The $10M+ Mindset: Cyril Samovskiy on How Unique Hiring Built Mobilunity

1) What was the story behind the name Mobilunity, and what inspired you to begin this entire organization?

This is a very common question. We once thought of the word "mobility" as a combination of "mobile" and "unity." This was a concept we were actively pursuing years ago, based on how people behaved before the COVID-19 pandemic and before the current ways of working became so common.

We believed that we shouldn't require our technical staff to work from one specific office or location. This idea relates to the first part of our concept, mobile. At the same time, the second part, unity, is also crucial, as it has proven to be essential for any organization to succeed.

Without unity on all levels—in processes, relationships, and how people understand the organization's goals—you probably cannot achieve your objectives. This is why that mixture of concepts became the perfect word for us. It felt like we had found a unique idea that perfectly described our approach.

The planning process successfully brought together every element, ensuring that all aspects precisely reflected our ultimate goals.

2) What makes Mobilunity’s approach unique compared to other idea outsourcing companies?

To truly stand out and be distinguished in the market, our marketing strategy needs to focus on differentiating ourselves. This means establishing a unique positioning that sets us apart from all other competitors, whether they're from different countries or even specific regions.

We specialize primarily in Eastern Europe, but our competition extends to regions like Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We compete based on factors such as team size and the number of personnel we provide, recognizing that companies of similar sizes tend to gravitate towards each other.

It's unlikely a client like Google, with hundreds of thousands of employees, would engage a small company; they typically prefer working with larger entities for valid reasons. This distinction helps define our ideal client. However, regarding how we differentiate ourselves, a key factor is that we strictly avoid mixing our business models.

I'm aware of several competitors that offer both outsourcing and dedicated development teams. While this provides organizational flexibility, it doesn't always serve the client's best interests. There's a potential for providers to prioritize placing top talent in outsourcing models due to higher margins and the expectation of specialized expertise.

So, we do not do this. We only do one model. We put very particular things on top of what we are offering. We'll call it three Rs from now. Sorry. It is recruitment, retention, and relationships. We are not adding anything about the technical side because down the road, we are not technical experts. We handle the people, and this is our strength. So, all these things pretty much define who we are and how we distinguish ourselves in the market.

3) What were the biggest challenges you faced while you were scaling Mobilunity to 200-plus employees? And how do you ensure long-term win-win partnerships with your clients?

Speaking of challenges, I would say, pretty much at every stage of our growth and development, we had very unique ones. I already mentioned, like, now Covid times, of course. And when it was all starting, by the way we were then, we were in Tokyo meeting our potential clients and like, you know, the pandemic was already there, blossoming while in Europe.

Every time this sort of new thing pops up, every time, we are going over, unique set of conditions that pretty much define the way we need to adapt to something that is happening. We shouldn't be looking backwards. Look at what is happening right now. Like, you know, you open LinkedIn.

I've observed three common types of posts circulating: the first declares that AI is taking jobs, causing developers to question their market sustainability. New people joining the industry, including juniors and those switching professions, are left wondering if this career path is a viable option for them.

For some time, people might have to choose different professions because of this uncertainty. We're facing these challenges just like other companies, but our steady growth has allowed us to partially mitigate some of them. This is how we've grown to a company of approximately 200 people, working with about 40 clients.

4) You work with clients across the world, and you've worked in different industries as well. So what are some key lessons that you have learned from all of these experiences?

Every one of our clients comes with their own unique set of conditions and perspectives. From the outset, we've focused on avoiding a one-size-fits-all solution, which might actually impact our growth potential. This is because we don't offer a standardized product where clients either "like it and take it" or "don't like it."

Instead, we provide a crucial bridge for our clients to technical talent, a service highly valued due to our unique model. It turns out that while the principles of running a business have been understood for years, every company still has specific needs.

Every client operates uniquely, and the most valuable lesson we've learned is that each one benefits most from a highly customized approach. This applies to various aspects, including our recruiting processes, how we manage teams, and how we maintain client relationships.

Every client we've worked with is unique, requiring a human approach rather than a standardized one. Understanding these specific and diverse requirements for each client presents our biggest challenge in client relationships. And the lesson that we are still learning.

5) You are good at navigating remote work now, but how do you see the future of remote and distributed tech teams evolving post-2025?

A significant change is underway, and its outcome is uncertain. Some believe things will stabilize, making it harder for juniors to enter the industry, but experienced engineers will adapt and work with AI. Others hold the opposite view.

This shift will likely alter the perception of what a team looks like. If becoming a software engineer increasingly demands not just technical skills but also deep expertise in business domains like finance, it will fundamentally change the role.

To develop solutions for a specific market, you'd likely want a local developer with a combined background in that industry, perhaps holding both a financial and a computer science degree. This contrasts with the past 15 years, where gaining such experience remotely has proven quite effective.

While people worldwide with internet access can readily acquire knowledge from free educational materials, the fundamental difference lies in their economic base. The significantly high costs in places like the US can be dramatically lower in regions such as Eastern Europe.

These regional economic disparities may eventually begin to equalize. This future outlook, perhaps a year or two from now, contrasts with the current trend where major companies like Google and Facebook are pulling back from fully remote work arrangements.

These companies are now requiring employees to return to the office, likely because they understand that human interaction and team relationships are crucial for effectiveness. Ultimately, developers are not just code-writing machines; they thrive on these essential human connections.

My prediction is that hybrid work models will continue to flourish, and remote work will also keep evolving. The shift will likely be from hiring individuals for hourly tasks to engaging specific people to manage entire jobs, making the process more accessible to clients and more predictable in terms of costs and delivery.

6) Mobilunity works with a wide range of technologies. So, which tech stacks are, currently most in demand among your clients?

Everyone's focused on AI right now. If you look at the demand for new developers, you'll see a significant percentage—perhaps 30% to 40% of new job openings—require at least AI native-ness, or are directly related to AI, machine learning, and similar fields.

Companies are highly concerned about losing their competitive edge, unsure if their rivals are traditional competitors or new, AI-powered entities that could offer significantly cheaper and superior solutions. This pervasive concern is something our company is actively monitoring in the market.

We recognize that our target markets are rich in AI talent, and we're actively establishing our presence and rhythm in these areas. This ensures we can provide contemporary AI engineers, data scientists, and other professionals who will remain relevant for at least the next five years.

This is likely the biggest demand right now. Conversely, many businesses, while not outdated, are behind in digitalization. They weren't born as digital-first companies but are now realizing that technology drives efficiency and can replace increasingly costly manual work across all markets.

We're also seeing an increase in demand for more traditional technologies, like PHP, .NET, and various front-end frameworks—both established and new. While these aren't directly linked to the AI revolution, their continued relevance makes both these traditional technologies and AI-related ones significant to us.

7) Speaking of markets and tech, the outsourcing and staff augmentation market is evolving rapidly. What are some major trends that you see shaping this industry in 2025 and beyond?

Over the past three to five years, we've seen significant growth in Employer of Record (EOR) platforms like Remote, Deel, and Native Teams. These platforms facilitate global hiring by managing all financial, legal, and compliance aspects, which has encouraged clients previously hesitant to engage with the industry.

This sector has expanded considerably due to substantial funding, primarily from American companies, as it offers a viable way to collaborate with global talent. However, once clients successfully hire through these platforms, they face the next challenge: how to find qualified individuals in diverse locations such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Morocco, or Ukraine.

Clients often wonder how to keep globally sourced talent motivated. While Employer of Record (EOR) platforms are evolving to offer recruitment, HR, and relationship management features, we're seeing increased demand for our services.

This is because companies that initially found success with EOR platforms are realizing these platforms often lack the crucial human element and personalized support needed for effective talent management, which isn't typically covered in their pricing. These platforms certainly benefit from significant advertising and client acquisition investments. This sort of makes the industry further grow.

8) So coming back to MobilUnity, how do you measure the success of a project or a partnership?

Our model's success hinges on a triple win: the client, the development team, and us. If any of these three parties isn't satisfied, the partnership likely won't last. Many clients appreciate this, understanding that their success is intertwined with ours. Our model is built for long-term collaboration; short-term engagements where we try, fail, and leave would likely result in losses for everyone involved—the client, the developers, and us.

We are very cautious about starting new client relationships, as we prioritize long-term collaborations over short-term engagements that could lead to dismissal. We ensure everyone is on the same page. A long-lasting relationship means we can't drastically raise our prices, or the client will find it unsustainable.

Similarly, we work to prevent developers from leaving due to underpayment, unengaging work, or inefficient processes. Essentially, we're all in this together, striving to make the collaboration last as long as possible, which is our ultimate measure of success.

It was really effective, and it was successful to us and definitely to the client and developer.

9) Mobilunity often talks about giving clients a fishing rod instead of a fish. So could you explain what this philosophy means in practical terms for your clients, and how it differentiates Mobilunity from other outsourcing firms?

This also relates to the triple win scenario. A typical recruitment service provider's role is often transactional: they find a person, hand them over to the client, and their involvement ends there with a "goodbye and here's your money."

In our approach, while we also handle recruitment, our involvement doesn't stop once the client vets and hires the individual. The client's active participation in task assignment and management is crucial. If the client isn't effective in these areas, the hired person likely won't be productive and may even leave.

If clients are unwilling to accept feedback from their development team, long-term success is unlikely. We provide clients with the means to leverage remote talent—an immense and virtually limitless resource compared to hiring within a single country.

However, we also clearly communicate that they still have a crucial role to play. They cannot assume that simply hiring someone will make all their problems disappear, as this isn't even the case with in-house employees who still require management.

People need to feel motivated and heard, and various factors influence the success of a collaboration. This holds true for our model, and we're very upfront with potential clients: it's not simply a matter of hiring us and we'll handle everything. Even with a good outsourcing partner, clients often find themselves with many questions and tasks.

We explain that we'll guide them—showing them how to bait the hook, so to speak—but the client still needs to put in the effort. We'll assist them, but without their active participation, the collaboration won't succeed.

10) At the beginning of our conversation, you mentioned the three Rs of nurturing, right? Can you tell us more about this, along with some examples? How do these principles influence how you build and manage dedicated teams for clients?

As discussed earlier and with recent examples, our three core areas are: recruitment, retention, and relationship management. Frankly, recruitment is the primary driving factor for about 50% of our clients; they approach us specifically for help in this area.

While they seek recruitment assistance, they often end up engaging with us rather than just with recruitment agencies. We explain that effective recruitment requires thorough planning and numerous questions. We aim to avoid wasting their time with unsuitable candidates, among other things.

We heavily invest in the first of our three "R"s—recruitment—to compete effectively with traditional agencies. While their single-payment fees might seem cheaper upfront compared to our monthly charges, we offer specialized services like technical interviews. This is ideal for organizations lacking in-house personnel with the expertise to conduct interviews, especially if they don't specialize in a particular technology.

With approximately 500 experts in our network (not on payroll, but in our profile), we understand their strengths and leverage them for interviewing and vetting candidates. This forms the initial, crucial step in our recruitment assurance. I can confidently say that in the technical field, we are among the strongest recruitment service providers. We stand apart from agencies that often rely solely on keyword-based resume matching, without truly verifying the expertise behind the claims.

We offer significant value beyond just recruitment. We explain to potential clients that while hiring might seem straightforward—as developers are keen to prove themselves—the real challenge lies in retention. Many of our clients are looking for long-term engagements, and the onboarding period, where a developer learns about the industry, product, and processes, can easily last six months or even longer. Without professionally managed retention by the service provider, even successful recruitment efforts won't lead to long-term success.

Our retention efforts involve working closely with teams, conducting one-on-one sessions, and tracking various indicators to understand how work and events impact developers. Furthermore, drawing on our 14 years of experience working with approximately 40 clients, we advise them on best practices for fostering a positive and productive environment.

Having worked with over a hundred situations, we've gained extensive experience in retaining developers to ensure their effectiveness on projects. This expertise allows us to offer valuable advice and support, which is a significant part of our service.

The third "R" is relationship management. With 40 current clients, we've developed 40 unique process setups, each customized from a standard foundation. This is because some clients prefer weekly calls, while others rarely want phone contact after initial setup. Our goal is to find an approach for each client that delivers sufficient value for their investment. This personalized approach is what truly sets us apart as a software services provider.

We intentionally avoid the precarious position of claiming to simply provide technical expertise and handle technology for clients. For many, that's a deal-breaker. Instead, we operate in the "people business": we manage developers for our clients, we manage clients for our developers, and we meticulously maintain these three-way relationships.

11) What’s the one tech tool you can’t live without?

I love all the instant messaging, I love the calls, like everything! But to me personally, it might be a little bit old, old school. But email is something that, like you put in stone, if it's in the email, that's, that's a thing. So like email is like the biggest thing to me.

12) So the second question is, what do you prefer, coffee or tea?

Coffee, twice a day. Always at the start of the day, end of the day. With my wife, we discuss pretty much everything, our family things, our work things. Without coffee, I'd be gone. On the other hand, I live in the UK now, and not being a tea fan is probably a little bit, not disrespectful to the origins of this afternoon tea tradition, but I'm working on it now.

13) The next one, are you an early bird or a night owl?

 It's true, I prefer a middle ground. I dislike starting too early or working late into the evening. If given a choice, I'd ideally stick to a 10 AM to 6 PM schedule—that would be perfect.

14) So, what's your favorite programming language?

Very old answer! It would be PHP because this is something that I used to master. Like, you know, some 20-something years ago. And nevertheless, I'm not coding for the past 15 years or something, I can still read the code. I can still do quite interesting things. I have not tried many new technologies, programming languages.

15) Speaking of tech, what's the most exciting tech trend right now?

AI is exciting and scary for me as well. I know for a fact that many clients or potential clients are overestimating the capacities of AI, and they are stalling now. They are not willing to invest in new features, waiting for the miracle to happen. But miracles, well, mostly happen in movies and then cartoons.

But still, I admit that the breakthrough it did for the past 2 or 3 years, with how public it became, that every person without technical education, without knowledge, might be doing very complicated things.

16) A book or a podcast that recently inspired you?

Actually, it's a mixture because I had books, I had podcasts, and I also took a course from Rory Sutherland. He’s a British marketer, very, very interesting. I love everything that he talks about. So yeah, last year I took a course from him, I graduated this spring, and I had books from him. I keep seeing him on my Instagram, on Facebook. So, like, he's really having this proper marketing machine on speaking on interesting topics.

17) So what's one word that describes your leadership style challenge?

I admit, I'm not the easiest manager, and I'm not going to change that. What I am sure of, though, is that the people on my team thrive on challenges. I constantly push them to improve, learn new things, try different approaches, and always strive for something better. I believe, over time, they come to agree with this philosophy. While it might be tough for some during our collaboration, I personally can't operate without constantly questioning and improving the status quo.

18) Basketball or football?

I love to play basketball and watch football. While I haven't been able to enjoy watching basketball since the Michael Jordan era as I once did, playing the game remains a true passion of mine. I particularly miss the corporate games we used to have. So, it's playing basketball and watching football for me.

19) What's a favorite city in the whole wide world?

The simplest answer would be my hometown, Kyiv in Ukraine, which I haven't been able to return to for some time, or my new home, London, UK, where the city has welcomed us warmly. However, I suspect that answer would be too straightforward.

The ideal place would be a blend of Paris, Rome, and Barcelona—cities we frequently visit to recharge. It would embody the essence of Roman culture, given that all three countries speak Romance languages. Essentially, it would be the best city in the world, easily accessible with a visa.

20) And the last one, if you could have dinner with any tech figure who would it be?

From a tactical perspective, not considering a well-known celebrity, I'd choose Arkadiy Dobkin, the founder of EPAM. Though originally from Belarus, EPAM became enormous in Ukraine—so vast that they're not even a direct competitor in our dedicated development team model. I met Dobkin personally at an event at the British Embassy in Ukraine and had a great ten-minute conversation with him.

While I'm not entirely familiar with the specifics of his current operations or executive role, his achievement of growing EPAM from around 20 people in the 90s to tens of thousands now, and taking it public on the New York Stock Exchange, is incredibly impressive. I would definitely welcome another conversation with him, especially since our last one was years ago.

However, if we're talking about someone universally recognized, it would be Jeff Bezos. Despite knowing some less pleasant aspects of Amazon—they're incredibly demanding and make it tough for people to thrive—it's undeniable that they are an exceptionally efficient organization.