Can you believe that KITRUM is celebrating its 8th birthday? What began as a dream shared on a balcony between 2 passionate individuals has blossomed into a dynamic company with 8 offices across the globe so far!
From humble beginnings to being ranked in The Americas’ Fastest-Growing Companies by the Financial Times and Inc. 5000, Kitrum’s journey resembles the development of a video game, where each stage of growth presents new challenges conquered through the creative thinking of our team members. It often feels like a relay race from one challenge to the next, yet behind it all are stories, a lot of fun, and insights that make the journey worthwhile.
Kitrum first years
It all started as the dream of just 2 people, literally dreaming on the balcony in 2016. Their vision was simple yet powerful: to bridge the gap between exceptional engineers and clients in need. Was it easy? Absolutely not. Our CEO Vlad worked tirelessly around the clock, often sleeping only 2 hours a day. (Hopefully, he’s getting more sleep now!) A little later, there were 5 people on the team, and the first project ever.
“In the early years of Kitrum, we communicated with companies over Skype, and if you’ve ever used Skype for chats, you understand all the pain of the situation. We answered countless identical and short-sighted questions, sifting through piles of irrelevant CVs of people who believed that experience with MacOS technology meant using a laptop from Apple. There were many different things, but we never settled for less. We tested new products and approaches and tried to optimize the process as much as possible, aiming to work less and … you know, spend more time lounging on the couch.” Alyona Honcharenko, Head of Platform Unbench.
Not only challenges but fun situations also occurred quite often. In one of our first offices in Kharkiv, Ukraine, we had quite a funny situation when security became our “best buddies.” Why? The thing was that the last person leaving the office used to put it on guard, while those in the playroom, separated from the other rooms, used to open the door. And guess what? We were on the 5th floor with a broken elevator – security must’ve “loved” those stairs! Did we already mention that we love leisure time so much?
We finished that year with about 10 of us and gained 17 more clients. Since then, we have continued working on some of those projects.
Pop the Aperol era
In 2018, our team expanded to about 20 members, and projects were constantly coming in. That year, Kitrum made a significant impact, changing 137 million lives with our world-changing project of providing solar power systems to poor African countries. Could we have believed in 2016 that by 2018, we would change 137 million lives? Definitely not.
“There were a lot of challenges, but they were all our opportunities for growth. Challenges often came when we were scaling Kitrum, growing, and taking on new projects. But we were never scared; we were happy to learn new things and step out of our comfort zone to achieve our goals. No matter what challenge is in front of you, the most important thing is not to panic. Take small steps towards your goal and never give up.” Anna Kolycheva, Lead of HR.
We never looked for someone to blame; instead, we worked together to find solutions. We have always been a real team, sharing not only work but also birthdays and various holidays. We still keep in our hearts the moments when we were decorating the Christmas tree, preparing the New Year salad, sipping champagne, and enjoying canapés with caviar on New Year’s Eve.
At the end of 2020, there were already 64 passionate, hardworking Kitrumers and 27 new clients, but closing some clients was challenging due to COVID. Once, when we finally closed the client, our CEO Vlad declared, “Pop the Aperol!” This phrase became a tradition, leading to an epic Aperol-themed party with t-shirts bearing #PopTheAperol. Now, we wonder, was closing deals just our excuse to keep the Aperol flowing?🧐
Meanwhile, with so many projects and people coming aboard, of course, we decided to expand more. Thus, we opened Ukrainian offices in Kyiv, Lviv, and Uzhhorod, moved to an even bigger office in Kharkiv, and established an office in Guadalajara, Mexico. Not bad, considering we started from just a balcony, huh?
A people-centric culture in action
2022 was a tough year for all of us in Ukraine as we faced a horrible full-scale war. Despite this, we relocated 124 employees and transitioned entirely to online work. We kept working hard amid the chaos to be able to donate and support our country, and this dedication paid off.
We were honored to be named the US’s 50th most dynamically developing company on the Inc. 5000 list. By the end of the year, we opened 2 more offices — one in Warsaw and another in Kazakhstan — welcomed 53 new Kitrumers and gained 30 happy clients.
“The beginning of the war was the most challenging time ever, and nobody understood anything. I don’t know how I would have handled this time without the company’s support and the feeling that I was doing something important and that giving up was not an option. At that time, I thought — if we couldn’t bring in new clients right now, at least we could spread the truth among our potential clients about what is happening in Ukraine. The company allowed us to take as many days off as needed, whenever necessary — but I know that each of us used this opportunity only in critical situations.” shares Maryna Isaieva, our Client Development Manager.
Our ongoing story
In 2023, we ranked #8 in The Americas’ Fastest-Growing Companies by Financial Times and #64 on the Inc. 5000 Regionals Southeast List. Not too shabby for a Ukrainian-born business. Our team kept growing, welcoming 40 new Kitrumers. There are a lot of us now, and that’s because Kitrum is an excellent place to work. We are all about people, and 96% of Kitrumers are happy and proud to work here.
What did we do to keep everyone happy? Well, a lot. We not only provide everything for a comfortable work environment but also dedicate a lot of time to self-development, work-life balance, fun, and activities, e.g., team buildings. They’re legendary around here 😉now, though, online.
And if you think all Kitrum corporate events are just fun and relaxation, you’re mistaken. Once, we went so overboard with the competitions that we spent the entire day working our tails off — water aerobics, hauling water, swimming across the pool for balls. Let’s just say we were sore for days. Next corporate events were much less activity-packed.😅
In 2024, with more than 350 Kitrumers and 209 clients worldwide, we have many plans and goals to achieve. We’ve focused on certain domains and set AI as Kitrum’s DNA, visited many conferences, and onboarded new projects.
“Every year at Kitrum can be described as “we never stand still; we have always been changing, improving, trying, testing, and growing.” Kitrum’s credo, “always new,” is not just words; it’s how we live and think.” adds Maryna Isaieva, our Client Development Manager.
One of our main goals is to become an internationally renowned company with Kitrumers from all over the world. This dream is already coming true today as our team expands daily, welcoming people from different parts of the World.
“Kitrum, for me today, is about ambitions, growth, and the search for new horizons. By 2050, in my opinion, Kitrum has gone through the stage of being a technological partner for global companies and has become a trendsetter, a company people come to for ideas and expertise. We implement the most complex solutions; it is a company with a capitalization of $100 billion and 5,000 to 10,000 Kitrumers worldwide. Yet, Kitrum is still focused on people and all about people, making it the best place to work” Alex Zamai, Solution Architect.
So, as we are celebrating our 8th anniversary today — well, we don’t celebrate too hard because we have over 209 clients, and it’s kind of a lot of work to do, you know — here’s to finding time for cake between the conference calls! Happy 8th Birthday, Kitrum!
