Today we have selected Vladyslav Savchenko to take his interview. He is the founder and owner of Powercode.co.uk.
First of all, how are you and your team doing in these COVID-19 times?
I don’t mean to brag, but we’re doing great! IT services are very in-demand now because businesses that refuse to digitize are doomed, and many business owners worldwide finally understand how they can benefit from software solutions. Right now, we have several projects in progress and are actively seeking new specialists to join our team.
Tell us about you, your career, how you founded or joined this company?
I’ve wanted to start an IT company since school. And in 2015, I got the first opportunity to do it right. The opportunity came to me as friends who happen to be in IT, and I took this opportunity without a second thought.
How does your company innovate?
Powercode innovates steadily. We innovate in several directions at once. The first direction is the range of our services. We continuously add at least one new service to our expertise. The latest service is eCommerce consulting, where we offer assistance on creating an eCommerce business from scratch. Getting an app or a website or another digital product is only a part of starting a business, which also includes getting the team, finding warehouses and supplies, developing the logistics chain, launching marketing campaigns, and a lot more. After we successfully did it all while creating our own online supermarket, we gained enough expertise to share with the others. Another innovation direction is the technology stack. Each year, our projects get more complex in terms of technology used, product architecture, etc.
How the Coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how are you coping?
The Coronavirus pandemic affected many businesses in IT, and luckily, we were never among them. Of course, some of our clients had to pause or terminate their projects, but instead of worrying or panicking, we saw an opportunity to create something truly worthy for business stability and society. So, when the pandemic started and millions of people were scared and unprepared for the lockdown, we made Foodex24 – an online supermarket that gave people an opportunity to keep social distance and purchase food and household products without leaving their homes and stay healthy. Foodex24 is an outstanding business case because we created it from scratch within two weeks during the lockdown, and it continuously shows an increase in profitability and popularity.
We’ve also created two Healthcare products to help the country fight Covid-19. Thus, we created an information portal for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare specialists dealing with Covid-19 patients for the Center for Public Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. After that, we built a Health System Response Monitor for the World Health Organization. Together we created a platform for tracking and comparing the coronavirus epidemic situation in different regions of Ukraine.
Powercode doesn’t need to cope with consequences related to the coronavirus pandemic because of our flexibility and the ability to see opportunities even in the most challenging situations.
Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons learned?
Every business owner faces difficult choices. The bigger your company and your team are, the harder these choices get. A business owner can learn the two most important things in such cases – don’t be afraid of making a mistake and always stay a good person, at least in your own eyes.
What specific tools, software, and management skills are you using to navigate this crisis?
We continuously optimize and update our tools and skills. However, we are a digital company that started working with most of our clients remotely years ago, and since then, we have well-established and tested processes. So we didn’t have to adjust to the new reality because we were ready for it long before.
Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?
I prefer to consider my competitors as friendly business neighbors and even co-founded an IT community – EASE (European Association of Software Engineering). Communities show their undeniable power in both stable and challenging times. Our community intends to move the Ukrainian IT industry to a new worldwide level, and it is great to see the number of community members growing.
Your final thoughts
The coronavirus pandemic is very similar to the fight or flight situation, and the more businesses stay to fight, the stronger they get. We live in outstanding times when the digital world saves and empowers our traditional world. Food delivery, online doctor appointments, e-learning platforms, and many other benefits wouldn’t be possible without IT. Challenges empower businesses, and digital solutions empower humanity.
- Spokesperson: Vladyslav Savchenko
- Company: Powercode
- Website link: https://powercode.co.uk/