HWYD: Tell us about your childhood: where, in what family were you born?

Valentin: I was born in Konotop into an ordinary family. My mother is a nurse, and we had our own house there - even half of it - we shared it with a pensioner. At some point, she forgot to turn off the gas, and our house exploded. After this event, my mother went to the mayor for six months, trying to get us compensation in the form of an apartment, and eventually she succeeded - we were given an apartment, which, in fact, is where I lived before moving to Kyiv.

My mother divorced my father, and he later sued us for half of this apartment, barricaded it and locked the door. All this time, we did not communicate with him until I bought the apartment.

I had a stepfather. He worked as a driver all his life until he died. Now my mom lives in Ireland - she left the shelling after a year of war. Now she's almost married there, she's adjusted, she's doing well - she's finally traveling and seeing different European countries step by step.

HWYD: Describe your most vivid childhood memory

Valentin: If I think back to the earliest memories, perhaps my first memory is of Muscovy, the circus, bears riding a unicycle, and me in a scratchy sweater. And this memory is the most vivid because when I returned home later, I burned that sweater - you can imagine how much I hated it 🙂.

HWYD: Tell us about your youthful days. How did you spend your time in Konotop in the 90s?

Valentin: In the 90s, we had what we called a "brawler city. I grew up in dubious companies, mostly hanging out with wrestlers. It was my cover from the gypsies and from representatives of other neighborhoods, with whom I was constantly going to the mahacha. I can say right away that I am a completely different person now.

Much of the credit for my choosing the right path, and not ending up somewhere in "remote places" with rings on my fingers, goes to my now godfather, and then just a friend. I was 14, he was 16 - he was a nice, well-traveled guy with tattoos at the time, and I had a choice: either endless fights and arguments with the company, or hang out with my cousin in the company of girls, talk about something other than "neighborhood to neighborhood" topics and have fun, not aggressive. Of course, I chose the second option.

HWYD: And what about your studies - did you manage to attend school in such conditions?

Valentin: I did not study regularly, but I managed.) I studied on average, and I adhered to the position that I communicate normally with everyone, both outsiders and school coolies. This allowed me to feel comfortable at school, which also had its own laws among children of that time. But, let me remind you, I still had friends who were wrestlers, so I wasn't picked on 🙂.

In terms of subjects, I was good at everything except law, history and math. I didn't turn out to be a great mathematician, but my teacher saw potential in me, and I tried. I finished school with C's and went to college.

HWYD: Tell us about your admission to the institute.

Valentin: I came to apply to KI Sumy State University (Konotop Institute of Sumy State University). I looked next to the guy who was filling out the application forms and saw that it said "Electronic Devices and Instruments". Okay, I'll have that too 🙂 And then, in fact, it turned out that there were 4 mathematicians, 2 physicists... And I realized that I was definitely in the wrong place, so a year later I left this direction and changed it to "Management of Organizations".

This story suited me better - to be honest, I didn't study anything, I didn't bring money to anyone, I could pass everything with logical thinking (well, except philosophy, ethics - everything that required terminology, of course) - I just described what processes should take place, what needed to be done, and, in principle, I passed my exams.

HWYD: Did you combine your studies with work?

Valentin: After the first year of studying, I found a job in Kyiv, so I quit full-time and came to the institute only to pass the exams. At first, I worked as a security guard on a two-in-two-out basis at construction sites. But I didn't stay in that job for long, because the 2/2 schedule simply doesn't give you a chance for a personal life - you get enough sleep the day after your shift, get ready for your next shift the next day, and I lived in Konotop and had to allow time to get to Kyiv and back by train.

Then there was the store - a sales assistant, and then there was setting up office equipment, installing Windows, flashing, changing the matrix, etc.

A little later, I opened my own service with an acquaintance. Everything was fine until my partner decided that it was his service and I was his subordinate. It's an "interesting" story, but the site was on my hosting, so I took it back. Most of the orders came from the site, and I consider this moment to be the first step of a kind of affiliate marketing. I had an acquaintance with his own service, and I gave him the leads that came to me from his own service via RevShare. This way, I earned several thousand hryvnias a month just on a liability. But back then, I didn't know what affiliate management was.

HWYD: Do you remember where you spent your first paycheck and what emotions you felt at the time?

Valentin: If I take the first one directly, it was actually when I was 13 years old. I got a job at a wholesale building materials base unloading trucks, where I worked for a week. I spent it on some kind of party, I don't even remember exactly what it was.

HWYD: How did you first learn about affiliate marketing and realize that this is the area you want to develop and build a career in?

Valentin: After Kyiv, I decided to temporarily move back home - let's just say I went through a black patch in my life that lasted almost a year. I broke up with my girlfriend, my business went under, my stepfather died of cancer, and I was completely overwhelmed. I came to Konotop, studied Manual QA to distract myself from my thoughts, and went to the gym to gain weight - I treated not only my soul but also my body. It paid off - in a year, my mental state recovered, so I returned to the capital and got a job as a PPC specialist at Svitsoft, where I was engaged in advertising in various areas. I gained previous experience on my own - I had an online sportswear store, and my partner at the time worked as an Inbound Calls specialist - receiving calls, communicating with customers, and handling logistics. So I knew how the mechanisms of working with PPC work and had practical experience.

HWYD: What was your first position and what were your responsibilities?

Valentin: I was engaged in Kyivmiskbud, in all the areas that were available, including the sale of parking lots, commercial premises, and, in fact, apartments. This gave me an understanding that there was a lot of money in marketing, because a lot of money was going through this Google Ads account, I was managing it myself, doing something unique every month, and I realized that I was starting to do a lot of work, but the company could no longer pay me for it. By the way, it was at this job that I met my future wife.

HWYD: How did you end up at MAKEBERRY AFFILIATES?

Valentin: When I decided to enter a stable story, I first went to buy into the Offer Leader FB team - my first steps in iGaming. But after six months, I realized that I was treading water, not growing or developing. And then I met the company that later opened Makeberry to the world as one of its manifestations, which we worked on creating side by side.

HWYD: How has your career developed at the company, and what are your current responsibilities?

Valentin: I have been with the company for more than 4 years now, I came to the position of Affiliate manager for my own products and was engaged in attracting partners to work with PPC and themes. I bought traffic and showed results. In fact, I was lucky that my then manager was promoted to the position of Head of Acquisition, so they saw the potential in me due to proactivity and efficiency, and made me a team leader.

At that time, I was buying more traffic than our in-house buying was buying! And now I'm paying attention - ten times more! Now in-house buying has grown by 30-40 times, so it makes me very happy, and I can afford to share the story of how it was in the beginning.

And then a full-scale war broke out. We were forced to reduce the volume of external purchases somewhat, we quickly sold the CIS products, and with the proceeds we created the RocketPlay project, which is currently ranked, as far as I know, in 2nd place behind the SoftSwiss platform in Australia. That's when we became big and definitely recognizable throughout the market.

HWYD: How did you decide to sell traffic?

Valentin: During the first months of the war, in between alarms and shelling, I worked as a canner - we made this decision to keep the company from sinking. And I must say, I was quite good at it. That's when we thought, why shouldn't we sell traffic if we can generate it...

I was offered to develop this area - even then it was unclear in what position and with what title. The budgets were floating, but "go for it, man! It took us about a year to get used to it, to get established, to sell traffic, and then the logical decision was to formalize the whole thing and create a brand. That's how MAKEBERRY came about!

HWYD: How many regular advertisers does MAKEBERRY AFFILIATES have now?

Valentin: We have about 30, maybe 40. These are the ones we work with adequately, who understand the value of our traffic. Sometimes things happen: sometimes products stop converting, sometimes our traffic doesn't match the products, sometimes there are seasonal drops, but the main point is that we don't have enough traffic to meet all the needs of all the advertisers we work with. Roughly speaking, we can easily sell 5 times more traffic with a team of business development and advertisers - we literally have a queue of ads for which we need to firstly fill their caps, and secondly, test them. That's why there is most likely not enough traffic to cover all the ankups (for example, we put 200-300 deposits on an ad, and he says "Let's have 1500"), and we could take them from someone, but they also want 1500, and we have to say "No, sorry, we will pour one and a half, but we are focused on the capacity that we can really pour on you". So I try to maneuver between all the factors: from payback to risks. It would seem logical to give everything to one advertiser, but at the same time, it could happen that the ad agency will simply collapse or close the geo - no one is safe from this. That's why diversification is extremely important in my work. Something converts better, something converts less, but we don't completely merge everything into one ad.

Currently, we specialize exclusively in tier-1, but we are forming a team for tier-3. Hopefully, we will gain a foothold there. We understand how to scale up there, we already understand some products that can handle these players properly (payments that do not drop every half hour). So we plan to expand to Africa and Asia.

On the innovative side, we will soon launch a system of pre-executions - analytical calculations based on various metrics of how much money we can bring to the partner. And based on these pre-decisions, we plan to negotiate based on specific numbers and expectations from both our side and the advertiser.

HWYD: MAKEBERRY AFFILIATES can often be found with various manifestations at conferences - stands, sponsorship, participation, raffles, etc. What is the main purpose of such activity, what do you personally invest in it as a brand?

Valentin: I'll draw an analogy with Coca-Cola - everyone knows about it, everyone drinks it, but this drink is constantly advertised around the world! In marketing, you should always be visible, because as fast as brands grow, they are forgotten if they fall out of the information field.

We also spread the message through PR that we have the best FB traffic on the market. We confirm and argue this in live conversations at events and conferences. And another 20 percent of our partners come to conferences because of recommendations, because the turnover rate in the market is high, we could drive traffic to a company from which employees left for other companies, and now representatives of their new employers are coming to us because they were recommended us as a quality assurer with whom they had previously dealt.

HWYD: What distinguishes MAKEBERRY AFFILIATES from other companies in the same field?

Valentin: We are always working on a win-win story, our FB traffic is 40 percent more expensive than the market average, but our players come and play for the long haul. This is not a story where you pay off in the first 2 weeks and then don't play anymore - no. We are talking about players who come for the sensations, deliberately to lose money. We are a direct advertiser of WinSpirit and RocketPlay casinos, we know how to work with them, what kind of traffic to drive there. As a conclusion, we don't buy bullshit for ourselves and neither do external advertisers.

In addition, we have our own analytics. At the beginning, we immediately stipulate with the advertiser that if we start cooperation not on the test cap, we will connect you to our analytics, where we see the activity of players, how traffic pays off, how it performs kpi, and how it lives on. This is in order to stop buyers, funnels, reconfigure something in time, etc.

HWYD: What are your future plans for MAKEBERRY AFFILIATES?

Valentin: I want to close my own gestalt - build a system that will work autonomously. Integrate all the new features - AI, make all the databases, and develop buying to the volumes we have planned with several large advertisers who want 10 million monthly traffic from us. And on the basis of 40-50 million/month turnover, we scaled up additional departments. That's how we eventually got our own YouTube production and SEO department. We would like to launch Tik-Tok, Twitter, Tg, but we don't have these tools yet, we're going for the classic tools: Google, FB, In-app, a little bit of SEO. So here, too, we would like to capture a little more markets and eventually make MAKEBERRY-2, MAKEBERRY-3... 🙂

We also leave links to social networks for you MAKEBERRY AFFILIATES:

• Telegram
• LinkedIn

Vita: Oooh, where to start 😅 In fact, quitting my stable job and plunging into complete obscurity was one of the best and at the same time one of the most difficult decisions of my life!

Behind this were doubts, fears, love, big dreams and ambitions. That's why my little confession is for your attention.

Vita: It all started with the fact that I came to this market without having any idea what affiliate, traffic, verticals, and gambling were. It was a dark forest for me. I accidentally came across a vacancy for an SMM manager and decided to give it a try. I had 6 years of experience in different, dissimilar jobs and a 100$ SMM course that I bought during Covid to change my life😂. Oh, and a marketing degree, which I have never been asked for).

I've always been an idea person, so a small salary didn't scare me - the main thing was to have the opportunity to learn and grow in a new field. They believed in me (or I convinced myself 😅), and as a result, I was hired for a project that had just launched and was actively developing. My own growth occurred simultaneously with the project's growth.

Over time, I came to understand the stereotypes that money is flowing here and that this is a fairly developed and charged area in the CIS space. But a good picture does not come by itself. To achieve something, we needed the EBU. And given that the project was quite young, we had to be a universal soldier and work for three people. I don't know why, but from the very beginning, there was no desire to dive too deep into the market. It was always more appealing to be behind the scenes, but to raise the project and realize career ambitions. Perhaps because somewhere inside I felt that this broadcast lifestyle was not quite my thing.

I immersed myself in the processes - at some point, this work became my whole life. My social circle, topics, tasks - everything was somehow related to work, displacing my own preferences and dreams that made me me. Over time, I became a team leader, was helped with relocation (for which I am grateful separately, as it was a life-changing move), and raised my salary. It seemed that I had achieved everything I wanted. But there was a constant feeling of dissatisfaction inside.

Vita: In fact, my first thoughts came during an English class. What is the connection, you may ask. Once, in one of the classes, the teacher asked a trivial question: "What would you do if money didn't matter?"

And I answered without a shred of doubt: "I would travel the world, make videos about it and show them to people. And at the end of my life, I would make a big autobiographical movie in which I would try to convey how important it is to listen to yourself and live your life the way you want to, not the way it was imposed on you." When I left the office, I realized that I was not living the life I dreamed of. It sounds a bit pretentious, yes, hahaha. But I realized that I was at work solely for the money, although I have always been and remain an ideological person. So I made a decision to be myself and not change my principles.

Yes, I was actively developing in this area, and I could most likely have reached great heights. I had money and recognition. But did this success make me me? At the age of 25 (perhaps it was an age crisis), I began to think more and more often that I was not following my soul's call and doing something wrong. The business Olympus no longer attracted me, and climbing the career ladder turned into a grueling cardio workout.

All these deep reflections on life were greatly influenced by the war and then the move.

At that time, I had already lived in Warsaw for six months. As I said above, the move was life-changing for me. Hearing my thoughts, whether the universe helped me or it was just a banal coincidence, it was at that moment that I met my future boyfriend, who began to broadcast to me that work is work, it should not be the meaning of your life. And we met him, by the way, at work (ahahaha, and this is another reason why I'm grateful to her). At first, I was skeptical, convincing him that he needed to run, reach the top, make more money, more money, and then more money. And then I thought - money and success are all great, but ask representatives of the field what, behind all these daily checks of wealth and office work, made them childishly happy the last time, and I'm sure most of them will not be able to answer this question.

So I quit my job. By the way, there's a little story behind that, too. My boyfriend persuaded me to quit because he was quite traditional and my career ambitions did not impress him. But I, being "strong and independent," was afraid to depend on a man and said that I would not quit until I had saved a certain amount of money. I gave myself six months to do it. But it was not to be. One evening, he took a glass of wine for himself and handed me another, and made a toast: "To your release!". At my surprised expression, he showed me my Binance, which had the amount I had announced 😂 Under his "well, you promised", I wrote to my manager about my resignation.

Before that, we each had a pool of countries visited, and we realized that this was our common passion, which we wanted to spend the coming years on and which we could monetize. By the way, he eventually quit his job as well. So, taking our pillows, we started traveling the world.

Vita: Absolutely not. On the contrary, I am grateful to myself for it. Now we are completely absorbed in traveling. We try to choose the most remote and least touristy parts of the world. The very thought that we are making our own dreams come true gives us goosebumps and makes us ecstatic. Constant adventures, trials, interesting acquaintances with completely different cultures and people, exoticism and asceticism - all this has become the rhythm of our life.

We have already completed a two-week ocean kayaking trip on the Raja Ampat Islands, explored green oases in the heart of Oman, conquered the mountain peaks of Georgia, and visited many more interesting places that would not be enough for an article. By the way, we are currently on an expedition in Africa. We are going to ride around the continent on a motorcycle in 365 days. This is the confirmation of the right choice for me personally.

Here, somewhere not always in comfortable conditions on different parts of the world, I feel truly and unquestionably happy. I want to experience these emotions here and now, to memorize and engrave every moment in my memory. You can feel life here.

Vita: In fact, this is probably the question I hear most often. Yes, in practice, things are not as simple as I described above. Unfortunately, money does not fall from the sky like tropical rains)

Now we are traveling on the capital of a guy who has been saving it since he was 18. As for me, I'm not sitting still either. And now there will be an answer to the question whether it is possible to leave the arbitration world forever 😂

In the spring, Kostia, whom I met at my previous job, approached me with a proposal to use my marketing skills and help launch the project. The concept of media really appealed to me. But with my lifestyle, it was difficult to promise anything. We agreed that I would launch the project, take care of all the operational processes, and then transfer the media into safe hands. But it didn't happen as expected. I got sucked in 😂.

But with the only difference being that now I'm prioritizing my life correctly. And as I wrote above, I'm an ideological person, and HWYD is an unrealistically soulful media outlet, just like the idea to create it. That's why it's a pleasure to manage the operational processes here. I've recruited a great team that works like clockwork. And now we are developing a story together, in the success of which I believe as much as anyone else. Well, except for Kostya)

So, nice to meet you, I'm Vita - COO at HWYD.

Is it difficult to combine everything? Yes, it is. But I love my life very much now and what is happening in it. I am sure that in my old age I will definitely have no regrets. If I live, of course, because in Africa, you know how much danger there is...

I also have an incredible amount of support. So, most likely, after some time, when I can let go of HWYD, I will pass it on to good hands. But for now, I'm here.

In the meantime, subscribe to Instagram and witness my new story.

Stability vs. Flexibility

Involvement vs Predictability

Stability vs. Momentum

Hours vs. Results

Marathon vs Sprint

HWYD: How long have you been in the affiliate market and how did it all start for you?

Yulia: I have been in the affiliate market for 10 years and it all started with a job fair. That was the first time I got a full-time job as an affiliate manager in mobile marketing.

HWYD: What challenges did you face at the beginning of your career?

Yulia: The main challenge for me was the prejudice of society, in particular, stereotypes that a young age and pleasant appearance cannot be combined with a girl's analytical mind. This manifested itself in the form of ageism, objectivism, and gender discrimination. At the beginning of my career, I literally had to insist on integrations, join negotiations with partners on technical issues, explain that my role in the company was not a servant or escort, etc. It was not just a challenge, but a daily need to prove my competence through actions.

Over time, I have learned to build clear boundaries in communication, and my market recognition has reduced the risk of such situations at times. And this opened up an opportunity for me to be a voice of support for those who face similar difficulties in their team or profession (in either direction by gender and age).

HWYD: What do you love most about your job?

Yulia: The opportunity to grow, scale ideas and influence, and not just be aware of trends, but shape them. And also, people...

I'm inspired by the combination of technology, marketing, public relations, and especially by the focus on people, the team, and the HR aspect. It's a rare synergy that allows you not only to create products or campaigns, but also to shape the environment in which they are born.

HWYD: You are a person who knows how to be "at ease" with both the tops and the newcomers. How do you do it?

Yulia: For newcomers, it is enough to remember their personal experience and honor the hard work and the path these people are going through now. Believe, support, and guide them.

For the tops, it is an understanding of what these people went through, having an unknown number of issues outside of work that accompanied their path to the "top" status among others. It's about great responsibility, an incredible amount of knowledge, skills, and diverse abilities. It's about the peaks reached from the outside, and the impostor syndrome and dissatisfaction because "it could have been better."

HWYD: In your personal opinion, is friendship in affiliate marketing a reality or more of a beautiful illusion?

Yulia: I am happy to say that this is a reality. And I even know cases where it is also a great beautiful love!

HWYD: What qualities do you value in your market partner friends?

Yulia: Mutual respect, honesty, openness, responsibility, trust, and concern.

HWYD: Have there been any cases in your career when friendship helped you overcome difficult situations? Tell us.

Yulia: There were many such cases! From professional issues to help with car evacuation (Oleksandr, CEO of Triangles) and returning personal belongings from Warsaw (there was a whole delegation here - Anastasia, CCO of Gambeat; Kateryna, Head of Advertisers of LeadHeaven; Maria and Anna, CEO and TL of Affiliates of Spyro). I even still have 2 hair dryers, because one was given to me by Olya PR TL WWGroup when I was without personal belongings for a month.

I sought support to get through the stress. For attention that she might not receive in the required amount from managers, colleagues, etc. Friendships helped me to find the right contacts for any purpose. Someone can tell you an agency that prints business cards in another country, someone can suggest a little-known product or team, and someone can recommend a person for your open position in the company.

HWYD: What mistakes most often prevent you from maintaining friendly relations in a professional circle?

Yulia: One of the most common mistakes is to confuse working relationships with friendships without having an internal filter: "do I call this person a friend because we are really close, or just because we are united by a common cause every day?"

Another mistake is the unwillingness or inability to let go of a relationship when your values, goals, or career paths start moving in different directions. And this is normal. But attempts to "keep" the connection at the same level often lead to disappointment, resentment, or misunderstandings.

HWYD: In what cases do you think friendships with people from the industry can interfere with your work?

Yulia: When it's not really a friendship, or you put different meanings into the term.

HWYD: You once mentioned that your friends are mostly from the industry. Doesn't this blur the line between work and personal life?

Yulia: My friends know the golden rule of our communication - we MUST talk about more than just work. Usually, I'm the one who makes everyone change the subject, but it's an important reminder for each of us that we are interesting to each other for a variety of reasons.

HWYD: Do you have a story about a friendship that changed your attitude to work or the market?

Yulia: For me, my environment is a great resource for the opportunity to "look from a different angle" at everything around us. I think everyone has contributed to certain changes in my attitude to work.

But I have a lot of stories about work that changed my attitude to friendship - and the most striking one is the appearance of Anastasia, Gambeat's CCO, in my life in the neighboring building 3 years ago. We jokingly say about our friendship, "If it weren't for our guys, we'd already be living together with 4 cats in the center of Kyiv."

HWYD: As we know, there is a lot of controversy around the topic of friendship between men and women. Do you personally believe in it?

Yulia: I believe, know and feel. I consider Oleksandr Shchypak to be my closest friend among men - this man once chose me to be his boss. My longtime partners, for whom I used to be an affiliate manager (I send my warmest greetings to Misha Funk and Vadym Zavadiuk), as well as boyfriends and husbands of my friends from the industry.

About two months before the wedding, Maria-Victoria wrote to me with a proposal to meet the three of us for lunch before paddle tennis and chat. I accepted the offer and rushed to the lunch without realizing it. We met and, as usual, talked about everything - work, personal... Yura was a little late, and when he arrived, they started looking at each other smiling. I realized something was going on. And I was right - Maria-Victoria told me that they were planning a wedding - but I knew that, as did most of the community, because only the lazy hadn't seen the story of the incredible proposal on Instagram. But it was nice to hear that I was invited among the people closest to the newlyweds. However, the main surprise was yet to come - I was invited to perform the ceremony! Wow - that's where it took my breath away! It's not just to come, congratulate, support, share the celebration... It's something much more. It's about incredible trust and hope. Can you imagine: 100+ guests, parents, grandparents, friends, and finally the newlyweds themselves, who together cherish this holiday - and trust you most of all! I felt fear and pride at the same time! However, there was no question of refusing these two, so I said "YES!" (as if I was standing at the altar at that moment).

Then the preparation process began. I don't know all the details, but the approach to even the smallest details was fantastic. The couple agreed with the specialists - a wedding agency. I can't imagine how many calls they had about other topics - dancing, seating arrangements, menus, colors, music, dresses, etc... But even the meetings about organizing the ceremony were weekly.

I wrote down the sequence of actions, exits, traditions that would be honored, and finally I had to prepare the text. To say that I revised it, rewrote it, crossed it out, and wrote it again at least 100 times is an understatement. But when July 26 came, I was ready, knowing that I had put my sincerity, friendship, and emotions into the preparation, and that if it was sincere, it would be of high quality. It was tested by my own experience.

The wedding took place in the countryside, in Yasnogorodets, where a famous ostrich farm was once opened. Accordingly, the name of the complex for the celebration was "Strauskhol". It was a large, well-kept, beautiful area: outside there were lawns, a pond with bridges, wooden log cabins and lush landscape, and inside there was a huge hall decorated and furnished as aesthetically pleasing as in American movies about a luxury wedding.

While the guests were arriving, a well-drunken welcome was waiting for everyone, music was playing, the guests' snow-white smiles shone in the sun, and a silent pleasant excitement reigned in the air. Everyone was greeted by a handsome and experienced host, Igor Zenin. Personally, I know Igor from the show "What's the Song?" on YouTube, maybe you've seen it too? If not, I recommend it, it's fun.

Closer to 1 p.m., the organizers began to call the guests to take their seats near the beautiful arch, which was decorated in the middle of the lawn so delicately that they wanted to take pictures of it even before the ceremony began. The front row seats, of course, were taken by the parents and people closest to the newlyweds, and the rest of the area was occupied by friends.

I started talking and realized that the level of concentration of the guests was cosmic - everyone's attention was focused, people were listening to every word, and it was a thrill! First, I called the witnesses - the guys - there were five of them! We shared a few jokes to lighten the atmosphere a bit. After that, five bridesmaids came out dancing. Everything was in the best traditions-the witnesses' clothes were in the same color scheme and very much in harmony with the colors of the event-even this moment was carefully thought out. After joking about a bachelor party and a bachelorette party, we invited the groom to the arch.

Yura came out confidently. He was handsome, statuesque, in a chic suit. His eyes betrayed a slight excitement, but he carried himself elegantly - polite, smiling, intelligent as always. But when the time came for Maria-Victoria to come out, the groom was in for a surprise: dressed in a wedding dress and hiding his face under a veil, one of his friends came out to Yura 🙂 Everyone understood that this short joke was necessary because in just a moment Masha would come out and tears of joy would flow.

And so it happened. I invited Maria-Viktoria, and her handsome father walked her down the aisle. A luxurious white dress with a slight ivory tint accompanied the bride's steps across the green lawn. Yura looked at his beloved with admiration. "My grandmother, who was always smiling at me and supporting me in every way, started to cry. Even the young people could not hold back their emotions.

The newlyweds held hands, looked into each other's eyes, and recited their vows. Sincerely, confidently, forever! After that, they received the blessing of their parents, traditionally stood on an embroidered towel (at the same time) and broke the loaf.

And then - the words that everyone was waiting for. And most importantly, which our newlyweds had been dreaming of since they met each other 7 years ago... "Are you ready, Yura, to protect, love, and take care of Maria-Victoria throughout your life?" - "YES!" "Are you ready, Maria-Victoria, to protect, love and care for Yura throughout your life?" - "YES!"

At these words, emotions could no longer be contained: tears, applause, and all-encompassing joy accompanied the newlyweds' kiss. I wiped away a tear and smiled, because I realized that everything had been done the way these two wanted it! And it made me happy.

And then everyone moved to the restaurant, there were toasts, funny and non-funny contests, dancing... I especially remember a prank from the host: throughout the wedding day, he secretly filmed various pranks on the guests - he asked them to feed him with their hands because he couldn't get his hands dirty, or hinted at bringing him alcoholic drinks in secret because he was told he couldn't get a drink at work 🙂 At the end of the evening, all this was edited and shown on the screens. The audience was laughing.

Masha danced with her father, Yura with her mother. They threw the bride's bouquet to the bachelors, and the unmarried guys caught the garter. In the middle of the dinner, the newlyweds took care of the guests' leisure and invited a secret guest. It turned out to be Shumei, who sang about 7-8 songs live with an acoustic guitar. Personally, I don't listen to this kind of music, but when I heard it live, I was blown away - his incredible voice gave me goosebumps and evoked the same real romantic emotions as the wedding itself.

For the newlyweds, this day was not only the biggest celebration of their lives, but also a lot of hard work that they did at 1000% - smiling, taking pictures, walking in heels all day, dancing, listening, responding, thanking.

And in conclusion

There are things that can never be measured in ROI, digitized in a spreadsheet, or budgeted for.
For example, care. Especially the one that comes in the form of simple words from those who have already gone a little further than you.

This article is about such care. We asked women who have been working in affiliate marketing for a long time to write a few words to girls who are just entering this field. It turned out to be not about instructions, but about experience. Not about rules, but about feelings.

HWYD: Tell us about your childhood, what kind of family were you born into?

Kostya: I was born in the city of Kherson into an ordinary, average family, but to extraordinary parents. My mom is an example of true femininity, wisdom and love, and my dad is an example of courage and character. My mother was a pharmacist by profession, working in the production of pharmaceuticals at a tuberculosis hospital, and my father was a master of sports in pentathlon, playing for Dynamo, and because back then, to be a Dynamo player, you had to be a police officer, he served and had a rank:

HWYD: How were your school years?

Kostya: I'm a real nerd and I'm not ashamed of it. I have loved learning since childhood and I still love it today. The best day off was to go for a walk with my mom in the city center on Saturday morning, make sure to go to a bookstore, buy a new book, and then celebrate this event in a cafe with a glass of milkshake and a cake. The book would be read in a week or two, and then a new one would be bought again. And so it was throughout my school life. Even now, unfortunately, when I don't have much time to read, I can't pass a bookstore without buying something and putting it in my library at home - paper books are a big fatiche for me.

From the first grade, I was enrolled in karate and swimming. I didn't have any extraordinary successes or stars from the sky, but I liked such a tight schedule of combining studying and training even then. I remember that the sixth grade was a record-breaking year in this regard: full of lessons, swimming on Monday-Friday, karate on Tuesday-Thursday, and basketball on Wednesday-Saturday. Although karate did not make me a fighter, it gave me many vivid memories - every summer we went to a sports camp in the city of Skadovsk - a regular camp, like everyone else, only with training. There was my first love, my first kisses, friendship and all the romantic things that little me lived and dreamed about.

HWYD: What did you dream of becoming as a child?

Kostya: "Up until the 9th grade, I dreamed of becoming a surgeon - I wanted to save people. But then the Orange Revolution took place in Ukraine, and the then very progressive Channel 5 appeared, broadcasting live reports from the Maidan, and I realized that my true calling was journalism.

Since then, I started preparing in advance for admission to Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv - I dreamed of Kyiv and this particular university, although most Kherson boys at that time chose to become sailors (like most of my classmates and childhood friends), but I, like a true Capricorn, persisted.

HWYD: Study is studying. And how did you rest? Was it just books?

Kostya: No, not only) We, the people from the South of Ukraine, are sea people. I am still indifferent to the mountains, but the sea is my everything. Every summer we went at least twice to the Arabatska Strelka boarding house on the Azov Sea - a shallow sea with waves like lambs, a thrill! By the way, as a reminder of those times, I have a tattoo on my leg in the shape of the coast with the inscription "Arabat Spit" - I love this place so much. Unfortunately, it is now under occupation. Music also played a big role in my life at that time-it was the heyday of subcultures, I was into punk rock, I loved emo, my friends and I attended rock shows that took place every 2 weeks. I remember the first time my parents let me go to such a concert-I had seen videos of concerts full of people, slamming, stag-diving, and so on, so I was a little scared in the bus and thought I would stand somewhere on the edge. But as soon as we got there, I saw that the stage was the stairs of some kind of a concert hall, and under the "stage" there were probably 15 people, and the fence between the "fan sector" and the "stage" was a stretched rope, but it was still cool.

My parents didn't allow me to stand out too much, no matter how much I rebelled, but we tried to look canonical-my friend wore a mohawk, I had emotional bangs, and the like. That's why we often had to deal with hooligans, explain something to them for a long time, sometimes fight or run away.

And there was also a period of passion for skateboarding, but not for long)) The pop-punk era gave rise to a trend of skaters in our country. I wanted to do it too, because they looked cool. We didn't have the money to buy a cool board, and try explaining to our parents that a wooden thing on wheels could cost so much. So my mom helped me save up a little bit, and we bought a simple skateboard at the Virage store. I tried to do an "ollie" and broke the deck in two on my first attempt. Then I hid the halves of the skateboard under the bathtub so as not to upset my mom.

HWYD: How were you brought up?

Kostya: I grew up a real dreamer. Perhaps this helps me to remain a child now and not limit myself in creative fantasies. My mother's love taught me to love this world, to respect and look for something good in everyone, to value myself and the people around me. My father taught me to be fair. Of course, it is somewhat difficult to live in such paradigms (that the world should be perfect), because every time something happens that is not in accordance with one's conscience or is dishonest and unfair, it seems as if everything on which your inner world is based is destroyed. But my faith in goodness and in people does not subside. And no matter how much it hurts sometimes, I like this trait in myself.

I remember a story: every summer, an amusement park came to our neighborhood and was located near my house-the neighborhood was new and there was a vacant lot nearby that was convenient for the amusement park. Accordingly, in addition to visitors, there was a variety of rabble hanging around. I was little, and I heard something happening in the kitchen-my mother saw from the window how some convicts came up to the boys and girls from our house, who were sitting on a bench under the porch, hit ours, and tore off a chain from someone's neck. My mom shouted at them something like "What are you doing?!" but they ignored her and walked toward the amusement park. At that moment, my dad came running home from training, sweating and disheveled. He saw my mom crying, quickly asked what happened, and left. That was the first time I saw my mom pray. As I found out later, my dad found them - he knocked one of them out and dragged the other one along the ground to the nearest police station for a broken finger. Then I thought that when I have a family, I want to give the same warmth as my mom and be as strong and reliable a protector as my dad.

HWYD: Let's talk about admission and student years.

Kostya: Ohhhh, we don't have enough space here to write about this) I'll try to be brief, although this is not my best trait))

I entered the Institute of Journalism at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. I studied really well, probably only for the first year and a half, hoping to transfer to a state-funded program. I entered the contract, and then I had a conversation with my father: "Either you will be at Chevy, where you wanted to be, I will pay the contract, but we will limit your pocket money, or you go to the National Academy of Sciences (at the same time I entered the state-funded "banking" program at KNEU just in case, just to anchor myself in Kyiv), where there is a budget, a scholarship, and my mother and I will still give you pocket money." But I chose what I wanted.

There, at the institute, I met my best friends, with whom we are still friends to this day, though not as often as I would like. One of us was killed at the front, and this is an incredible loss that hit all of us very hard. Max is still missed and will be missed.

It was a real student life, and I'm not ashamed of it. I lived it the way I had to and the way I probably wanted my children to live their student life. Everything here is like Remarque's: friendship, love, sincere, genuine emotions, songs with a guitar in the dormitory. Oh, the nostalgia)

HWYD: Tell us about your first earnings.

Kostya: Literally the first time I took roasted seeds and a stool from home and started selling seeds next to the old ladies.) Business was not good, and then my father came and bought me a 50-kopek glass and took me home.

In my second year of study, I had a summer job as a secretary of the Lithuanian delegation during the anniversary congress of the Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Kyiv, and with the money I earned, I immediately went on my first ever European bus tour.

HWYD: After college, you worked as a flight attendant! How did you end up there?

Kostya: It was my fifth year, and my dad told me that I had a month to find a job, and he wouldn't give me any more money. I started actively looking for something, but what could I expect with no experience - either an internship or a job at a newspaper for a pittance. Then I saw photos of a friend on VK who was abroad almost every day. We messaged each other and he offered me a try. I came for an interview at Aerosvit Airlines, and then I took three months of training. I still consider that training to be the best and most useful in my life - from etiquette, knowledge of serving food and wine segregation to extinguishing fires, rescuing drowning people and organizing evacuation actions. I flew like that for 2.5 years. I flew everywhere - both long-haul flights across the ocean and short flights to Europe and Asia.

HWYD: Why did you decide to quit aviation?

Kostya: I have a lot of respect for all my colleagues in aviation, including flight attendants. But personally, I no longer saw any prospects for myself - yes, it was really cool, I was 21 years old, I had seen almost the whole world, and I was making good money. But unrealized ambitions were eating away at me. I started to remember why I moved to Kyiv and what I really wanted to become.

I remember we had a flight, and I was upset because on that day my classmates were celebrating their graduation from the university-the end of their 5th year. And I had a flight to catch. My colleagues found out about it, and to cheer me up, they arranged a surprise - on descent, I was called to the cockpit, and I spent the entire landing on the jump seat in the cockpit. The emotions and impressions were fantastic. So I was very grateful to aviation and my colleagues for such an incredible experience in my life, but I had to move on.

HWYD: Is the TV era about to begin?

Kostya: That's exactly right. I have already talked about this in many places, so I don't want to repeat myself too much. I was the first to be hired by "Facts of the Week with Oksana Sokolova" as a trainee journalist. I'm still grateful to Oksana Mykolaivna for her faith in me. And then it went from there: editor at "It concerns everyone", editor-in-chief at the New Channel and STB. Towards the end of my television career, my clients gave me turnkey projects - to develop a concept, write a season arch, conduct casting, recruit participants, write scripts, implement, edit, and get a finished show. Somehow I had 6 projects going on at the same time, and I was burning with it, not burning out.

It seemed that I had found myself and my place. Finally, I was doing what I loved, what I was good at, and I was getting paid for it. Poverty was over, we could dream and plan for the future... But the Russian Federation decided to teach us how to live and to denationalize us - before that, no Ukrainian went to bed or started the day without throwing a ziggy. Ugh, in short, a full-scale war came.

There was no time for entertainment in the country, and I lost my job. For some time, I helped as an information networker. Together with former Minister Borodyansky, we collected and recorded all the crimes committed by the Russian Federation, so that we could have a structured evidence base for The Hague or whatever else we needed. But the financial cushion was quickly running out, and I had to find something quickly, because I felt responsible not only for myself but also for my family and friends.

That's how I wrote to Inna Gagarin, my old friend from my college days and dormitory days. I thank Inna to this day - I believe she saved me at that moment, and also gave me a ticket to the world of affiliate marketing, and acted as my protégé, which greatly simplified my entry into the field.

HWYD: You've grown tremendously in this area as well, eventually becoming the Creative Director of Wild Wild Group! How do you feel about working at the C-level?

Kostya: I adore Wild Wild! I have my hands completely free here - I was called to this position as a qualified and experienced specialist, and I am given the opportunity to be so! This is the most valuable thing in my job! I remember our first communication with the CEO of the company - it was supposed to be something like an interview, but we were so enthusiastic and talked to each other about everything in the world so enthusiastically that we didn't notice that almost 2 hours had passed before we moved directly to WWG, and I was very much supported by Katya, Head of Sales WWApps. I've known Katia for a long time, she is a media person and a very respected person in the community, but she wrote and supported me so sincerely that I felt I would feel comfortable here. And so it happened. That's why it's only in such an atmosphere - I emphasize - EXCLUSIVELY IN SUCH AN ATMOSPHERE AS THAT NOW EXISTS IN THE WILD WILD GROUP - that all these crazy ideas with horses, stands where you can draw, westerns, and much more are born.

HWYD: It's clear about work merits. But what about your personal ones? You're a father - tell us about your own fatherhood.

Kostya: I am the father of a beautiful, best daughter in the world, Mayechka. She is my heart, my soul, my greatest love in the world! It so happened that her mother and I divorced when Maya was 1.5 years old, but we communicate well, maintain friendly relations, and I hope this will not affect the child in any way.

Since Mayusha was two years old, we have been going to the seaside with her all the time) this has always aroused genuine interest among the other vacationers - our company consisted of my grandfather (unfortunately, my mother died 8 years ago), me and a little girl. Everyone asked, "Where are your girls?" But we got along well with three generations of Golubevs.

Maya has become my best friend. We talk about everything like adults. We can fool around as if we were both 9 years old, not just her, we recently bought cherries and I showed her how to shoot the pits, as you can imagine, we were all covered in cherry stains, but happy. I really want to maintain this relationship with her in the future, not to be shy and to be the dad a girl dreams of - a friend, protection, support.

HWYD: And finally, about HWYD - how did you come up with it?

Kostya: We created HWYD together. One day I was walking with a friend and grumbling a lot about niche media - this is not so, that is not so. She suggested that I stop grumbling and create my own media. I looked at her in confusion and asked her how I would do it. She replied: "I'll invest in it - you're responsible for the idea, concept, structure, and content." And that's how we got into it. It looked like I was being weak.

At first, everything was going very slowly and it seemed like the whole idea was just an illusory fantasy. However, one minute the website was ready, the next the brand book was ready, the next the domain was bought... Pooh-pooh-pooh - there was no turning back. When I first clicked on the site and realized that it was my brainchild, I immediately wanted to improve, popularize, make it better and more recognizable!

This is how we became who we are. We have recruited a small staff - now we have about 10 people, each of whom is as talented as possible in their field - it's a kind of Talent League. That's why I can safely entrust all operational processes to the team and take on the role of an ambassador for recognition or engaging experts for our materials.

HWYD: Tell us where and how did you spend your childhood? Describe some of your most vivid memories.

Mila: I was born in the Chernihiv region. My childhood was very warm and cool. My most vivid memories are that every summer I went to Western Ukraine. Just every summer.

HWYD: What did you dream about when you were a little girl?

Mila: When I was little, I dreamed of a cool red car, a sports car, and becoming a diplomat.

HWYD: How did you study at school?

Mila: I did very, very well at school. My favorite subjects were history, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian literature, English and foreign literature.
I liked humanities subjects-everything related to reading and languages.

HWYD: What clubs/sections did you attend and what successes did you achieve?

Mila: I attended an art school in parallel with a regular school. I didn't achieve any special success at the art school, but I had a lot of success at the general school. I often won prizes at district competitions.

HWYD: Where and why did you decide to study after high school?

Mila: I enrolled as a financier, or rather, a tax specialist. This is basically a basic education that will always come in handy.

HWYD: What were your student years like? Describe some of your most vivid memories.

Mila: They were very, very intense. The brightest moments of my life are associated with students. I really liked team activities, especially the Faculty Day, Mr. and Miss Faculty, and all kinds of events like that.

HWYD: How did you earn your first money? What did you spend your first salary on?

Mila: I started earning my first money at school. I worked in the summer in my friends' business - we made wooden puzzles for children, like handmade. I painted and drew them. I spent it on clothes - on cool clothes.
I also won my first money in the lottery. They bought me a ticket, I won x30, and of course, I felt like a rich bitch.
It was my first experience of "my" money. Before that, I was just given it, but here I won it. And I remember when I was a kid, I had such a nice "cutlet" of cash.

HWYD: How did you get into the affiliate industry?

Mila: At first, I just learned about the position of affiliate manager, started looking into it, and found out that my friend had an open position in the company.
But I made the choice to become an affiliate manager back in my third year when I was analyzing what suited me best: a job in finance or something new and unknown.
I chose the second option, although the first one still haunts me. Maybe someday I will try myself as an auditor, for example, or use my knowledge in my own business.

HWYD: What position did you first hold, how did you learn about the field and the specifics of work?

Mila: At first, I was a junior affiliate manager. I learned the industry through practice - I had a lot of communication with websites and partners even before I got to international conferences.
I was immediately immersed in the work as much as possible - the pace was fast, and it was difficult at first. It still is sometimes. But at the beginning, I was lost - I was confusing concepts, didn't fully understand how to use slang correctly and what sources there are, how they differ.

HWYD: How did you move on, what companies did you work for, and what experience did you gain?

Mila: After my first strong experience, I decided that I wanted to try myself as a direct advertiser. I joined GGBET, which is a direct advertiser with three directions and several licenses.
The experience was very interesting. That's how I got a strong "product" base and grew rapidly. We were marketing to Brazil and Asia, and I was on a business trip to Brazil - and for the first time without a stand. At one time, we were very active in buying traffic to Brazil. We also had expertise with the Baltic countries and Tier-1 strings. In other words, we covered many locations.
Later, we received a Ukrainian license and also bought large volumes of traffic. It was very interesting to track the performance and payback of geo, which was quite new and with an empty base at the time. All of this was complemented by a strong media company, which, in turn, affected various metrics.
Esports is a separate story. GGBET has a very strong esports line, and at the time, they were leaders in this area. There is a different payback, a different player psychology - not the same as in classic verticals. Therefore, it was very interesting to work with them.

HWYD: Now you work at BigDeal, tell us about the company and yourself. What do you do and what prospects do you see?

Mila: BigDeal is an affiliate program focused on Tier-1. We have two products: OnlyWin on a self-serve platform - it focuses on Canada, Germany, and Australia. And WishWin, which has a wider geo-reach.
I handle the entire CPA department - all sources except SEO and streaming.
I see a growth perspective for myself as a team leader - to grow a team, fill it with people, and develop our products through this team. And this growth is not only in terms of affiliate business, but also in terms of products, technology, and even media buying. It is absolutely comprehensive development.
And there are a lot of prospects. It all depends on me - on how I invest and how fast we move.

HWYD: What's next? Staying in this field or making radical changes? What do you dream about?

Mila: In fact, this can change at any time. But for now, yes, I am here.
From dreams. I often write down my dreams, which turn into goals: global and intermediate ones. This is even more than just writing them down. When we write down a list of our goals on paper, it helps us build a plan and a clear timeline. Here are some of my goals: my own product in Tier-1 and the travel business. In general, there are a lot of them. They inspire and make every move meaningful.
I also want to visit Mars. And all the countries of the world. I want to visit non-touristy, completely unpopular locations. I dream of going on some kind of expedition.

HWYD: How often do you go on vacation and how do you spend your time there?

Mila: In fact, I have never been on a full vacation. But I need to go somewhere for a weekend every month. That's how I recover, and with some dynamics, I can do my best in 100%.
At these moments, I try to disconnect from the "easy dopamine" and take my eyes off my phone. Most of my friends are not from the industry, and it's important for me not to stay plugged into the work context. It's important to really relax mentally, and that's the main thing.
I also like to walk, try to visit interesting places and places, and often go to museums and exhibitions in my free time.
Outside of work, I try to read more and learn French. It's important to switch gears and unload your brain. In my opinion, this is the only way to preserve and increase the amount of energy, while maintaining the "rhythm" of life.

HWYD: How did you find the move to Warsaw? Do you see this city as a second home?

Mila: At first it was difficult - the process of moving is complicated, and for various reasons I couldn't get to Warsaw for a long time - I was constantly stopped by something: either I was sick or there were some force majeure events.
I felt as if this city did not accept me. But over time, I got used to it. I formed my own social circle, and I feel comfortable here. Warsaw has become my second home.

HWYD: What is the situation with the development of the Ukrainian affiliate community in Warsaw? Is everyone friendly and welcoming to each other? Where do you meet, what do you do together?

Mila: The Ukrainian affiliate community in Warsaw is very strong. Everyone is friendly, open, and welcoming. We play padl, mafia, go for coffee, to the movies together. In general, we hang out everywhere.

HWYD: Where were you born? Tell us a little bit about your hometown.

MARINA: I was born near Kyiv, in a town with a beautiful name - Ukrainka. It's a very beautiful place. There is the Dnipro River, the Stugna River, and there used to be a lot of forest... Now, however, there are buildings instead of forest. But back then, in my childhood, it was a very atmospheric, cozy place. It was a small town with a population of about 14 thousand. But it seemed to me that we were all like a big family. Everyone knows each other, helps each other, communicates.

HWYD: What was your family like?

MARINA: I was born into a modest family: my father was a military man and my mother was a doctor. As long as I can remember, my parents have been working constantly. They tried very hard to give me and my sister a future. Those were difficult times, dark times, I think, for many of us. But my parents did their best to make sure we grew up to be decent people.

HWYD: What was your childhood like?

MARINA:  I don't remember my childhood very clearly. I can't even tell you what I dreamed of or what I really wanted. But there is one incident that I remember very well. I had a sister who always knew what she wanted. What kind of gift she needed from Santa Claus, what kind from St. Nicholas. And what's interesting is that everything she wanted was always given to me. Why is it so? I don't know... But this moment is very deeply etched in my memory.

HWYD: How did you find school?

MARINA: To be honest, I did not do well at school. For the first five years, I was lazy, there's nothing to say. My parents were often called to school, even to the principal. But somewhere in the seventh or eighth grade, something switched in me. I suddenly realized: I can do more! And I gradually started studying. I finished the ninth grade with excellent marks. And since then, the desire to learn has not let me go. On the contrary, I still adore all kinds of courses, programs, and trainings. I am constantly learning something, and I get high from it every day.

HWYD: Did you have a childhood dream?

MARINA:Yes, since childhood I have dreamed of owning my own business. It seemed to be something extremely difficult, even unrealistic... But at the same time, it was pathetic and attractive. Honestly, I never believed that I could actually do it. And now I'm building something of my own, and it's so dear, so real...

HWYD: What is the most vivid memory from your childhood that has stayed with you?

MARINA: This is definitely my family. I can say that I had a real childhood. And, perhaps, I felt like a child until I was fourteen. And for this, I am incredibly grateful to my sister, grandmother, parents... For all those moments-for toys, for playgrounds, for laughter. For the fact that back then there was no such heavy responsibility that children in Ukraine now bear. Children who grow up in times of war... This is a completely different reality.

HWYD: Where did you continue your studies after school?

MARINA: I studied in the capital, in my native Kyiv. And since then, I have not left Kyiv - I still live here. To be honest, I didn't have much choice. I considered the options that were close to me: accounting, banking, finance. I've always been good with numbers, so there was little doubt about the direction. And here I'm grateful to my dad - it was he who suggested that I should go into finance, "grab the maximum," as he said. I found a college, passed the exams, and entered the finance program.

HWYD: What do you remember most vividly from your student years?

MARINA: The most precious thing that remains from those times is my friends. People who are still with me today. They had a great influence on me, on my worldview, on my choices. College and university taught me the most important thing - to be close to "my" people. And I still adhere to this principle. At every stage of my life, I found people who became a part of my path and stayed for a long time.

HWYD: Did you have to work while studying?

MARINA :Yes, I was studying on a contract, and I remember that it was not easy for my parents to pay for it. That's why I started working part-time when I was a student. Now, of course, students have more opportunities, and their salaries are completely different. But my first job was as a mayonnaise promoter (smiles). How I see myself now: I stand in the Ecomarket, near the refrigerator, for three or four hours, and offer people to try mayonnaise. I was paid 20 hryvnias per hour. But even this small job was important to me - I learned to appreciate what I earned and to be independent:

Adult life

HWYD: How did you get into iGaming?

MARINA: Honestly? By accident (smiles). At that time, I was working as a financier in a company and had no idea what iGaming was. But about a year later, I began to understand this niche better, and at the same time, marketing in general. It was then that I started to get fascinated by it.
While working as a financier, I gradually began to study marketing and affiliate marketing. Later, I moved to the position of an affiliate manager, hoping that this area would provide more opportunities for growth than finance. And, in fact, I was not mistaken.
In a fairly short time, I grew from an affiliate manager to a Team Lead, then to a Project Manager, the head of the affiliate program, and later became a CEO.

HWYD: What are you doing now?

MARINA: I am currently working as a CMO - Chief Marketing Officer. I have more than 40 people in my team. We deal with traffic and all the tools related to it. I'll be modest here - no pathos. It's just a daily job that I love.

HWYD: Did you assemble the team on your own?

MARINA: Yes, completely from scratch - in a year. And for me, as an introvert, it was a real challenge. It was very, very difficult to let 40 people get close to me. But at the same time, it became a point of growth.
I am probably different because I can see the potential in everyone. I always look for growth points in a person. And I try to meet them halfway, to be a human being - not a manager, but a human being.
My strong point is building processes from scratch. In both my current company and my previous job, I had a deep understanding of all aspects of work. When I recruit a team, people know that they can always rely on me. I will give them a hint, advice, contact, and find a solution. Because the mindset of an entrepreneur, a C-level employee, is to always see one step ahead. And I think I manage to do that.

HWYD: You own a chain of coffee shops. Tell us how, when, and under what circumstances the idea came about.

MARINA: In fact, this idea has always lived in me. But for a long time I thought: "I'm not smart enough to start a business... let alone keep it going." It was only in 2016, when I had the first free money, that I faced the question: an apartment or a business? And here I am very grateful to my boyfriend, who is now my husband - it was he who convinced me to try. He said: "We will succeed". And so our family business began.

HWYD: Where did you start?

MARINA: We decided to start with a coffee shop. And it was something! We had no experience. We didn't even know the difference between espresso and cappuccino. In just a week, we decided to buy a ready-made coffee shop together with the team that worked there. I remember the first night after the purchase: we had to open in the morning, and you didn't understand anything. It was a crazy six months, when we were getting our feet wet, learning on the go-not so much about coffee as about business, people, and service. And although it was scary, it was also very exciting. The first outlet turned out to be profitable, and we eventually sold it.

HWYD: How did your coffee story develop further?

MARINA: Nine months after we started, we signed a franchise agreement in Dnipro with our favorite chain, Fedets Family Bakery. Our first coffee shop was France.ua at VDNH. This coffee shop has existed for 8 years. It is like our first child: we raised it, put our hearts and souls into it. Even the administrator who worked there from the very first days is still with us.

HWYD: How did you balance all of this with your day job?

MARINA: It was not easy, but somehow I managed. I remember working as an affiliate manager during the day and making coffee at night. It was a time when I had a lot of energy, ambition, and faith in myself.
Now I am a passive investor. I manage my business only in critical moments. One of them was on February 24, 2022, the first day of the full-scale war. I spent it in coffee shops, closing them, going through everything with my team. Coffee shops became a point of support for me then.

HWYD: What has this entrepreneurship given you?

MARINA:The most important thing is self-confidence. It was in coffee shops that I learned to feel people, see their potential, and invest in them. This experience helps me a lot now, both when hiring and managing teams. For almost 10 years, I have opened and closed about 20 coffee shops and bakeries. There was everything - profits and losses, nerves, tears, and crazy joy. Now I have three facilities left - but they are of high quality, stable, proven.

HWYD: Do you plan to scale your business?

MARINA: No, I'm not thinking of scaling the coffee business. Now I'm thinking more about diversification. Over the past three months, I have come up with several new ideas and projects that I am launching from scratch. I hope to have something to share soon, but for now, this is an NDA.

HWYD: What advice do you have for those who are just dreaming of starting their own business?

MARINA: Try it out. Make mistakes. Lose money - and don't regret it. Start again. And smile. As Yaroslava Gres said in the play "Blue Dress": "There is no need to give up. Only go forward - and then everything will work out for sure."