01They knew their profession but were still learning to build a company
Dmitriy Karpenko and Katya Dubovik joined Business Code while launching an agency in marketing and CRM.
Initially, Dmitriy handled acquiring and working with clients, while Katya helped alongside her main job. By the start of the program, the agency had its first employee, and Katya had moved into the joint project full-time.
They knew their professional field. How to organize a company, which processes to establish and what to monitor were questions they still needed to answer.
Their previous employer had provided a good example of corporate culture and treating employees well. What they lacked was the bridge from that picture to their own sequence of actions.
02Leaving a stable salary was frightening
Katya says she prepared for the transition for around three months. She wanted to work on the agency, but giving up a stable salary was difficult.
Even after deciding, habits from employment remained. She had to learn to see tasks more broadly and accept responsibility for the whole project.
Dmitriy was interested in Igor [Graf]'s experience of running a business with his wife. He wanted to learn from someone familiar with that arrangement and see an achievable next level.
The partners also recall that it took a second attempt to launch the agency. Moving into independent work was not one easy decision.
03Finances stopped being a source of constant anxiety
Finances were one of the most painful subjects at the start. The partners admit they had understood very little about them.
During the program, they began comparing planned and actual figures and watching cash flow more closely. This helped them understand the agency's position and upcoming obligations.
Dmitriy connects this with reduced anxiety: thinking about payments and cash shortages became easier. The conversation provides no financial statements that would establish profit or show the problem had been permanently resolved.
04Weekly plans needed a margin for setbacks
A large financial goal had to be broken into shorter periods. The partners set weekly targets, reviewed existing agreements and looked for ways to turn them into payments.
Gradually, they noticed plans needed a margin. One client might decline, another could not be reached and a third might leave on a business trip.
A more practical approach to sales emerged: the desired amount had to relate to the number of possible actions, allowing for some not to produce results.
They began connecting regular earnings with short-term goals and a plan, rather than simply hoping for a better month.
05They worked on clients' projects while postponing their own promotion
The agency served its clients but paid too little attention to itself.
One example was launching a webinar quickly. The partners say they put it together in three days, with the team helping them maintain that pace.
The short deadline changed how they viewed preparation: if a great deal could be assembled in a few days, not every task needed a long lead-in.
Not every attempt worked immediately. Discussing promotion, they recall traffic that did not convert. That remained part of the search for a workable solution rather than disappearing from the story after the first successes.
06Their point of difference became a concrete question
Working through questions about the product and market helped the partners articulate how their agency could stand out.
They knew that newcomers would struggle to compete directly with large agencies. They therefore looked for their own offer: where they could work differently or faster, or give clients something they could not get elsewhere.
They studied competitors, including through phone conversations with agencies. Ideas emerged for internal rules and small service details that clients would value.
Katya continued revisiting and adding to this material as they worked.
07Dmitriy began seeing the owner's role differently
For Dmitriy, an important part of the experience was his attitude to problems. He describes the owner as someone who needs to engage the team and find the energy to tackle difficulties.
Gradually, he began seeing those tasks as part of developing the company. That understanding formed throughout the program.
The participants also note that many marketing tools were already familiar from their profession. They connect the value of this stage primarily with organizing their own business, planning and moving from specialist competence to owners' responsibility.
«Business Code» is a program by Igor Graf. More member stories