"Make other people’s lives better," with Ukrainian tech founder Andrew Alexseyenko

More Than Work

This week’s guest is Andrew Alexseyeko. He is the founder of two tech companies and co-founder of KOLO which is an organization helping those on the front lines of the war in Ukraine.

Recently, Andrew fled his home in Kiev due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He spoke to me from a city in Western Ukraine where he is currently residing and working.

After spending some years as a product manager, Andrew founded the software development company Storypoint and software reseller and implementer Partnerway. The latter seeks to help businesses in Ukraine digitize and adopt technology.

When the war started, Andrew worked with peers and friends in the tech industry to build the Help Ukraine Win (https://helpukrainewin.org/) website. Then, they founded KOLO, a fund to assist the Ukrainian military purchase items they need such as vests, drones and night vision tools.

Through crisis, Andrew has found a different purpose and has also seen a change to the way a team works together too. It redefines the culture. To that end, Andrew has decided to take no profits from his businesses until the war is over and will be putting the funds into supporting Ukrainian refugees and the army.

Lastly, Andrew and his team are creating a platform for those in Ukraine looking for work in tech, to match with those hiring. The war has also taken a toll on how businesses operate inside the country and others interact with Ukraine from outside the country.

Note from Rabiah (Host):

For many of us outside Ukraine, we talk about being heartbroken and what is happening there, and outraged. There is very little most of us can do other than give money. I feel very humbled by Andrew and his story. It is a privilege to share it with my listeners. Both he and I would love to hear from you. The link to KOLO is below if you want to donate.

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Find Andrew

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexseyenko/

KOLO: https://www.koloua.com/en

Storypoint: https://storypoint.team/

Partnerway: https://partner-way.com/

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Mentioned in this episode:

Conductor: https://www.conductor.com/

Aura: https://www.aura.com/

Diana Tereshchenko: https://twitter.com/Ditereshchenko

Bohdan Kit: https://twitter.com/bohdan_kit

Martijn Verbove: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martijnverbove

Product Hunt: https://www.producthunt.com/

Andrew Ng: https://twitter.com/AndrewYNg

Veronika Didusenko: https://www.rabiahsaid.com/podcast/s5e9-veronika-didusenko

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