What happened in 2023
Silicon Valley
I celebrated my new year in a 2x4 room in the heart of Silicon Valley, in California. Back in 2022, I signed up for fundraising courses. They were held at Stanford once a week. There I met 46 other students from 22 countries. It was pretty cool, and if anyone is interested in reading the slides from the presentations, write.
While in the valley, I managed to live in "hacker houses", work in local co-working spaces and go to places with not the best "smell". I was also there on March 10 when Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) went bankrupt, the third largest bankruptcy in United States history and the largest since the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Details of how my time in California passed can be read on Watermelon.
Kavun.ua
Watermelon promised to create Ukrainian Upwork, even before it became mainstream. In 2023, through Kavun, about 3 million hryvnias came into the economy of Ukraine. In 2024, Kavun will continue to help Ukrainian IT professionals find clients abroad. Thanks to angel investments from partners, in 2024 we will have a marketing department that will start running ads to help freelancers find clients on the platform. Register as a freelancer and fill out a profile to become one of the first users of Kavun - Invite Only Freelance Community.
I would like to thank my favorite freelancers - Oleksiy Bondar and Vadim Kapachev, with whom we cooperate on Watermelon UA and who were the first to believe in the project.
Scrimmage
This year Scrimmage changed direction and is now developing a low-code platform for gamification. At the end of the previous year, we finished the development of our crypto game, but due to the "long winter" and questionable profitability, the game was not launched. We "escaped" from the crypt and started selling our game as a B2B widget for companies in the field of sports.
In 2023, the Scrimmage team grew from 2 engineers to 4. We finally got our first paid subscriptions and played about 300 matches in Bobble league.
I'm proud of what we've built on Scrimmage. Our system under the slogan "Flexibility" has evolved from an ordinary mobile application to a full-fledged no-code platform for the development of gamified solutions. I myself would never have been able to achieve this, so I cannot help but thank my partner and friend Vova Polishchuk.
2024 will be a challenging year for Scrimmage. In order to become a successful company, we only need to find one big client, and I feel that this is not an easy task. Will we be able to do it? Will we need to raise a new round of investment and at what valuation? All this awaits us in 2024
Gamification
The most important thing that happened to me in 2023 was gamification. Since 2020, I've been trying to grow my audience on social networks, but it never worked out, because I ran out of ideas about what to write about. Gamification gave me inspiration.
This year I found a niche that is new, relevant in the world and relevant to me personally. I even managed to speak about gamification in the Ukrainian Digital Community.
In 2024, I have a new personal goal, to learn how to solve life's problems with the help of games. Therefore, I am looking for partner companies that would help to conduct relevant experiments. Under the radar is the education sector, blogging and sports applications.
Business
In 2023, I improved significantly in business. Regarding the theoretical part, first I took a Stanford course [FUNDING A NEW ENTERPRISE](https://continuingstudies.stanford.edu/courses/professional-and-personal-development/funding-a-new-enterprise -learn-from-experienced-silicon-valley-practitioners/20232_BUS-28) then [An Entire MBA in 1 Course: Award Winning Business School Prof)](https://www. udemy.com/course/an-entire-mba-in-1-courseaward-winning-business-school-prof/). I also listened to about 50 hours of podcast [MFM](https:/ /www.mfmpod.com/).
In practice, I had to fly on a business trip to Dubai where I had a meeting with new partners. Their company has about 30 employees in 3 annual departments, and so far it is the largest company in which I had a leadership position, albeit part-time.
I also opened my account with Interactive Brokers for passive investments and even made a profit at the end of the year. In my portfolio there are such companies as Unity, Rockstar, Roblox and Cisco.
Also, in 2023, I had to practically buy my first business. This included organizing the process of business analysis, finding and organizing a team, organizing the fundraising process, modeling profitability and creating a business plan.
Voopty
In 2023, I made my first angel investment, becoming the first investor in a young Ukrainian startup - Voopty. Vupti helps tutors and owners of educational institutions to digitize processes and make the business work for them and not them for the business. We have about 40 active clients throughout Ukraine. The media has not yet talked about Vupti, but I think that 2024 will be the year of Vupti.
The new executive director of the company, Nastasia Sinkevich, created her online school and using Voopty, raised it to the top in Ukraine. Technical director Artur Tretyak worked for 5 years at OneBox, the largest Ukrainian competitor of Voopty. In 2024, we have an ambitious goal - to reach profitability while maintaining a fast pace.
Voopty also provides its CRM for free to institutions that organize free classes and volunteer organizations.
India
The most important decision of 2023 was to move from America to India. At the beginning of 2023, I had a choice - to continue living in America on a refugee visa. Should I go to a cheap city where I could live fully and save money for investments.
I am really grateful to America for the opportunity to visit there without any visa problems. But the quality of life I got there was not worth it. Since I work online and work a lot, I spend 95% of my time in a room in my house. Work doesn't leave much time for networking, and I don't have the need for new acquaintances right now. Therefore, it was logical to find a place in the world where I could get the most comfortable conditions for a cheap price.
After Hanisha became disillusioned with her American education, she needed to return to India. India didn't sound like such a bad option for me, so we moved to the "silicon valley of India" - Bangalore. We lived there for 70% of 2023, that is, about 8 months.
India did not live up to my expectations as a comfortable country to live in. Although budget-friendly, India is very dirty and lacks basic things like sidewalks and traffic rules. People in India are very poor, lack basic education and manners. Also, many of them will try to trick you and look at you like a bag of money.
There are also quite a few tourists in the country and I was always the only white guy in the district.
Games
Thailand
Dirty India and constant moving had worn me out and by the end of the year I just wanted peace. After consulting the Internet, I realized that it is worth trying to live in Thailand.
After taking off for a 2-week trial period, I fell in love with Thailand and Bangkok. After moving to Thailand, I received a 1-year study visa and rented an apartment for 1 year. Therefore, in 2024, I will be able to save myself the headache of relocation, visa and inconvenient accommodation.
I live in a building with 61 floors. Before that, the place of residence never gave me enough comfort, now 95% of everything I would like to do is within a radius of 100 meters from me. In my building I have a 27/7 convenience store, gym, jacuzzi, cinema, virtual golf, billiards, air hockey, sauna and massage. Now I finally have time for healthy eating and daily exercise.
Near the apartment I have a large shopping center and a night market, which is Thailand's trump card. There is an unreal amount of delicious food and seafood.
4 hours work week
One of the goals I achieved in 2023 was a potential 4-hour work week. I became a Fractional STO at Cryptonary, and started earning enough to cover my living expenses working 4 hours a week. But I am not going to use this opportunity now, and I think of this contract more as additional income and work experience in a company larger than a startup. For this opportunity, I would like to thank my partner Asad, who invited me to help their company on a part-time basis.
Childhood dream
In 2023, I fulfilled my childhood dream and bought a gaming PC. Game of the year for me was Cyberpunk. I managed to play both Dota 2 and Divinity Original Sin 2.
I was always afraid that if I bought a PC I would go back to my old life where I played more than studied. But this did not happen and I managed to maintain control between the game and reality.
Here we have to thank my niece Hanisha, who decided to become a game developer and needed a PC to work. By the way, she develops games on Unreal Engine and is currently interning at a local company.
Publicity
In 2023, I discovered myself as a public figure. I was talked about in newspapers, my articles appeared in publications and I was invited as a speaker at universities and communities. Here is a list of my most successful posts in 2023:
- Я сенйор, що тепер
- Як айтівець із Чигирина створив стартап із «вовками з Волл-стріт», «підняв» $1 млн і знайшов кохання в Індії
- В 18 — розробник на фултаймі, в 22 — СТО стартапу з $1 млн інвестицій в США. Історія програміста з Черкащини
I can't help but thank my PR manager Bohdan Shcherbakov who made it all a reality.
Lessons learned
- A small but loyal audience is better than a large and disloyal one.
- Be the first to benefit, don't ask for anything at the first meeting with a stranger
- As a CEO, your main goal is to create momentum in the team. A shared sense of urgency and importance of the work being done.
- Sales funnel ≠ marketing funnel.
- Business consists in finding talented people and their development
- Attention to detail separates the good from the great.
- Some things simply cannot be delegated.
- Don't compete with others, compete with the ideal version of yourself.
My favorite AI assistants of 2023
Copilot
Copilot is the most important thing that happened in the world of programming in 2023. At the beginning I didn't know how to use it, but in the end I can't work without it.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT is another AI miracle that happened to me in 2023. About 20% of the code I write is written by him. Both ChatGPT and Copilot have made this year much more productive for me in terms of programming.
My favorite apps of 2023
Notion
Notion began to reveal itself in full force after 4 years of active use. Now I have a time-tested system for managing my life. Thanks to Notion, I never forget my goals and projects. Thanks to Notion, I can always look through the 4-year history of my life.
Figma
In 2023, the Scrimmage had a significant need for design. so I had to download Behance and learn Figma. I took a full course on Udemy that gave me the basics. Then I got to put it all into practice by developing designs for Scrimmage.
Being able to visualize ideas and design products is important for a founder, so I'm glad that my hands finally reached Figma.
Miro
As the Scrimmage team grows, we needed to start a more structured project management. Miro helped us organize project management in a visual way. Every month we plan and architect new solutions here.
Results
The year 2023 was full of important events and achievements. From moving to Silicon Valley and studying at Stanford to surviving the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank, the year was filled with new experiences and new skills. Working with startups such as Watermelon UA, Scrimmage and Voopty has shown significant business progress, with a particular focus on innovation and development. Gamification and growth in business became the key topics of the year, which made it possible to reach new heights in professional development.
Moving from America to India, and then to Thailand, opened up new horizons and challenges, particularly in adapting to new cultures and living conditions. These moves also contributed to a greater focus on personal life and health, which was reflected in a change in life rhythm and priorities.
2023 also proved to be a year of self-realization and achieving personal goals, including buying a gaming PC and achieving work-life balance. An important aspect of the year was also an increase in public activism and role in the community, highlighted by numerous publications and speeches.
Overall, 2023 was filled with development, learning and adaptation that will prepare you for new achievements and challenges in 2024. The future promises to be even more exciting with new projects, goals and opportunities in the field of gamification, business and personal development.
What will happen in 2024
Thai
I need a visa to stay in Thailand. It turns out that the easiest visa for me is a study visa. I've always wanted to start learning a third language, so learning Thai isn't such a bad idea. A large part of people in Thailand do not speak English or speak it very poorly, so knowledge of the language would be useful.
I signed up for courses that will be held 2 times a week near me. I expect that by the end of 2024 I will be able to read, write and speak basic phrases in Thai.
Conferences
Little by little, I'm starting to get to the point where it would be more beneficial for me to do networking than work. Very often the "luck" that changes your life comes precisely from accidental networking, and in 2023 I did very little of this. Since there is an international airport in Bangkok and my visa allows repeated returns to the country, I can easily travel to conferences.
In 2024, I want to start attending conferences relevant to me in the fields of gamification and sports.
Publicity
There will be more of me in 2024. The dominant part of my existing posts are written about startups, entrepreneurship, my personal story or freelancing. Next year, my main niche will be gamification. My goal in media is to become #1 expert in Ukraine and TOP 10 expert in the world.
In order to achieve this, I will write articles, do research, speak at universities and help organizations solve real problems using gamification.
Gamification
In 2024, my main goal will be to figure out how to use gamification to solve real problems. Such problems as war. Gamification in many of its manifestations is used by the US Army to speed up the adaptation process of soldiers and increase motivation. Gamified training helps to quickly train existing soldiers and recruit new ones. Gamification will not win the war, but it will help save many lives by improving the qualifications of the military and replacing humans with drones.