Done × Forbes Ukraine meetup series: from demand to growth for import businesses
Üeetings combined the speakers’ experience with direct conversations among entrepreneurs
Done and Forbes Ukraine have launched a series of private meetups for Ukrainian importers. Their aim is to develop Done’s client community and offer entrepreneurs practical value: access to expert insights, an opportunity to exchange solutions with peers, and new business connections.
The meetings bring together owners of import and distribution companies, e-commerce and retail entrepreneurs, heads of procurement, and CFOs – people who make operational decisions every day but rarely have time for a structured discussion about their brand, sales channels, or customer experience. For Done, a partner in supply chain financing and management, the meetups have become another way to support the growth of its clients’ businesses.
The first two meetings explored two tasks importers face, one after the other: generating demand for a product and building a commercial system that converts that demand into sales.
The first meetup: how a no-name product becomes a lovemark
The first meeting in the series took place on 24 March 2026 and focused on marketing for importers. Its central question was how to generate demand for an imported product and sell it faster.
A product may match its competitors in quality yet lose out on the shelf or in a marketplace listing because shoppers do not recognise the brand and choose a familiar one. The discussion centred on the transition from an anonymous product to a brand that customers trust and deliberately choose.
Andriy Fedoriv, founder and CEO of Fedoriv Group, discussed this work from a business owner’s perspective. As a business grows, marketing is handed over to a team, but the entrepreneur still needs to understand what the company communicates to the market. Drawing on his practical experience of building businesses, Fedoriv explored how to set the right tasks, preserve a brand’s character, and manage its development as turnover grows.
This was followed by an interview with Yuliya Pintescul, Deputy Chair of the Management Board of Epicentr Group, on how importers can enter a marketplace. She discussed support for importers and manufacturers through this channel, the team needed to develop it, and changes in consumer behaviour during the war. Dmitrii Rivkin, owner of Done, also joined the conversation about business growth and financial instruments.
“For us, the value of these meetings lies in solutions entrepreneurs can apply in their own companies. They can rethink their approach to the brand, assess a new sales channel, and understand where the business is losing margin. Together with Forbes Ukraine, we choose the topics and invite practitioners whose experience helps participants work through these questions. This expands the support we offer our clients as they develop their businesses,” said Dmitrii Rivkin, founder of Done.
The second meetup: from demand to a systematic approach to sales
On 15 June 2026, Done and Forbes Ukraine held the second meetup, “Sales for Importers”. The conversation continued with a focus on building a commercial system: choosing sales channels, managing margins, and developing e-commerce sales.
Volodymyr Orlov, Cisco’s Regional Innovation Manager and a lecturer on the kmbs Sales Strategies programme, examined the choice between marketplaces, wholesale, and direct sales. He covered four sales models, the reasons why current deals do not enable a business to scale, and approaches to margin management. A separate question was how to organise the business so that customers deliberately choose the company and keep coming back.
A workshop led by Liliia Ovchynnikova, PR Director for the B2B business and spokesperson for Prom.ua, brought the discussion into online retail. She explored the potential of Ukrainian e-commerce, popular product categories, how to organise sales on a marketplace, unit economics, and the typical mistakes importers make in this channel.
An expert panel continued the discussion, exploring how to combine different sales channels, which customer data actually helps drive sales, and how to sell through expertise and service. Serhii Prokopyk, Chief Operating Officer of Budynok Ihrashok, Anna Zaptalova, CEO of Yves Rocher Ukraine, and Oleksandr Kharchenko, a partner at Ukrtransinvest, shared their experience. The discussion was moderated by Olena Ero, Head of SME Development at the European Business Association. Olena Kozina, Commercial Director of Prom.ua, also joined the Q&A session.
Both meetings combined the speakers’ experience with direct conversations among entrepreneurs. Done is developing its importer community around this exchange: a place to discuss a business challenge, hear how others are dealing with similar issues, and find ideas for the next step.
The third meetup is planned for 2027. It will continue the discussion of long-term customer relationships through loyalty programmes, customer service, and experience. Anton Skorobogatov, former owner of LLC Dann (Ukraine) and Member of the Board of Done Turkiye, who understands importers’ challenges from both the Ukrainian and Turkish sides of the supply chain, noted: “The value of these meetings lies in solutions an entrepreneur can apply the next day: rethink the brand, test a new channel, and see where margin leaks. Together with Forbes Ukraine, we choose the topics and invite practitioners whose experience helps importers work through exactly these questions.”
