Andrew Denysov

From a young age, Andrew Denysov had every intention of being a soccer player when he grew up. However, after a trip to the United States and seeing a commercial with Steve Jobs, Andrew became one of the first individuals to sell iPhones in Ukraine. This venture was only the beginning of Andrew’s exploration into the tech world, but years later the future of his entrepreneurial journey was put into question when Russia invaded Ukraine.

“You have to put your goals on your values. So I have my five values that help me to create everything. This is the foundation. This is the backbone…It doesn’t matter if the goals don’t go the way I want, I want my values to be the same.” - Andrew Denysov, (28:46)

The Outcome of Remaining Persistent
While pursuing a degree in economic cybernetics, Andrew was presented with an incredible opportunity to visit the United States. During that time, this was the equivalent of visiting the moon, as very few Ukrainians visited America. The same year Andrew traveled across the ocean, Apple announced and released its first iteration of the iPhone. While holding his Nokia and watching an advertisement for this next-gen smartphone, Andrew knew this was technology he wanted to bring back to Ukraine. 

When Andrew wrapped up his job as a singing waiter at Johnny Rockets in Gulf Shores, Alabama, he returned home and started shipping iPhones into the country. Andrew quickly realized the phones came locked and were not useable in his home country. However, Andrew soon found a solution, and his first entrepreneurial endeavor became a lucrative side hustle.        

Unfortunately, in Ukraine at the time, it was difficult for individuals to obtain jobs if they didn’t have any prior work experience. Therefore, over the next eight years, Andrew took it upon himself to keep creating startups with the hopes that one would stick. Eventually, Andrew found himself in the world of development programming building e-commerce websites. It wasn’t long before Andrew was helping bring the US dollar into the Ukrainian economy with his out-of-country clients. 

“I was thinking about the future and it was during hard times, and one moment I realized that if I cannot find a job, I will probably create a job. So that’s why it drove me into entrepreneurship.” - Andrew Denysov, (9:30)

Business with a Purpose
Once Andrew realized his programming business was gaining momentum, it became his mission to expand with the intent of providing jobs that would help Ukrainian citizens work, pay taxes, and invest in the country’s economy. Over the next few years, Andrew’s company continued to grow and be successful, but an unexpected and life-changing event altered the trajectory of Andrew’s future, as well as Ukraine's. 

“I wanted to be that bridge that delivered a great competitive on-the-market service…but at the same time created jobs that will let people feed their families and actually support my country.” - Andrew Denysov, (14:03)

Having the Support of Family
Around five o’clock on the morning of February 24, 2022, Andrew woke up to two missed calls from his friends in the states. Curious as to why, it wasn’t until he opened Facebook that he realized Russia had invaded Ukraine. This escalation prompted a hectic seventy-two hours for the country as banks closed down and gas stations were overrun with patrons.

As air raid sirens blared continuously and bombardments happened nationwide, Andrew and his family started helping the thousands of refugees who were fleeing the war zone. Being located only one hour from the border of Poland, Andrew had to juggle helping his fellow citizens and taking care of his established business. As an adult male of a certain age, Andrew was not allowed by law to leave the country. Therefore, his family had to decide if they were going to leave or stay in Ukraine with him.  

“I was angry at that decision, but we now realize that was good because one of the values of my personal life is my family. And I cannot imagine my life without my wife and the family. They are my supporters, my motivators, inspirations, and helpers.” - Andrew Denysov, (26:21)

After pleading with his wife for her to go somewhere safer, she bravely declared she was not going anywhere without him. As a result, Andrew and his family remained in Ukraine. And now one year later, Andrew continues to support his employees and their families in any way he can. The war is ongoing, but Andrew relies heavily on his Christian faith and personal values to pave the way through this period of conflict.

Andrew’s journey showcases the positive influence businesses can have on the community during times of adversity, and how even though it might be scary, we are always stronger when surrounded by those we love. 

Andrew Denysov:

And people, women and kids, of course, they could leave the country. And lots of families did that. So, husbands stayed in Ukraine, of course, but women just left the country. But my wife, she said, "I won't go anywhere without you."

Rick West:

Welcome to Push Go, a podcast presented by Plum where we highlight the defining moments that impact how we live and work. Today I'm joined by Andrew Denysov. He's the co-founder and CEO of TechVision. It's a global software development company located in Ukraine.

Today, you're going to hear how Andrew made the decision to use his business to help the economy and those families in need during his country's conflict with Russia.

Andrew, good morning. Welcome to the podcast.

Andrew Denysov:

Good morning, Rick. Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure.

Rick West:

I have been looking forward to this for a long time. Actually, I think we've even rescheduled a couple times because of issues that I've had on my end. So it's good to finally be looking at you across the screen to be able to talk this morning. So how are things in the Ukraine? How are things with team Andrew and your family?

Andrew Denysov:

Thank you, Rick. It's a real pleasure be being here. So no worries about the rescheduling. I know that you're super busy. And it's a pleasure to have a friendship with you as well.

So over here in Ukraine, it's a good question because right today, that was 14th or 16th missile attack by Russia to Ukraine. So we probably spent almost all of the day because of the air rates sirens, and not outside or something like that. So this is the new reality for all Ukrainians right now.

Rick West:

Wow, wow. So we'll talk more about that a little bit later because that's right in the middle of us. But I wanted to start with that because I'd like to go backwards some, because things haven't always been this way for you, your family, and in the Ukraine. And Andrew, as you and I have talked, you really have been an entrepreneur almost all of your life. So I'd love to understand, as I look at Andrew as a young child growing up, did you think you would be a tech entrepreneur? I mean, was that even in the realm of possibility as you were growing up as a child? Where did you think you would be in the work world when you were 10, 12, 15 years old?

Andrew Denysov:

So exactly in that age, I really, really wanted to be a soccer player. So, I liked sports so much. And I'm grateful that God gave me soccer in my life, or actually sports in my life, because actually it developed my character. So to be precise, to be strong and don't be afraid of some kind of challenges and hurts and pains, et cetera. So, probably soccer player. Yeah.

Rick West:

So soccer player. And so did you think you were going to go to university to be educated in the business world or something different? So when did the business part of your engagement start? When did you start thinking, "Gosh, I may not be a professional soccer player, but I could get into this business world?" How did that start?

Andrew Denysov:

So, that was early 2000s. So I started my university in 2004, and we choose, for some reason when my parents like economic cybernetics. Sounds interesting, right? So economic cybernetics. This is kind of the mix of tech and economy, so some kind of business world, et cetera.

So that was pretty difficult in the university. But at the same time, in 2007, that was a opportunity, a really, really fresh opportunity for Ukrainians back then to visit the United States. And I decided to take the challenge and use that opportunity. So in 2007, I was 20 year old guy. I went to the States first time. And by the way, to give you the context a little bit, because it's important. For Ukrainians back then, 20 years ago almost, yeah.

Rick West:

Right.

Andrew Denysov:

So in 2007. Go to the United States, it was, I mean, visit the United States was like visit Mars or moon or something like that, really.

So to get US Visa was a challenge. Purchase air tickets was a challenge. So everything. So when I said to my parents about my in intention, they said that someone wants to cheat me or fraud me. That's not possible. That's not possible.

So long story short, I did it. And in 2007, that was exactly that year when Apple announced and released their first iPhone. And I remember myself as today, I was looking at that advertisement on the TV on my second job, by the way. So my first job, I was a server, a waiter at the Johnny Rockets with a dancing servers. So I was probably the best dancing server. Why I'm thinking about that, that way, because I made really, really good tips because I was parliament back then. And second job, I was housekeeper at one of the hotels in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach in Alabama.

So I was looking at the advertisement and Steve Jobs said that, "Oh, these icons look so good, so you would like to even lick them," or something like that. And I fell in love with tech and that device holding my old buttons Nokia, small Nokia cell phone. And I said that, "Wow, probably this is something that, I want to bring that to Ukraine."

So I did it, and I was probably one of the first guys in I think whole Ukraine that started to ship iPhones from the United States to Ukraine. But there was a problem that they were locked. All of those iPhones were locked for US cell phones, cell phone operators, stuff like that.

So we hacked, not hacked. Okay, so we found-

Rick West:

No, it's okay.

Andrew Denysov:

...A way around.

Rick West:

You hacked. Okay? I remember the iPhone 3, all that's coming out. People were hacking it for video, hacking it for this. That's okay. It's not a bad term, but you are hacking it so that you could use it in the Ukraine. But were you still in the US sending from the US to Ukraine? Or were you back in Ukraine then?

Andrew Denysov:

No, I'm back to Ukraine. And I found friends who shipped me those iPhones. And when we hacked those first iPhones, so to test the market because no one knew about iPhones, we tried to sell them and they were just like, that was amazingly fast. And we made really, really, really good money. So I said to myself, "Wow." I mean, I calculated again, I was economic and cybernetic. So I connected these two stuff. I calculated the potential revenue I could make. So I said, "Okay, in the months I could make my parents both earn for the whole year or something like that."

Rick West:

Wow. So that changed your life, even looking at that tech, that changes your life. So at thought at that stage you're like-

Andrew Denysov:

That's right.

Rick West:

...This is my business model. But obviously that wasn't your business model. So kind of walk through the evolution of, "Hey, I'm buying these phones, we're selling them here." And then if you fast-forward the next six, eight years, you really started getting into development, programming, you'd had other businesses. So kind of walk us through that a little bit.

Andrew Denysov:

Yes, of course.

So again, when I graduated my university in 2009, again, everything, actually that period of time shaped me as entrepreneur because the software and tech just were just starting back then in Ukraine, so that industry at all. But the context of Ukrainians back then, young Ukrainians, was that if you don't have experience, you cannot be employed. So you're simply just unemployed. So it was difficult to find a job, really, and that was really, really difficult.

So now in Ukraine, it's way, way easier. You can go to the coffee shop, you can go, whatever you want. But back then, you could go just to the construction, you will be really underestimated and underpaid, and that's it. That's it. So it was like a corner. And I really, really struggled like thousands others ex-students or almost ex-students to find a job, because I was going to start my family, et cetera. And I was thinking about the future and literally that was really hard times.

And in one moment I realized that, okay, so if I cannot find a job, I will probably create a job. So, that's why it drove me to entrepreneurship. And yeah, I tried different businesses. So there was handmade candles. We sold them. Clothing. There was fitness clubs for women, by the way, franchises from the United States called Curves, but all of them were just bankrupt.

Rick West:

But that time-

Andrew Denysov:

One of my businesses survived.

Rick West:

But you're a classic entrepreneur at that point in time, so love that.

So you said one of your businesses survived. So you have this tech thing you played around with. You're doing all these startups, you realize I've going to start business on my own. Talk about that business that survived. And I'd love to begin transitioning into that, the car opportunity you had, as well as the tech team that you're running today, and the YouVersion app. So I'd love to transition into that, the things that started to stick. So what was the one thing that started to stick, that started to work?

Andrew Denysov:

So I started to think, why just only this one business survived this project survive? From among four or three, something like that. And I think the one key and one takeaway, and that was the secret sauce, that I knew English, I mean, more or less back then, and probably because God gave me a gift to connect the dots, connect people, network, et cetera. And that business was because my clients, my market was outside the country. And the people who worked with me and for me were in Ukraine. So I played on the difference of the economies.

So we delivered a really, really great service, but our prices for the services that we delivered were lower. And I was that bridge who created that, like an environment economy. And we run that process. And that's why I thought that "Wow, great. So that must be the sweet spot to create the business and create workplaces." And the true beauty of all of that was that this business actually created the revenue from other countries inside to Ukraine, the stable currency, which was dollar.

Rick West:

Okay, so you're bringing the US dollar in, you're bringing the outside dollars in to make it stable-

Andrew Denysov:

That's right.

Rick West:

... Within the Ukraine. Okay.

Andrew Denysov:

That's right.

Rick West:

So what was that one business that stuck? What was that business?

Andrew Denysov:

That was actually, we were creating websites and supported them, content, et cetera, et cetera. So mostly for e-commerce online stores. Yes.

Rick West:

Very much a tech kind of world. And so let's begin to transition. I'd love to hear the story of how you got involved in the YouVersion, the app development there, and also how the car piece came in, because we're going to transition into that defining moment, which we've all kind of in theory have in our heads what it may be. But talk to me a little bit about how you started to grow that into a team of people to really be a company that did development, and then this side business of automobiles that started really only about a couple three years ago.

Andrew Denysov:

And after that I realized that, oh, so if it worked for me and for some few people around me, I mean, the heart of loving people and the way that I loved to help others, my friends, friends of my friends, I realized that probably that's going to be the environment where and the passion grow up that I want to create jobs where people can work and feed their families, pay taxes, invest into the economy of Ukraine, purchase stuff here. And we will connect. And here's the most important thing. We will connect their jobs to more stable economies.

That was something that pulled a trigger over here in me that I want to be that bridge that will deliver a great competitive on the market service, of course, because we're not guys just because we are good guys from Ukraine or whatever. No, no, no, no, no. We have to be a competitive business on the market. But at the same time, the mission is, again, because of the Ukrainian context, creating jobs. So we will feed their families and actually support my country as it is.

Rick West:

Yes, I love that. The 30, 40, 50 years ago it would be much more difficult, almost impossible to really bank on other economies to drive what you're doing here, unless it was a trade goods where you're shipping goods. But the technology piece that you experienced in the States, the iPhone, all the things were happening. I love that concept of being a bridge between amazing talent, really quality work, and stable economies to bring that revenue into Ukraine to make it a more fulfilling, vibrant economy within your community. I love that.

So that's the case. You started building that, but as we talked earlier, that was... I think we met two years ago, you're in the States, everything's great. You're building your business, you've got this business that you're driving. And then something happened February, was it 24th?

Andrew Denysov:

That's right.

Rick West:

February 24th. So let's talk about that defining moment in your life, which you had no control over, but was that war, the issue that happened within the Ukraine. So let's talk about what that was like and how that impacted your life moving forward. Because while you're still doing these things we've talked about, obviously things have changed. Let's kind of drop anchor there a little bit and kind of kind of walk us through maybe that first 24, 48 hours when the reality was Russia was coming.

Andrew Denysov:

Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

So before February 24th, I'll give you also some of what's actually happened behind the scenes. So all my life, I'm that type of person that I love to plan my life for next five, 10 years. And every single December, my wife and I, we go for two, three days somewhere without the kids, just both of us. And we plan a year. So the plans for 2022 were really, really great. Multiply the business, impact on our nonprofit side. I'm a member of team in my local church, because, I mean, my nonprofit and the way how I change the society and influence the society, I do that through the church, because I strongly believe that the Christian values are those values that actually will change this country and not just this country at all.

So the plants were really, really great. And January was great, but there were some kind of rumors that there are kind of Russian troops came to the border with Ukraine, but that was kind of training. So none of us believed in that. None of us. Really. We talked to many, many people and none of them just believed that that may be true.

But the morning 5:00 AM of February 24th, I woke up just to grab a glass of water or something like that, and I just took my phone, pick up my phone. I don't know why. I just don't know why. And I saw two missed calls from my friends from the States, totally different people. They don't know each other. And that wasn't a messages. And they really, really clearly knew that I'm in the middle of the deep sleep, 4:00 AM or something like that, because they knew that I was in Ukraine. And someone here told me that, "Hey, check the Facebook." Because there were some rumors and news. But when I opened Facebook, I realized everything. So, the war started.

So, war broke out. It was completely another year of survival and growth as a individual, but in leader in the nation. So first 72 hours with no sleep. Totally no sleep. That was mess, stress, chaos. Banks are closed. Gas stations with kilometers of lines with cars because there was a just 20 liters per one car, 20 liters, four gallons or something like that per car.

Rick West:

Four gallons, yeah.

Andrew Denysov:

Yeah. Air raid sirens that says that actually Russia is attacking our cities. They really attacked cities all over Ukraine. So we started to help thousands and thousands of refugees and internally displaced people that were fleeing from the war zone to our part of Ukraine. And yeah, by the way, I live in the city of Laville, which is just one hour drive from the border with Poland, so, which is NATO zone.

Rick West:

Yeah, so you're on the west side close to the NATO country, Poland. So when you talked about-

Andrew Denysov:

That's right.

Rick West:

... The war zone, obviously the northeast portion was just bombarded. And so you had people fleeing those cities into your city, and it was almost like a holding place-

Andrew Denysov:

That's right.

Rick West:

... As people were trying to get into Poland.

Andrew Denysov:

That's right, that's right. Into Poland or just from that part of Ukraine, those cities, to our part of Ukraine. Because we are more or less, we were more or less safe and sound. And probably this part of Ukraine's the safest part of Ukraine. So we helped them. And back then, I had probably the smallest car ever I had in my home. I sent you the picture, right?

Rick West:

Yes.

Andrew Denysov:

So we tried to do as much as we could to deliver the food, clothing, because lots of people just were fleeing from that part, and they just literally didn't have a chance to take anything, even underwear. Just cell phone charger, sometimes, not even charger, backpack with just clothing for kids, and that's it. And yeah, at the same time, I had to take care about my business, because there were many risks for the clients.

But what I need to tell you one thing that none of our clients left us.

Rick West:

Wow.

Andrew Denysov:

None of them. I mean, I want to be honest with you, Rick, that if I would be in their shoes, I mean in my client's shoes, I would probably really, really start to worry about that. "Oh, my engineers are in Ukraine, my teams are in Ukraine. I mean, there are risks. Of course, everything are in cloud right now, et cetera. So you can just push the button and the excess will be closed, et cetera." But still.

Rick West:

Maybe talk a little bit about that. You've got a group of people that obviously are choosing to go fight, to go fight the war. You've also got people that are saying, yeah, but someone's got to stay back and keep the economy things going so that the families can survive. And I think you and I were talking about that keeping your business running actually keeps those families healthy, alive, and moving, to keep some revenue coming in.

Andrew Denysov:

That's right.

Rick West:

Because you can't just drop everything. And so I appreciate that tension of companies continue to invest in you, but yet you had to keep workers. Because again, the workers are trying to decide, "Do I flee to Poland and do something different? Do I stay here?"

So talk a little bit about the decisions that you saw people make between do I leave, do I stay? Do I stay and keep the economy going or do I stay and go fight? So talk a little bit about those decisions that you saw people making.

Andrew Denysov:

Oh, that was hard decisions. I mean, because different people... So again, and anyone of Ukrainian males can be drafted to the army anytime, even me or anyone from my engineers. But thank God for wise president and government in Ukraine right now. So they clearly understand that army without support is nothing. And support without army now is nothing. So we need to balance this. Of course we need to work, create the value, pay taxes, support, help, and stuff like that. But there are number, not number, but some of the engineers, males, they say, "I have to take a weapon. I have to go there." Some men were drafted.

But according to the, again, tech domain over here, government says, "Please work." So they don't draft engineers, software engineers, because we create the value of, again, bringing dollars to Ukraine, which is important right now for the Ukraine and economy.

They know that we speak English, we are the information providers for the rest of the world. We are not that type of guys that can be brainwashed or pushed to think the way how others want to think. So they know we are open-minded. So we are the creators of the big portion of the right economy over here.

So more or less it's good. But still, at the same time, according to the Marshall Law, all Ukrainian males from age 18 to 60 are not eligible to leave the country unless you have three kids or some kind of other exceptions. But that's just the very few.

Rick West:

Yeah. Well, and I also talked about your family staying or your family leaving to go to Poland for a period of time. And I know that was also a very difficult decision for your family. So speak to that a little bit of why you made the choice for you, your wife, and your kids to stay there as a family unit, as opposed to being separate. Speak to that a little bit.

Andrew Denysov:

Thank you for this question, Rick, because that was probably one of the hardest questions and decisions that we were thinking to make or not.

So, just imagine the situation. So, everyone is fleeing from the country. I mean, lots of people around you fleeing from the country because no one knew what's going to happen next second, next moment. I mean, people, women and kids, of course, they could leave the country. And lots of families did that. So husbands stayed in Ukraine, of course, but women just left the country. But my wife, she said, "I won't go anywhere without you." I forced her, I pleased her, I pushed her. I said, "Please go, because I mean, I cannot guarantee your security, because I don't know."

Rick West:

And this was early on where really you didn't know anything. It's really early on. So who knows what's really going to happen.

Andrew Denysov:

Exactly.

Rick West:

This isn't like today making that decision.

Andrew Denysov:

Exactly.

Rick West:

This is almost two years ago making a decision.

Andrew Denysov:

Exactly, exactly. And again, so your life consists of not just thinking about the war, but you have people that work for you, your team, your engineers, their families, clients. So these first 72 hours and more after that, without the sleep, I was sitting on the Zooms, I was talking to everyone, calling them, engineers were fleeing to kind of mountains, villages from big cities. Because we thought that big cities will be targeted by the missiles, et cetera.

But my wife said that we will not go anywhere without you. That's it, period. But I need to tell you that now for this moment, that was the right decision. I was angry on that decision. I respect that decision of my wife. But now we realize that was good. Because one of the values of my personal life is my family, and I really, really cannot imagine my life without my wife and the family. They are my supporters, my motivators, inspirations, and helpers as well. And that was difficult. Yeah.

Rick West:

Wow. So you're there as a family unit. You've made the decision to stay. And over the last year, as you look at your business and where things are today, I know you're a planner, okay? As you talk about, probably in December of this year, you guys sit down and did your plans of the year. Walk me through, as you look at the year in front of you, what do you see? What are you planning for? What are you hopeful for? How do you see the business and the family aspect of things as you look out into 2023?

Andrew Denysov:

Yeah, good question, Rick.

So, I consider myself as a very lucky person. I have three real, really, really cool mentors. First mentor is my, I believe in God and I pray a lot, and I rely on him so much. The second, the two others are, I have two mentors. One is Swedish, he's one of the top managers of Google Sweden. And another one is American. And when I sat to plan the 2023, I realized that, I don't know, okay, there is a full entire uncertainty in front of me in 2023. So how to move into the new year?

But again, I was lucky because one of my mentors, three years ago or something, we created, we call that life plan. So I have the plan of my life on the paper, but actually on the Google Doc, but in the paper.

And the tribute and the backbone of this life plan is not just the goals I love to set up. And all of my goals are in spreadsheet, digitalized numbers, drafts, et cetera.

Rick West:

I get it.

Andrew Denysov:

So everything is data driven. I am a data driven guy. But he gave me a golden advice. "Man, you have to put your goals on your values." So I have my five values, Andrew's five values, that help me to create everything.

So this is the foundation, this is the backbone, this is the first. And when he reverted back me to the first. He said, "Hey, just start planning this year in full of uncertainty from based on your values." And I said, "Yes, that's really cool." It doesn't matter what happened with me next day or next week or next month. I mean, the goals won't go that way that I want, my values will be the same.

Rick West:

Yeah, I love that. And that's so good. I think it's so important for us all to hear is that in the time of complexity, time that things are changing and you're not really sure, your values can still be your foundation. So I love that.

So we're kind of running out of time now, and I hate that, Andrew. We need to get you back on again and talk more. But I love that concept of my values are true, regardless of what happens. My plans may change, but the values are still there.

So if someone wanted to have a virtual cup of coffee with you or if, hey, if you were coming back into the states they wanted to connect with you, what's the easiest way for someone to reach out to Andrew and get some time with you, or at least show you some support? What would be the best way to do that? And from a business standpoint, if they're looking for developers in Ukraine, great business, I'd love to know the best way for folks to get ahold of you.

Andrew Denysov:

Oh, thank you for this question. So I'm easy to reach me by email, Facebook, I'm on Facebook, LinkedIn, of course, and I'm on WhatsApp. And I'm very open to meet and chat and get acquainted, because I truly believe that the network and knowing people is very, very good.

Rick West:

Yeah. Well, we'll have all that contact information below in the show notes to make that happen. But Andrew, man, it was a blessing to talk to you this morning. Thank you for making this time happen. I know you're on battery power and we're making sure everything is okay, but thank you for making the effort today, and we'll talk again soon.

Andrew Denysov:

Thank you so much, Rick.

Rick West:

Thanks for listening to Push Go, a podcast highlighting the defining moments that impact how we live and work. It was great to have Andrew on the show.

If you like what you heard, you can find more stories just like this on listen.plumshop.com. And hey, we wouldn't be mad if you left us a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Now, we have new episodes that drop every Wednesday, and if you're watching on YouTube, feel free to like and subscribe.