Celebrating a decade of milestones: Happy birthday to Dinarys!

Dinarys celebrates 10 years of transforming from an ambitious idea into a mature business partner for more than 110 clients worldwide. And just as a mother is born with every child, every startup gives birth to a team, a community – and a leader. For us, this leader is Jane Vyshnova, the CEO and founder of Dinarys GmbH and a woman who inspires the whole team.

But first things first – We asked Jane to continue the sentence:

Back in 2014

To better imagine how it all began, let’s remember what the e-commerce industry was like ten years ago. Back in 2014, the global e-commerce market was growing rapidly due to the development of internet technologies and changing consumer preferences. Its valuation was over $1.4 trillion; the US and China remained the most prominent e-commerce markets, but other regions, such as Europe and Asia, also showed strong growth. The role of mobile devices in online shopping was growing, and new technologies like mobile payments and social commerce were influencing market development.

As for Ukraine, in 2014 the e-commerce market was actively developing but faced challenges of political and economic instability. More and more Ukrainians preferred shopping in online stores. And more and more people and companies realized that this trend would stick around. So despite the difficulties, the number of online stores – and service providers helping businesses open and support those online stores – increased.

The star arises: 2014 and Dinarys

Sure, we could write, “In September 2014, Dinarys was founded.”

But what is behind the scenes often complements the story very well. So, we asked Jane what was behind creating the company. Despite Jane’s wide experience in entrepreneurship, it was e-commerce that became her inspiration, sparking her curiosity and driving us for the next 10 (and we hope many more) years.

I’ve always been looking for an opportunity where my entrepreneurial flair would be fun for me. Until 2014, I worked a lot with sales and had a company where we sold various kinds of resources, and it was much less interesting than Dinarys. But once I met with my group mates – someone was a developer, someone was a tester, those guys played quite different roles, but with no salesperson among the crowd. I was deeply interested in their experience and wondered if anyone knew how to sell it. The answer was no, and I thought about it, so we met a few more times to discuss different aspects with one of my group mates. And that’s how Dinarys was born. — Jane Vyshnova

Jane jokes that her initial position at Dinarys was trainee CEO, as there was not that much business education ten years ago in Ukraine and it was a cool experience to start everything on your own, independently. Luckily for all of us, some people who joined at the very beginning are still running the marathon and have been changing, growing, and empowering the company through the years.

Jane: One of those guys who believed in the idea from the start is our CTO, Roman Fesko, my group mate, who has been with us from the beginning. Roman was always an excellent student, and when he joined us, I realized we could be doing something great.

Dinarys: the way

Established in 2014 in Dnipro, Ukraine, Dinarys rapidly gained momentum and had already opened an office in Berlin within a year. Over time, the team grew and strengthened and the company’s name became more and more significant. Only ten years later, we are already here:

But behind all these impressive numbers is the titanic work of the team, hundreds of hours of negotiations, technical challenges, often difficult processes or historical milestones, and sometimes even black swans. But despite the daily challenges, the company continues to grow and provide customers with a consistently high-quality service.

We asked Jane what her favorite memory is from these ten years, as there are probably quite a few. Here is what she said.
Jane: Actually, not a specific memory, but events when:

- Clients thanked us for saving and strengthening their business with our consulting services, website development, and store migration from one platform to another.

- Star specialists who share our values ​​joined the team, enabling us to move forward twice as efficiently.

I’m happy to note that these sorts of moments happen regularly.”

Challenge of being a woman in business

Preparing for this look back, we couldn’t help but ask Jane what it’s like to be a female CEO in the tech world and whether anything has changed in that aspect in 10 years. Here’s what she had to say.

Jane: Of course, the answer directly correlates with the country in question. For example, in the Ukrainian tech world, there is no place for discrimination based on gender. The atmosphere is quite supportive, the people you work with always evaluate you as an expert, you have many opportunities to prove yourself, and you have many options of whom to cooperate with. This encouraging environment is a distinguishing feature of Ukrainian IT. Sometimes, you can notice that in addition to actual expertise, your business partner takes into account some things inherent in a more feminine style of entrepreneurship – for example, a certain intuitiveness in negotiations.

Talking about other regions or countries, sometimes you need to build a specific framework so that cooperation will be effective. In Central Europe, you may feel some skepticism towards you as a female CEO at a big summit or any other event where many different entrepreneurs participate. It’s not that people won’t interact with you if you’re a female leader, but you should try to overcome this skepticism. It’s also worth considering the human factor, not only geographical factors.

What it feels like to be a woman CEO has changed over the past 10 years. A woman entrepreneur is always more flexible, a powerful trait that can save the company during instability. I would say that you constantly adapt to the changes happening, but in 10 years, the technological world in Ukraine has changed a lot, and it has become much easier to interact. It feels like all doors are open; you should just work. In the rest of Europe, changes are slower, but they are also there.

Summing up, the business world is changing, and in particular the perception of women is changing. But the faster we overcome gender stereotypes, the more open-minded society will become, and the business indicators will increase as well: such changes are crucial to all of us. 
 

Business tips: How are we celebrating the 10-year anniversary?

Every owner of a business that has been on the market for more than two years has a secret for successfully starting and fruitfully continuing their company. In addition, it is a tough time now – the ecosystem is changing a lot, and many black swans have arrived, particularly AI and everything related to process optimization. In addition, many specialists are used to working in a growing market and possess tools that are valid only during a period of growth. When the world economy is in a phase of stagnation, specialists have to look for new methods of stimulating sales.

The secret of Dinarys is that it is precisely those moments of uncertainty that drive us the most. In the search for new business tools to overcome moments of uncertainty, we observe how whole new approaches to doing business are born. Jane points out that having the right team plays a huge part.

Jane: With very talented people gathered around us, we sorted out our strengths and roles to row together in the right direction. For me, the team postpones challenging or strategic things that I have the most experience in, which works very well. In order for your company to celebrate its anniversary, it is essential to want a lot and work a lot at the same time, gather talented people around you, and take time off to rest and recover your strength. Being ambitious is not a characteristic everyone shares, but it is vital to move forward and not just survive in a lake full of black swans.