Looking for the next international startup hub? Why this founder chose Ukraine

I don't know if it's just a Berlin thing, but I meet a lot of restless foreigners and locals in the startup ecosystem looking for the next place to call home.

Like many cities, the cost of living has increased while the wages for many remain stagnant. Finding affordable, permanent housing is a journey through hell. 

But where to go next? 

One European founder, Emin Can Turan, chose Ukraine. 

At Tech.eu, over the last three years, we've interviewed many founders, investors, and PRs about the challenges of doing business during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

People are not only dealing with the personal and familial challenges of wartime but founding and running companies. 

According to Turan:

"Building a global tech company is insanity.

Building it in Ukraine amidst a war and power cuts, while scaling across the UK, is like trying to get home on NYE in London. Sloshed."

Before I dig into the realities of doing business in Ukraine as a foreigner, let's share a bit about Turan and Pebbles. 

Emin Can Turan (Can) is a serial entrepreneur, B2B marketing strategist, and published author with over a decade of experience in strategic marketing. He has held leadership roles at Google, Cisco, and Walmart Global Tech, specialising in product marketing, data insights, and B2B pricing.

As the architect of the GTMS strategy models at Can & Co and former co-founder of AnalystPro AI, he has successfully brought 30+ SMEs to market. His expertise spans lexical semantics, neuromarketing, persuasion sciences, and AI-driven marketing strategies.

He realised that working in tech revealed a consistent pattern: the highest levels of wisdom, knowledge, and skill sets are monopolised at the top by firms like BCG, Bain, and McKinsey, as well as companies like Meta and Google. 

"The challenge lies in democratising this knowledge—how can we create a system that makes this expertise accessible to everyone?"

He notes that

"Everyone is building AI companies, but few are building neuro-symbolic AI companies. Most startups are just adding AI as an afterthought. 

We are focused on building intelligence that mimics a McKinsey senior analyst or a Cisco sales executive. We create the strategy, the proposals, and the messaging—our system is the 'armory,' not the execution tool."

Pebbles Ai, founded in 2023 in London, is an AI-native SaaS sales and productivity platform. It enhances go-to-market (GTM) workflows through AI-driven automation and intelligence. It ensures context-aware accuracy, enabling more relevant interactions that drive higher conversions and improved business outcomes. 

The platform maximises resource efficiency while eliminating tool fragmentation by streamlining operations, reducing manual effort, and unifying teams within a single system.

The company raised $1 million in angel funding in January using its own GTM science. 

It has offices in both London and Lviv — the latter includes the bulk of the team's engineers. 

Why open an office in Ukraine – during the invasion?

There's a lot of good reasons to choose Ukraine.

 Ukraine, particularly Lviv, is home to some of the best engineers outside of Silicon Valley. 

Over the past five years, the number of IT professionals in Ukraine has increased by 78 per cent, reaching 346,000 specialists. In 2024, the total volume of investments in Ukrainian product companies reached $310.5 million.

Ukrainian startups generate five times more revenue per invested US dollar compared to their American counterparts.

Several Ukrainian-founded startups, including Grammarly, GitLab, People.ai, and Creatio, have reached unicorn status.

According to a report by Civitta, at least 10 more startups are approaching unicorn status, including Preply, Intellias, and BetterMe. 

Further, conditions are favourable for startups. A single state portal  Diia, developed over the last few years, includes over 70 digital services — you need only 2 seconds to become an entrepreneur in Ukraine, and 30 minutes to found a limited liability company. 

Over 1,000,000 private entrepreneurs and more than 14,000 companies have already used the service.

But what's it like doing business in Ukraine as a foreigner? 

Turan asserts that doing business in Ukraine presents unique challenges. 

"Ukrainians are tough and take time to trust outsiders. When I first arrived, I only knew one Ukrainian—my wife.

I was invited to a traditional banya (sauna) with Ukrainian tech CEOs. Initially, they were sceptical, but over time, trust developed."

Now, a third of Pebbles' investors and technical leaders are Ukrainian. Its biggest angel investor, who has invested $130,000, hails from Ukraine. 

The company has also partnered with an IT outsourcing company whose CTO has invested both individually and as a company.

Turan shared, "This sense of camaraderie has been invaluable."

Dealing with misinformation

One of the biggest challenges facing the Ukrainian startup ecosystem international misinformation. 

Some Western investors hesitate to fund Ukrainian startups due to concerns over infrastructure reliability. I've had some tell me that the utilities are unreliable and raise concerns about the ability of local startups to maintain consistent customer service. 

I visited Lviv last year for the IT Arena, and despite the occasional air raid warning, life largely carried on as usual. Cafes, shops, and universities were open, people gathered in parks, and daily routines continued. Cultural events persist, many emphasising national identity and unity. I  don't mean to downplay the immense challenges of wartime, but I offer a perspective that contrasts with the images of bombed buildings and battlefields that dominate international news. 

I've had many Ukrainian founders who have moved their startups abroad due to the invasion ask me not to mention they are Ukrainian in covering their news due to the perceptions of investors.

Turan asserts that this fear is unfounded:

""It's a ridiculous concern. We have generators, Starlink, and power backups.

We have not missed a single meeting in three years. Meanwhile, some Indian outsourcing firms, known for infrastructure issues, still experience power outages. The world is slow to catch up to the resilience of Ukrainian tech."

Pebbles' initial market focus is Ukraine. 

Turan asserts that many successful tech firms have found their strongest early adopters in non-Western regions. 

"A prime example: my past work at Revolut revealed that the highest demand wasn't in the UK but in Romania and Bulgaria. Targeting under-served markets first, then expanding westward, is a proven strategy.

We seem to be crafting an Anglo-Ukrainian powerhouse, mirroring the path of Grammarly, which successfully scaled between San Francisco and Kyiv."

The future of business in Ukraine

Turan predicts that post-war Ukraine will experience a massive economic boom, much like Germany after World War II. 

"I believe Ukraine will be the new Germany after World War II. Berlin has become expensive and stagnant. Ukraine has the talent, the hunger, and the drive. If they introduce a startup visa, we will see a tech migration boom. I'm here for the long haul. I don't care how many missiles come—we're building something big.

"More companies will relocate or establish headquarters here."

According to Turan, three things set Ukraine's work culture apart:

"They take pride in their work. No 'I'm sick' excuses—they get it done. There's a deep-rooted emphasis on STEM. Many of our AI directors have grandfathers who worked in Soviet space programs.

Further, the business culture is built on trust. It takes time, but once you're in, you're in."

He asserts that Ukrainians communicate efficiently and decisively, though sometimes there are differences to Western business culture.

"A great example: during an investment pitch, an investor simply sent me a handshake emoji. Confused, I later learned that in Ukraine, this is as binding as a contract."

Lead image: Pebbles ai. Photo: uncredited.