91探花

Ukrainian local, Oleksii Sekundant Co-Founder & CBDO at Fulcrum Rocks, explores…
 

The tech industry, unlike the element that gave the name to its capital 鈥淪ilicon Valley ”, isn’t brittle or fragile. In fact, it鈥檚 quite resilient and flexible due to the way people work, think and adjust.

The war in Ukraine is showcasing how quickly the industry can adapt, overcome challenges and even set new records. Despite the war and massive relocations, the first quarter of 2022 was a milestone for Ukraine’s IT sector, generating a record $2B in export earnings.聽

The war forced Ukraine鈥檚 tech to re-adjust and refocus fast. Now, Ukrainian IT specialists are working on two fronts: the first one, of course, being their day job and the second 鈥� volunteering on the frontline to raise awareness & funds for their country.

The last three months have become a real challenge for the Ukrainian IT sector, requiring it to demonstrate great flexibility and resilience. Despite the danger of losing clients, a decrease in sales or just being bombed, almost the entire tech community managed to relocate their teams quickly and safely, stabilise all processes and resume work.

To not go bankrupt,, others in the contrary decided to invest in marketing and sales.

鈥淯krainian IT professionals have never been more motivated to contribute to the economy, gain new clients, and work even harder. Ukrainian tech companies are now focusing all of their efforts on helping their country win the war,鈥� says Oleksii Sekundant, CBDO and co-founder at, a software development company from Ukraine.

Fulcrum Rocks, like dozens of other Ukrainian tech companies, was greatly affected by the atrocities of the war. Based in Kyiv, the agency had to act fast and smart in order to save its business and people. The initial shock took its toll despite the company having a pre-existing plan for the worst-case scenario. As the Russian army progressed, it was easy and intuitive enough for Fulcrum鈥檚 management to set the priorities straight.
 

In just 4 days, the company managed to relocate the most part of the team, returned to the normal workflow and fulfilled commitments to its customers. Yet, not everything went according to Fulcrum鈥檚 plan – some people got stuck in the besieged cities, some kept working from bomb shelters, while others had relatives who needed assistance.

鈥淲e were shocked when we found out that our BA, Kseniia, was stuck in Chernihiv while it was constantly bombed. The city had no water, electricity and medicines, but Kseniia didn鈥檛 give up and even volunteered to help others. She鈥檚 our hero. Several weeks later, she managed to evacuate safely from the city, so now she is safe and even returned to work. During the relocation of the team, we鈥檝e focused on creating several different hubs inside and outside Ukraine. We wanted to help as many people as possible – not only our employees but also their families and friends. Our HR department was looking for a solution for everyone,鈥� shares Oleksii.

Months after, Fulcrum鈥檚 employees are gradually returning to their de-occupied cities and homes. The same happened to the Ukrainian tech sector, which is trying to return to its previous state and recover from a war. Tech companies in Ukraine are regaining their customers and sales, restoring work capacities, raising new investments, with some for their services.

鈥�At Fulcrum, we were greatly concerned about whether we would be able to keep our international businesses and clients working with us after Russia聽started the war. But with the team鈥檚 motivation and clients鈥� support we even managed to begin working on a number of new projects and hired over 10 more people. I think it鈥檚 the result of the trust we鈥檝e previously earned. We had that opportunity to show our clients how seriously we take our commitments, and how deliberate and stress-resilient our team is鈥� says Fulcrum鈥檚 CBDO.

As the situation began to stabilize, Fulcrum started to work on establishing regular communication within the team and setting up the processes both work-wise and volunteering-wise. The company opened up a second 鈥榝ront鈥� which consolidated the team鈥檚 efforts to help Ukraine win.

鈥淲e launched DDoS attacks on Russian聽propaganda websites, in fact, we created a step-by-step guide on how to do it for people with different levels of tech knowledge. Since the first day, we also donated money to volunteer funds like 鈥楥ome Back Alive鈥� and decided to give away all our revenue to the needs of Ukraine. We created our own volunteer centre to help people locally. As a company, we dedicate plenty of our resources to helping our country and are not planning to stop until the war is over.鈥�

Fulcrum, surely, is not the one in its attempts to support Ukraine, but rather represents the mood of the whole industry. Local businesses and companies in Ukraine became more than ever united in their desire to support their country in this war 鈥� they donate huge sums of money, volunteer as whole teams, launch awesome initiatives, leave their laptops and join the army. For instance, earned in Russia since 2014 to Ukraine, while Uklon鈥檚 (Uber-like service) via LinkedIn.

鈥�In these hard times, Ukraine鈥檚 IT industry demonstrates great resilience, unity and bravery. Our tech community is determined to create awesome products no matter what. Almost every IT specialist here is now motivated to deliver more and contribute to the country’s security. Ukraine鈥檚 tech has already proved to deliver top-notch quality services and products even under impossible conditions.

It鈥檚 not surprising that lots of companies have announced their decision to invest in Ukraine鈥檚 businesses in recent weeks. Despite the war, the global community recognises the big potential of Ukrainian tech which has always been known for its wide talent pool and strong tech education.

So, my message is simple 鈥� don鈥檛 be afraid to invest in Ukraine. In the upcoming months and years, this country will be one of the biggest hubs for a technological boom and digitalisation (which is already greatly developed here), especially with IT experts massively leaving Russia and Belarus,鈥� states Sekundant.