Leaving a project at the peak of its popularity: risk, ambition, and the courage to break the comfort zone. Artur Borysenko - openly for HWYD

Arthur is a PR specialist in the field of arbitration, whom I met about 3 years ago. He immediately captivated me with his deep, sincere, wise eyes and friendly smile. I am glad that over the years Arthur hasn't changed - he hasn't wasted his unique qualities of friendliness and intelligence. The only things that change are his projects, in which he grows, which he leads to leadership positions and which he is passionate about. The last time we met was at Conversion Sport Games in Kyiv. I was leading a discussion panel in which Arthur participated. As usual, it was interesting and productive, and afterwards we had a few words, and I realized that the experience of the specialist who once led AFFHUB and now TRIANGLES to market leaders would be interesting not only to me but also to HWYD readers! So, here are the fruits of our agreement with Arthur - a biographical article in the tradition of HOW WAS YOUR DAY - from childhood to the present. Read it and find out how a guy from a village of 800 people became a political, ministerial and, eventually, an affiliate PR specialist.

editor-in-chief of HWYD

HWYD: Tell us about your childhood. What kind of family did you grow up in? When and where were you born?

Arthur: I was born in a small village in the Kherson region. It's called Lyubymivka. At the time of 2021, there were 880 residents there. Imagine me and only 800 people around me. AFFHUB conferences gather people like my two native villages. It was the most vibe place ever. You just go outside and there is only a field and a horizon around you. Unfortunately, now my home village is occupied by orcs.

And it's important to understand that it was the 1990s, a village. My mom was a nurse, my dad was a physical education teacher at the time. My grandmother was a school principal, and my grandfather was an engineer. But a good family did not save us from poverty in those years. Everyone was probably living on the edge back then. But I have only good memories of my childhood. I had enough of everything. Always broken knees, bicycles, friends, I was an excellent student at school. I was constantly surrounded by books. My mom and grandparents had entire libraries, and I was always reading something. Because where else in the village could I get information about the outside world?

And in general, I loved my native village very much. A place of strength. I used to go there all the time. I love the fields, the open space, the wide horizon and the tomatoes from the garden))) It's very cool there!

HWYD: Describe your most vivid childhood memory.

Arthur: Apparently, it was always about going to the nearest town. It was cool to go for a ride to Nova Kakhovka, Henichesk, etc. By the way, I also caught the Tavrian Games. It was a really cool festival. We also went there, but it was already in school years. And also, these are trips to the sea. Because I grew up 30 minutes from the sea. It's beautiful.

HWYD: What did you dream of becoming when you grew up? Why?

Arthur: I didn't dream of becoming anything. I just loved something less, something more. The only thing that was clear was that I was more interested in the humanities. And I wanted no math in my life.

HWYD: How did you study at school? What subjects did you like the most? Which ones the least? Why?

Arthur: In elementary school, I was a total honors student. Then, in the 6th or 7th grade, I accidentally skipped class and realized that the world didn't collapse after that. So I started doing it systematically. I was a total "C" student. Favorite subjects: Ukrainian and foreign literature + history of Ukraine. I didn't like world history. These Egyptians and Romans were boring.

HWYD: What clubs/sports did you attend?

Arthur: I did karate for a long time. I went to competitions, even got some medals. I went to basketball competitions. Then I started smoking and drinking Baltika 9.

HWYD: Describe your most vivid memory from school.

Arthur: Definitely a graduation. I finally got out of that shit. I don't understand why they keep people there for 11 long years!

HWYD: What university did you graduate from? Why did you go there?

Arthur: I studied at Zaporizhzhia National University, majoring in Advertising and PR. My sister was studying there at the time. She said it was fun. And she was right. It really was fun. And I didn't care what I was going to study. The main thing was that I would never have to deal with math again in my life. In general, it was very cool at the university. Except for the fact that they keep people there for 5 years. It's absurdly long!

HWYD: What was your first job?

Arthur: It was a financial company. It was a great job. There were constant business trips. I traveled all over Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as other regional centers.

My first job was in my specialty. I worked in the marketing department. I was engaged in creatives, advertising, articles, etc. I was looking for a job after university only in my specialty. It was my 5th year of study. I realize that in a few months I will get my diploma, and what should I do next? I had no idea what to do, except become a PR specialist. I thought, well, since I will have a diploma, let me do PR. What does it matter what you do?

HWYD: How did you spend your first salary? What was it like?

Arthur: After graduation, I was earning decent money at the time. Something a little more than 1000$. I was absolutely satisfied with everything. I probably spent the money on an iPhone 5S, a trip to Georgia, and regular trips to Kyiv and Lviv.

HWYD: What did you do and where did you work later (until you got into arbitration)?

Arthur: Oh, a lot of things happened next. Especially when I moved to Kyiv. These were interactive TV services, IT companies, the Ministry of Health (after which I realized that I didn't want to have anything to do with the public sector anymore), political projects (this is the most interesting). I worked for a large media holding and one of the largest agricultural companies in Ukraine.

HWYD: How did you find out about the industry? What was your impression of it?

Arthur: We used to work together in the same office with Vitaliy Sitovsky (CEO of Traffic Squad). It was from him that I first heard this phrase - traffic arbitrage. It was 2018. And I read a bit about Oleksandr Slobozhanko. At that time, there were a lot of publications about him in various media (not arbitrage). But I still didn't fully understand what it was.

HWYD: What position did you take in the industry? What kind of company was it?

Arthur: It was AFFHUB. There I was a project of AFFHUB Media for two years.

HWYD: How did you continue to move up the career ladder? In which project did you feel your own realization and competence? And why did you decide to leave AFFHUB?

Arthur: We started developing the AFFHUB Media project almost from scratch. We had a very strong desire to become the TOP-1 media on the market. With great content, partners, etc. Initially, we worked with Victoria Maslova (ex-Head of AFFHUB), invested a lot in media, and came up with different ways to become number 1. And we succeeded. AFFHUB Media was and is now the total market leader in all respects. And after that, under the leadership of Oleksandra (Head of AFFHUB), we consolidated the success and leadership of AFFHUB Media.

That is, I have reached the logical conclusion of my participation in the project. I did everything I wanted to do within the project. Then I called Oleksandra and said that it was time for me to move on. I am very grateful to AFFHUB for everything.

HWYD: How did TRIANGLES come to be? What is your involvement in this project?

Arthur: When I was still working at AFFHUB, I was introduced to Alexander Makedonsky, CEO of TRIANGLES. And after AFFHUB, we talked to Oleksandr and I moved to the position of PR director in the project. Now I'm in charge of all the marketing activities at TRIANGLES that we have, that you might have seen, or will see in the future.

HWYD: Who and how do you see yourself in the industry in the future?

Arthur: No matter who I am, no matter what I do, I am a PR person first and foremost. I love it. I like to discover projects, people, businesses, see the meaning in them, and broadcast it to the outside world. I may change my field of activity and work format someday, but I will still be a PR professional. It is not at all a fact that it will be an affiliate. Although I am in no hurry to say goodbye to this market. It is interesting here. It's diverse and there are a lot of cool people.