the startup industry and venture business. But after gaining experience, we realized that this story has global potential, and we need to scale.

Participating in the programs helped us change our sales strategy a bit. When we got to Demium, we got a clear vision of our new business model. However, the main thing in any program is networking, it is a tool that you will use for a long time.

How has the vision of your product changed since the beginning and already with the acquired experience?

• We’ve been lucky that we’ve been very focused from the start, we’ve had a clear understanding of what we’re doing, and what we want to achieve, and frankly, the direction of the product hasn’t changed. We remain as focused as ever. Apparently, we had the right strategy from the beginning, we need to do one thing very well.

What were the turning points in the formation of DrugCard?

• The first such moment was the fact that the Farmak company became our client. This is one of the largest companies in Ukraine in its niche. This affected our relations with other companies because cooperation with Farmak became a good reference for others. The second moment was receiving the first investments because we received the first funds, which allowed us to develop much faster and more actively. The third is receiving a grant from the 7 Wings fund. At that moment, a full-scale invasion began and almost all of our customers froze their payments. Therefore, the fund helped us a lot to continue our work, not to lay off anyone, and even to add employees to our staff. The fourth – receiving from the advisers highly qualified specialists – Petro Chernyshov and Yevhen Krazhan. This radically changed the vector of our sales strategy. And the last one is support from Google for Ukrainian Startups. This is cool training and financial support.

Were you afraid to launch your product on the market?

• We started selling when the product was frankly not ready yet. The problem was that nothing was selling, for 5 months there were no results at all, but at the same time, we were finishing the product. However, I believe that it was possible to start selling even earlier. We had no fear, only discomfort because none of us knew how to sell.

How does the team make decisions and reach a consensus?

• It is quite simple for us to work together, all founders are responsible for their own direction, and I, as CEO, trust the decisions made by the co-founders. In 95% of cases, we have no contradictions.

What is happening with the startup now?

• Now we are going through an active phase of growth, we have formed a staff and are actively entering the European market. We already work with Croatia, Germany, Finland, and Spain.

What are the future goals of DrugCard?

• The main thing is business development, we plan to involve other countries in cooperation. Our goal is to get $60k in monthly revenue by the end of 2023. We also plan to introduce AI and Machine Learning into our product to add more value.

How did your mindset change after diving into the startup sphere?

• It has only changed positively. In general, I like the ecosystem in Ukraine. Support prevails here, there are many funds and programs, and in general, now I have a clear impression that when you want to do something, you should start right away. The startup showed me that you can always find what you are looking for here. Also, every day there are unexpected surprises that need to be dealt with. Well, maybe there are a few days a year when there is no such thing 🙂

We are small, we are flexible, and the startup is developing, so there are always some rakes, we learn from our own experience, so problems are normal. If no one died, then everything is fine and everything can be resolved.

Have you and your team thought about selling your startup?

• It is always a question of money and its quantity. I do not think that we will do this in the next 5 years. Our goal is to build a global business that is highly competitive in the market. Our niche is very close to us, we know it, we know it and we want to do it qualitatively.

What advice do you have for those who have an idea but hesitate to go to the Accelerator?

• You will never be 100% ready, just try and that’s it, there is no other way. You will still be helped somehow and you will not lose so much time. You also need to love your product, otherwise, nothing will work. When we started the startup, we understood that there was no turning back, so we believed that we would succeed in everything. One more piece of advice – don’t be happy about funds, or grants, until you receive actual confirmation of them in your account. Really, it’s to avoid disappointment. When we were waiting for investments and provided ourselves and the startup with our own funds for almost a year, yes, we reached a bit of a peak moment. Therefore, work and prove that your efforts are worth it. Persistence is the key.

The DrugCard team is conquering new heights and successfully building its future, and the CfE Accelerator wishes everyone who has an idea to be inspired to go forward and register for programs!

*Denys Haidamaka – CTO of Sugarrr startup, a team of the Pre-Acceleration program of  CfE Accelerator 2021.

Tell us how the idea of creating a startup came about, why did you choose such a topic?

• Our founder Bohdan has diabetes. Until a certain time, the disease did not harm health in any way, but at some point, there was a risk of significant complications. Therefore, Bohdan had to quickly learn all the details of how to qualitatively control his health. Daily life for most people with diabetes is about doing things on a schedule. Quality control requires a certain base of scientific knowledge, as well as various diabetic devices that form a complex ecosystem. For novice diabetics, diving into the subject is quite stressful, so a natural idea arose to create a tool that simplifies daily life as much as possible. Diabetes without worries is our motto.

How did the Accelerator help you with the formation of a startup?

• Participation in the program allowed us to develop a clear plan for further actions. We came to pre-acceleration with a big and somewhat cheeky idea. In the process of learning, our view on the ways of its implementation became more realistic, and a better understanding of the processes of building a startup allowed us to adapt the idea to the needs of users and technical capabilities. After market analysis, research of user needs, and product side – we became more focused. We are now implementing the steps from the road map, the first version of which was created at CfE.

What were the turning points for Sugarrr in its formation?

• The biggest turning point, as in most Ukrainian companies, is connected with a full-scale war. Before that, Sugarrr was actively moving towards getting investments and launching the product in the international market. However, all negotiations with investors collapsed due to the uncertainty of the situation in the world and huge risks inside Ukraine, where our small team remained. We could not stand aside, it was difficult to think about conquering the world when tragedy is happening around us, so we focused on helping people with diabetes in Ukraine. Unfortunately, life in constant stress, changing priorities from building the company to banal survival, and lack of financial support from the state or investors for the development of the startup resulted in the loss of almost a whole year. However, we continued working on our own and finished work on the MVP of the iOS application in December.

What is happening with the startup now?

• We are currently preparing the application for public release and are resuming the active search for investments in the further development of the product. To do this, we are updating and strengthening the team. Adjusted the business plan and road map, and shifted the emphasis on communication. We continue to improve the functionality, we work with the first users. In a word, we are trying to give Sugarrr new momentum and are preparing to make a loud statement)

Tell us more about the features of your product.

• Sugarrr’s big mission is to make diabetes control easy, fast and reliable – virtually invisible, so people can live productive and happy lives. Regardless of age, regardless of “experience” as a diabetic. Our goal is to become the first digital medicine in the country that every endocrinologist could prescribe to their patients along with insulin or pills for better health management. We are gradually moving towards such a future. And now we are a 100% product made in Ukraine and for Ukrainians. There are several popular apps for people with diabetes in the world, but most of them are either in the language of a civilized Western country, which is incomprehensible to our older generation, or in the language of a barbaric Eastern country, the use of which is unacceptable for any generation of conscious people. Ukrainian is the default language in Sugarrr, so now users with diabetes have the opportunity to support their native product.

Were you scared to launch your product on the market?

• A full market entry is still ahead of us, but there is no fear. After the release of the MVP version of the application, we work with early users and receive detailed feedback. This allows you to stay on the ground and adds confidence. We are systematically preparing for this, thinking through the steps, as well as studying the experience and being inspired by successful friendly startups that have already achieved something – such as Numo ADHD. Well, we believe in our idea, so everything will work out.

How are decisions made in the team, is it difficult to get along?

• Now we have a small team of three people. We make decisions together, discuss all the steps and possible options together – this allows us to look at the problem from different angles and strengthens confidence when the views coincide. Everyone has their own area of responsibility, but usually we listen to each other. Of course, sometimes there are opposing opinions. In this case, we return to the question after a certain time and the solution appears very quickly. I don’t remember the conflicts, but the two best actions in such situations are to listen to others and to speak up yourself.

You are a developer who has never been involved with startups before Sugarrr, was it difficult to dive into the new world?

• I believe that it is easy to do something that inspires. If there is a big idea behind your work that you believe in, and your efforts can benefit society, then your path will be much easier than if these factors were not present. In this case, what most people consider obstacles can become in your hands a tool to achieve the goal. New knowledge can be burdensome and acquiring it can be boring and exhausting. But they can open the way to the realization of your idea. The topic of startups is very interesting to me. I try to deepen my knowledge every day, not only as a CTO or developer but also in all related areas.

What are your goals for Sugarrr in the near future?

• Our immediate goal is to become a reliable assistant for every Ukrainian man and woman with diabetes. We are constantly working to bring this moment closer.

Sugarrr will make much more noise because it is conscientiously moving forward to realize its goals. And CfE will always support its Alumni and is waiting for new ones, so register for the programs, we are waiting for you 🙂

*Maria Stadnyk – PMP of SellerSkills company, a startup that graduated Acceleration program and BootCamp of CfE Accelerator in 2021.

Tell me, please, why you chose such a topic for a startup?

• Since our co-founder worked in the field of e-commerce, he launched projects for the sale of books. For my part, I worked on various projects also in the field of e-commerce, launching online stores. Therefore, the topic of sales is not new to us. We are aware of problems with import, and synchronization, so this idea arose accordingly.

What were your criteria for an accelerator?

• We were not looking for an accelerator at first. I took several courses at UCU and attended the Data Science Summer School, so I went to the page and saw the announcement. This is a coincidence.

What did you initially struggle with, and how did you know there were gaps with the startup?

• There was a problem because we were just entering the market, so we did not know how to develop the product further, how to understand what marketing goals should be fulfilled, and whether it is worth changing the strategy or not. We were looking for experts to give us advice and tips. Also, we needed to define our values more clearly.

What has changed in the perception of the product before and after participation in the accelerator?

• We found a focus because at first, we were talking about a product that does everything. After acceleration, we focused on one main feature and are promoting it everywhere. We have also completely reworked the marketing strategy because the positioning of the product has changed.

SellerSkills clearly knows what they need and what their goal is. Meanwhile, CfE encourages everyone to set high goals and register for our programs!

*Oleksandr Kobzar, founder and CEO at VYROBY, a startup that participated in Pre-Acceleration Program 2022 from CfE Accelerator

Why did you choose this idea for a startup?

• I am related to this field, I co-founded a company importing tiles from Spain and Italy, so I have been in this field for 10 years. Accordingly, I worked in the home goods market and got acquainted with related products.

When I started to renovate my house, I personally faced the problem of finding furniture, because I needed a stylish, high-quality renovation, but at a reasonable price. I saw that there is a problem – it is very difficult to find furniture of the quality I needed. Of course, they exist in general, but some such small and local, craft manufacturers, and even don’t have their own websites.

However, there are many low-budget options online. But finding another segment is difficult, they are scattered on Instagram pages, which are inconvenient to search for and take a lot of time. In addition, where there were sites, they had a very inconvenient interface.

That’s how I got the idea that if I had such a resource that would cover this pain of mine. That’s why I started surveying people, a kind of customer development, in order to understand the actuality of the market in general, and whether it is necessary at all to make such a resource. Then I did research on the market, and its volume and found two points: this problem occurred in 80% of customers who did repairs. There are a lot of companies, so the idea arose to create a marketplace that unites different manufacturers, of high-quality, stylish furniture at reasonable prices.

Did you want to create a startup or a business?

• It was an idea that I wanted to turn into a real business. I’m not from the startup field, but I have an extensive marketing background. Therefore, from the point of view of analytics and understanding of the product, I was doing well. Therefore, we started to create a marketplace in “small MVP steps”, and it intuitively turned into a startup when we used the knowledge we had. It was fast, on budget, and with a small team.

Tell us how you worked in creating a startup. 

• At first, we had 2 people on the team, I started doing customer development for employees. We have a marketplace, which means there are two sides: customers and sellers. It was important to me to find out if these sellers even needed it. I began to conduct dialogues with them and found that they were interested in it. We started making a minimal product and the task was to do it as cheaply and quickly as possible. The key decision was to make a marketplace because it is many times more expensive than a regular website. We took a site designer and made the first version of the page for a thousand dollars, only those business functions that the marketplace should have performed by the site itself, performed manually. Then we started to supplement all this with other services. So we molded our MVP and started working. I did the first sales myself.

What did you need Accelerator’s help with?

• We had a request – to polish the business model. Initially, we had a lot of ideas, but in the Accelerator, we focused more and heard feedback from mentors. Also, we wanted to assess how interesting this project would be to potential investors.

Did your original vision of the product change after the Accelerator?

• The vision has not changed, but it became more specific. Accelerator gave us the understanding that we need to discard, and focused very strongly.

What were the turning points at Vyroby?

• The first turning point is the transition from the idea to its implementation. The second point – first sales, when I realized that it is necessary to connect all forces and follow a strategic plan.

What are the future goals and plans of the startup?

• We are currently working on the technical side and functionality of the marketplace. The second task is to scale the project according to the number of manufacturers that will be represented on the platform and scale sales across Ukraine. Of course, we plan to enter the European market in the future.

So, Vyroby is creating a wider and more functional interface for their platform, and CfE is looking to increase the Alumni community, so register for the programs as soon as possible, we are always waiting!

Yaroslav (CEO) and Stephan (СPO) of WRAP startup. The team participated in the Acceleration program of CfE Accelerator in 2021.

Guys, tell us how the idea for your startup came about and why this particular field?

• Initially, Stephan (CPO) thought about this idea, because he worked in the video production field and since he was constantly involved in the process, he noticed patterns and gaps that made everyone who works with video – eyes twitch! The reason is that there were no tools to manage content conveniently, everything had to be done through different programs. Then Stephan involved Volodya and Myhailo in the development of the startup, and later also me as CEO, although at first, I joined only with early investments motives, so it was supposed to be an investment project, but it turned out to be a full-fledged activity.

How did you develop your idea when you decided to come to the accelerator?

• We developed more impulsively than methodically, we were reading some basic books, looking for methodology, and grasping for available general knowledge that could be found. We got into the accelerator because Myhailo saw a recruitment announcement at UCU, and we really needed to improve our knowledge, because there was a great desire. That’s why we got into the accelerator almost from the beginning of our formation. It was a very important and right decision because we came and were told to pitch and we made a pitch, but it was very ugly 🙂 Therefore, this is our point of reference, where we saw the development. The accelerator gave us many tools for moving forward and showed us exactly how to work in practice and apply theoretical knowledge. We liked it, we grabbed everything very quickly, so we finished the program in 2nd place and it was a big step for us. People with an idea should go to an accelerator so somebody would turn their idea inside out so participants will stop wearing the pink glasses. Because we came up with the idea that we will turn from ordinary people into those who will change the world.

How did your vision of the product change during development?

• We actively continued doing what we were doing. Through the Acceleration program, we realized that we needed to realize the vision. We recommend all beginners take and visualize something from the concepts. Just open a graphics editor and draw what you see in your head. In general, something should always be done. We thought that we had no limits and we would do something very large-scale, but we were told that this is a silver bullet, there is no such thing, we need specifics so that we don’t get lost and understand where to go and what the final product will be. Therefore, the vision of the project remained unchanged, but new ways of creation appeared. We interviewed more than 130 people to gather information and improve the final version of the product. It’s cool that we became a full-time project and despite all the turbulent times, we overcame obstacles and even applied for a grant from USF, but unfortunately, due to the war, we didn’t get to the demo day.

How did you manage to overcome the confusion and start working on the startup full-time?

• We have almost 5 months of lost time, but we got together and realized that we have to do what we started because we have put in a lot of effort and we are not going to give up. When we reached an understanding of how it should look (the product), we also applied to the accelerator from Demium. Receiving the contract offer was our turning point when we realized: either everything is serious and we deal with it constantly, or neither here nor there. And we quit our jobs and went to Kyiv for the program, and it was powerful for us.

What do you consider the main advantage of the team?

• One of the most important skills is to pitch correctly because without it it is impossible to sell a product or develop your startup. That is power.

Tell us how you make decisions in the team, are there any misunderstandings?

• Sometimes it is not easy to work in a team, but we understand each other. The rule of the most adequate argument wins here. When we argue, it resembles an American courtroom. We are a team, we are not in a paid job (because you get a salary from it :), Here you cannot say that this is not my business, this is where my duties end. When one person wins or loses here, the same thing happens to everyone. We are a kind of Organization of United Efforts. As a CEO, it is important for me to know what is happening and where & who is busy with what. It’s hard to focus, but it’s worth it.

Stepfan adds:

• If I have plans, but someone comes to me saying that we need to talk about the product because there is some misunderstanding, then we go and talk about the product for 40 minutes. It’s a bit chaotic, but that’s why we’re a team because we put our efforts together. And it works. In general, I will never be able to return to a regular job, because I will die of boredom, and here every day is a new disaster, but it is dynamic, fun, and interesting.

What are the plans and goals for WRAP in the near future?

• We plan now to keep the main emphasis on finding customers who are ready to carry out a pre-sale. When there are people who are ready to follow the project and change their business style, then we will go for investments to develop the product further. For now, this is the main task.

Well, WRAP technology is actively moving forward toward its goals, and we, meanwhile, welcome all interested startupers to our programs!

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