When Viktor Lopatkin moved from Ukraine to the United States at 25, he carried more enthusiasm than experience. “I just moved to the United States and felt inspired and empowered and very optimistic, which was a little bit naïve, but that’s the benefit of being 25.”
That outlook, and a willingness to leap before he fully understood the risks, set him on the path to co-founding MindK, a software development company that now employs more than 140 people across the US and Ukraine.
The opportunity he nearly missed
MindK began in 2009 as a small web agency founded by Viktor’s childhood friend Oleg. At first, Viktor offered to help bring in US sales, but when Oleg presented an offer for the finder’s fee, Viktor didn’t think it was worth it and kept his day job.
A mutual friend soon struck a bigger deal with Oleg to launch a US branch. That was the wake-up call. “I said, I want that too. That’s what I wanted to do initially. So we agreed to try it that way. For all intents and purposes, we became a partner company to the original MindK.”
Finance to coding, with a side of heartbreak
In Ukraine, Viktor had studied finance and banking – “that’s what my mom told me to do.” His first job was at Deloitte as an Audit Assistant, but he admits he never really cared for it. On the side, he dabbled with design and website projects with Oleg.
His turning point came after a messy breakup in the US. “I decided to take my mind off of it just by going and learning programming myself. I spent three months just fully immersed, and it was amazing. By the way, advice to anyone whose heart is broken is to go and apply yourself to something totally new because you need an outlet.”
That crash course gave him enough technical grounding to work alongside engineers and talk credibly with CTOs. With his partner’s people skills, the formula worked: US companies got trusted access to Ukrainian engineering talent. “In this business, people buy from someone they trust. Our job was to create that trust.”
Blind optimism can reap the best results
Viktor is convinced his lack of experience was an advantage.“The lack of understanding what you’re getting into is the biggest gift that any entrepreneur has. If you knew what you were about to experience, no one would ever sign up for this.”
There were plenty of times when things felt uncertain. “Everything crumbles, everything sucks, and we’re not making any money. But if you survive long enough, you start to see another day.”
For Viktor, playing the long game paid off.
“No one knows what they’re doing in the beginning, but over time you accumulate enough experience, enough relationships, you’ve made enough mistakes to not make them again. And then, year five or six, it all starts coming together.”
Honouring second and third places
Keeping MindK running through the ups and downs has forced Viktor to think differently about resilience. For him, clarity doesn’t come from doubling down at work but from stepping away.
“You can’t seek solutions to your work stressors in the work itself. You need a bigger picture.”
“I use meditation and working out at the gym as a way to literally flip a switch on my mindset. I can have a terrible day, go work out, and come back with a completely different perspective.
He also leans on what he calls second and third places – making time for fitness, and other outlets that buffer him from the volatility of running a business. “If all your life is your work, and something goes wrong in your work, your whole life goes sideways.”
You don’t always need a ‘partner in crime’
When it comes to taking on a partner, Viktor cautions against bringing someone in just to ease the load. “It’s scary with a partner as well, and you’re adding this whole level of complexity of managing your relationship.”
When a partnership can really work, he says, is when someone brings something you cannot. “Myself and Oleg are very complimentary because I’m not technical enough to manage a team of 140 engineers. He’s doing that, and I couldn’t have done it without him. But you shouldn’t get a partner just because you want a friend to have good times with.”
When it’s no longer about titles
When Viktor first tried out entrepreneurship back in Ukraine, he admits it was about ego.
“I wanted to be an entrepreneur for the sound of it. And I didn’t really understand what goes into it.”
Now, titles don’t mean much to him at all. “It doesn’t matter to me what I’m called now. It’s more about doing things and making things happen. We incubate our own products now, and this keeps me up at night. This gives me joy when I wake up in the morning.”
The loneliness of building, and what helps most
Even with nearly a decade under his belt, Viktor stresses that running a company can feel lonely at times. What makes the difference is having peers he can talk to and share experiences.
“It’s very important to eventually find your community of people who are in the same place. You understand you’re not alone in what you’re going through.”
It doesn’t need to be someone in the same industry or even the same business stage – just another founder who understands the weight of the responsibility.
Why he’d do it all again… and why you can too
From where he sits now, Viktor says he’d do it all again: “I think it’s a great journey. For the right people. I wouldn’t advise it to everyone. But I was not a great employee. That’s why I didn’t have any other choice! Even the ups and downs are kind of the fun part.”
Looking back, he doesn’t only credit luck or timing. What made the difference was sticking with it through the rough patches, following his gut, and letting his experience compound. And he believes many more people could follow the path he has…
“Most people think those who start businesses already know what they’re doing. The reality is no one does. Everyone figures it out.”
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