“I am driven by the idea of creating a community of like-minded professionals.”- Interview with Ilia Kiselevich, Founder & CEO at SolveIt

1. Hello Ilia, first of all, thank you for joining us today for this interview. How have you been?

Hi, I’m great, thanks.

2. It’s been over five years since you founded SolveIt. How would you describe your experience of leading SolveIt so far?

No one would say that managing a company is a walk in the park. It requires 100% of your attention and time, most of the time you feel stressed. But even taking into account all the drawbacks of leading a company, I feel that it was one of the best decisions of my life. It is an exciting journey with all its ups and downs.

3. For our readers, can you tell us the most challenging phase of your career and how did you defeat those challenges?

I'd say the most challenging phase for me and SolveIt was the evolution from a team of freelance specialists to a real company with an organizational structure and processes. During the same period, we faced the challenge of finding a second client. With the first one, everything was very smooth and organic. But finding the next one required specific sales processes, marketing actions, approaches, and brand identification.

4. According to you, in Poland, what are the major benefits and drawbacks of building a software development startup?

Frankly speaking, for me personally the pros outweigh the cons in terms of establishing an IT business in Poland. Among the advantages I really appreciate here, I would name an amazing software development hub, sandboxes, and a vivid IT community. Favorable legal and tax conditions for startups and a large pool of high-quality professionals make it even more attractive. There is also a wide variety of comfortable coworking spaces in Poland which especially attracts those working remotely.

Among the inconveniences, I’d mention the scarcity of professionals to manage legal and accounting issues of an IT company. It took us ages to find the one which we could rely on.

5. Do you have any plans on expanding your business operations across more regions?

We are currently focused on Europe and our location in Warsaw helps us maintain administrational and communication issues greatly. However, as we grow and more clients are coming from other regions like the USA and the UAE, we think about taking our roots there in the future to be in closer touch with clients. Speaking about the UAE, we see great potential for us in it and the whole MENA region.

6. What does the work culture at SolveIt look like?

We are a team of passionate professionals who love working and achieving new heights together. Our team members are open-minded, and always eager to learn and share insights with each other. So, we often hold educational events with more experienced team members and external experts. We regularly communicate, organize team-building events, and encourage work-life balance to keep motivation high. Overall, I’d say, we are more like a family than a company.

7. For aspiring entrepreneurs and tech leaders, do you have any tips that can help them in keeping up with the technological advancements that are happening very rapidly?

The main tip here is to remain enthusiastic enough to discover innovations and implement them. I’d also advise regularly visiting tech forums and industry events to be in touch with like-minded entrepreneurs. There are plenty of them happening all year round across the world. For example, Slush in Finland we are planning to visit this November :)

Furthermore, you can follow household hames companies in your industry and monitor what advancements they implement and what is their innovation strategy. Keep an eye on tech media and tech companies that regularly post content on technology trends and predictions - just as we at SolveIt do.

8. In your opinion, what are the most rewarding aspects of being a founder of an IT company?

The IT industry itself is full of inspiring, passionate, and even extraordinary individuals who drive progress. The culture of an IT community anywhere in the world is very similar: people cherish an innovative mindset, unstoppable self-development, and growth, and the aspiration to improve everyday lives by implementing technologies. I really enjoy this atmosphere.

As a founder of an IT company, I nurture and support such a culture within the team. What is more, I appreciate the fact that I can form my environment on 99% by choosing the people I work with - employees, clients, and partners. All in all, I am driven by the idea of creating a community of like-minded professionals.

9. Well, in the end, we would love to know how MobileAppDaily can contribute to the growth of SolveIt further.

Finding a software development partner is quite a challenging task taking into account harsh competition. Authoritative listings and directories like MobileAppDaily really help to navigate and find the most relevant agency using filters, publishing reviews, and featuring top companies.

SolveIt is a young, ambitious company with a CSAT of 100%. However, the flip side of the growth stage is that we haven't yet reached such a level of publicity to be known just for our brand. That is why for us, service directories help businesses to get to know about SolveIt and our services just when they need us.

Key takeaways:

• To keep up with rapidly changing technologies, it is ideal to remain enthusiastic enough to discover innovations and implement them
• SolveIt’s most challenging phase was the evolution from a team of freelance specialists to a real company with an organizational structure and processes
• Managing a company requires 100% of your attention and time and sometimes, it can be stressful as well
• Poland has favorable legal and tax conditions for startups and a large pool of high-quality professionals
• The scarcity of professionals to manage legal and accounting issues of an IT company can be an issue in the Polish market