Like all CEOs, Aleksandr Volodarsky bears the heavy responsibility for the success or failure of his company.
But the 36-year-old has to make difficult decisions that most CEOs don’t have to make – he runs a start-up in war-torn Ukraine.
“The biggest problem is that there are no employees. One of the employees fighting on the front lines is our chief marketing officer,” said the founder of Lemon.io, an online freelance marketplace for software developers.
Decisions I make now are not the decisions to make (the situation) better. It’s just a matter of vacuuming less.
Alexander Volodarsky
CEO, Lemon.io
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Volodarsky told his 60 employees that their jobs would be preserved and they would continue to receive salaries – even if they were mobilized or fought voluntarily.
“A lot of people were out of place and lost their jobs…that helped a lot because when you have to go through that experience and worry about your income at the same time, it’s like double anxiety,” Volodarsky said.
“When you lose your job, it’s a lot harder to get through it.”
What lessons did this CEO learn from running a startup during wartime? CNBC Make It finds out.
1. Questions with “no good answers”
As the war drags on, Volodarsky now faces uncertainty for the future.
“One of the most difficult questions right now is: How do we hire another person – or not hire another person – and keep the (first) person?”
He added: “I want to take this job (Chief Marketing Officer) but actually the job is bad… it is not efficient and not good for the company in the long run. But we need someone to do the job.”
That’s not the only dilemma to which he has “no good answers.” For example, should he hire men immediately since “full mobilization” could occur at any time?
On the one hand, excluding someone is just an ugly thing. But then again, I have 60 people I’m responsible for…
Alexander Volodarsky
CEO, Lemon.io
“On the one hand, excluding someone is just an ugly thing. On the other hand, I have 60 people that I am responsible for, and if I do something that can harm the company and its future income, I cannot do that,” Wolodarski said.
He added that he’s still “debating” what the right thing to do is, but one thing is certain: he wants to keep his promise to all of his employees.
“Decisions I make now are not the decisions to make (the situation) better. It’s just… about shitting less.”
2. Think ahead
Volodarsky also decided to pay his employees in advance – in cash.
“The closer the war got, the more nervous people became and we said, let’s try to make some plans so that people feel confident,” he said.
“We decided to give people two months’ salary in advance so that they have cash. Whatever happens, people will always need cash… the banking system can collapse whatever can happen.”
In fact, Ukraine’s central bank suspended electronic cash transfers on the same day Russia invaded the country.
As the invasion progressed, ATMs across the country ran out of cash, leaving some people standing in line for hours only to be faced with a $33 limit per transaction.
“It was a challenge. The last five months have been a bit chaotic… but people are confident that they have a sense of security when we are working.”
3. Celebrate victories
As a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, three million people fled their homes to neighboring countries in less than three weeks. For this reason, many people cannot work, Volodarsky said.
“They had to move, make their own plans and help their families. In the beginning we said, ‘Screw all the goals (for the company), we just want to make sure people can settle in.'”
But Volodarsky realized that this wasn’t helping his employee’s morale.
“When everything is chaotic and uncertain… the sense of achievement actually helps them lead a normal life. At least you can see that there is some progress in what you’re doing, rather than sitting around waiting for the war to come over.”
He added that he began leading his team to achieve the goal set before the war, which was to make the platform the “main source of income” for software developers.
“We also have smaller goals to improve the platform and user experience… People (in the company) are excited because they can actually provide jobs to many Ukrainian developers,” Volodarsky said.
The start-up wants to employ 1,000 engineers by the end of 2022.
“You feel like what you’re doing has a little more meaning. I saw people get really excited about every little win we had.”
4. Giving is “not hard”
Volodarsky’s decision to leave “all profits” to the Ukrainian The military also gave his company a good dose of motivation.
“Not everyone can do something (for the war), but they know that if they can continue to contribute to the company and the company grows, they actually have an impact.”
However, Volodarsky emphasized that giving up profits was less “heroic” than it sounds.
“What exactly are profits? You generate revenue and give everything you have to spend on – salaries, advertising… and then what is left over you give to the army,” he said.