Three years ago, Oleksiy Tryhubenko was one of the contestants in the first Ukrainian season “Bachelorette”. Although he reached the final, he did not receive the last rose. Even before his time on reality TV, he and a friend had founded a company in Kiev that rented cars to taxi drivers. He talks to ntv.de about how the business has changed since the Russian attack began.
ntv.de: A year ago Russia invaded Ukraine. How did you experience that?
Oleksiy Tryhubenko: When the fighting in Kiev started, I was on my way to western Ukraine with my family. I had very little money in my pocket and thought I would have lost everything otherwise. My friends called me and told me that it is unclear what will happen tomorrow. When I think about it today, I realize that I should have stayed at home, I shouldn’t have worried so much. But at the time I didn’t know what to do. Then when people asked me for help, we started picking people up from Kiev, driving them to the train station or to safe cities in Ukraine. We provided evacuation vehicles for families. Many people came to us, took cars and drove to western Ukraine.
Now you live in Kiev again?
Yes, my family is here too, my mother and father. My sister is in Germany at the moment. My father joined the Territorial Defense. Sometimes I go to Dnipro, where we opened a camp.
A camp?
We formed an organization, “Tactics of Victory.” We use it to coordinate the work of volunteers who bring clothing, sleeping bags and the like to our military. But we also buy thermal imaging cameras, sometimes drones and target devices. Our country, our lives depend on the military, so we work for them.
And your company continues at the same time?
Our company focuses primarily on helping. It was volunteering that got us turning our brains back on at the start of the war. This kind of work gave us back motivation and belief in the future. Little by little we started working on our business again in parallel to volunteering. Both are now running in parallel.
Does your fame from “Bachelorette” help you with your volunteer work or with your businesses?
When I come to a new place there is usually a person who knows me from TV so it’s easier to get in touch. This opens up more open doors for me. I set up an Instagram account for volunteering so that more people would know about our project and feel encouraged to help. Of course it’s a disadvantage that I show my life openly, but the advantages are greater.
The Ukrainian economy is in a dramatic situation. What does the war mean for your company?
Our company has changed completely. We have constant problems with power outages. Sometimes it is difficult for us to receive orders or track cars because the GPS is not working properly. When there are no lights, driving in the city is dangerous for both drivers and pedestrians. The traffic lights don’t work either. But people get used to it.
The reality of the market is this: when the war started, there were people who fully understood and didn’t take money from the entrepreneurs, or at least didn’t charge full rent – and there were the others. We were a bit unlucky because we were still billed in full for the rents. And so we accumulated debt. It was very uncomfortable. But we paid everything, closed the big offices and opened other, smaller offices.
Are there any good changes?
We not only rent cars to taxi drivers, we also offer services like car purchase, repair, insurance and so on. And you can have your car managed by us and thus earn dividends. We work with all sorts of platforms like Uber, Bolt and Uklon. Before the invasion, we had a problem: we were unable to use our car fleet to the maximum. In the summer we were able to solve the problem, today we can manage any number of vehicles. That’s because our fear of war is far greater than our fear of making business decisions. This makes it easier for us to get out of our comfort zone, to try everything and to take risks.
Ever thought of shutting down your business and going to war?
Of course, like everyone else. On the second day of the great invasion, I packed my things and prepared to go into battle. I called my friends in the military and told them to wait for me, I would come with them. I bought tickets and was about to get on the train. However, my best friend stopped me, he said, “You’re not going anywhere.” The next day we went together to a meeting with people from the army. They were big and strong – not like me. I told them I wanted to go to war. They replied to me: “Every person has strengths and weaknesses. You will be the weakest in war. You have no military training. But you can take care of logistics and support the economy. Think about it.” That’s when I realized that I should do what I’m good at.
Aren’t times incredibly tough for businesses in Ukraine?
Even in the conditions of war it is possible to do business in Ukraine. For example, many Russian companies left Ukraine. There are companies whose turnover has tripled because a Russian competitor has left the market. And I’ve noticed that Ukrainians mainly buy clothes from Ukrainian manufacturers – I’m no exception. Of course, there are regions that suffered so much from the war that it is impossible to do business there. But in quieter places you can find niches. The most important thing now is that we keep going.
With Oleksij Tryhubenko sprach Maryna Bratchyk
