How to Build a Business from Scratch? And How to Successfully Develop It During Wartime?
As part of an educational discussion, international researchers—including a guest lecturer from the UCU Business School and management professor Amy Kenworthy, Vishal Mehrotra, Chelsea Jill, and Ukrainian entrepreneur Andriy Rodkin—presented a case study on the glamping business in Ukraine. Their work has been published by Ivey Publishing and Ivey Business School.
Andriy Rodkin is the Chief Commercial Officer and co-founder of Glamping UA. He shared the story of building his business, the challenges he faced, and how he overcame them:
«I still don’t know how we managed it. We had no experience—neither in entrepreneurship, nor in launching a startup, nor in its financing. We literally started from zero. We had nothing. We had no understanding of building materials or fabrics. But we still decided to try. Unlike other startups, where founders begin with market research, data collection, and raising investments, we did the opposite. We started by creating the first glamping tent in my backyard in our hometown. We made all the mistakes possible. But by the end of that same year, after completing our first tent, we sold it to a client across the border—in Poland. And it was from that very first client that Glamping UA’s story began».
Describing his experience, Andriy Rodkin also recalled how his business coped with times of uncertainty and constant challenges, as they started the venture with his co-founders a year before the pandemic. After surviving COVID and things more or less stabilized, in January 2022 they secured the largest contract in their startup’s history—with a major company planning to build a large glamping complex with 10–20 units. Negotiations lasted over two months, and then one day Andriy Rodkin received a call: «You won. We’re closing the deal. We’ll send the first payment today.” However, two weeks later, they were asked to return the advance payment, with the explanation that the political situation in Ukraine was unstable. Then the full-scale war began.
«Living during the war is constant stress. Sometimes I think: ‘I don’t need all this. I don’t want to launch new glampings anymore. I don’t want to give so much of myself to this business.’ I’m missing so many moments of life. When we started, I thought about money. Now I realize—I would have earned more working as an employee in a company. But when that thought comes, I remember the people I promised: we will create something valuable, something new».
Andriy Rodkin’s business story had many sharp turns and surprises—both pleasant and not so much.
The glamping market in Ukraine continued to grow by 20 percent annually, with the number of glamping sites increasing nearly 2.5 times (from 40 to 93) over just three years of war. They built 14 sites across Ukraine for which they were the exclusive tent suppliers. Their approximate revenue steadily grew, amounting to $5,000 in 2019, $20,000 in 2020, and $500,000 in 2021. It’s no surprise that when the full-scale invasion began, revenue dropped to just under $200,000 in 2022, but then rose again to $550,000 in 2023 and $650,000 in 2024.
How did the company manage this? And how they overcome the biggest difficulties and challenges during all this time can be learned from the work of the international researchers on this educational case study.
