HUMANS OF LIFT99 IS A SERIES OF STORIES FROM LIFT99 MEMBERS, HIGHLIGHTING THE INSPIRING PEOPLE WE SEE AROUND US EVERY DAY. NOT ALL OF US ARE FOUNDERS (YET), OR EVEN STARTUPPERS, BUT WE ALL HAVE A STORY TO TELL OR A SKILL TO SHARE - IT’S WHAT MAKES OUR COMMUNITY AS AMAZING AS IT IS.
In our previous posts on social media, we shared amazing news about our community members, team Hirio, and their first investments. Today, we are sharing a startup-journey story of Hirio CEO and co-founder — Konstantin Miska.
“Startup world is so exciting — it’s always challenging, it’s always in a movement. ”
HOW DID YOUR ENTREPRENEURIAL STORY START?
Having been to different industries from window installation, regional business development, and product growth, I found myself in the startup world. Because the startup world is so exciting — it’s always challenging, it’s always in a movement.
My founder story started 10 years ago when I didn't have a specific goal or ideas, but what I knew for sure was that I really wanted to create something big and meaningful, with a great impact on society. After a number of tries, I can say that being a founder can be related to surfing. First, you have no idea what to do, and you keep on falling all the time. But with some practice, you see the result, and it drives you crazy.
TELL US ABOUT HIRIO, WHAT IS IT?
Hirio — is a smart toolbox to design digital processes and automate the applicant funnel for mass recruitment teams. It is a win-win solution for both: employers and employees. Our product helps employers interact with the working class — blue collars. And it helps employees with their CVs and finding jobs so that they can get offers faster. These raise the standard of living. And that is a big inspiring impact.
My co-founder Artem Dudinskyi and I were actively involved in hiring at our previous jobs. We understand this market well, we understand well how to work with blue collars. At some point, we paid attention to the unstructured things in the hiring process and how difficult it is for people to find good cashier or loader vacancies. We saw an opportunity here.
Hirio just RAISED its FIRST ROUND. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS NOW?
We are already actively working with the Ukrainian market. And now, having raised our first investments, we are getting ready to go global. Of course, I’ve always wanted a yacht, and Artyom is dreaming about his own airplane. But the round we raised last month is clearly not enough for that. So I think we will focus on the company development. Therefore, we are improving our product and actively looking for a product manager and customer success manager. DM me if you know who would be interested in joining our spaceship!
“It is a must-have step on your startup journey — to go through this dead-zone to become stronger.”
WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE YOURSELF IF YOU COULD TRAVEL BACK IN TIME?
Speaking about investments and the best advice I could give to myself — I would recommend start raising sooner. The reason is that we could have started testing the US market long before. Time is crucial. In the startup world, you gotta be moving fast.
But investments are a huge responsibility. When you have a financial airbag behind, it is easy and comfortable to live. When your finances are pretty certain and you have a big goal ahead, stress affects the harmony of your life.
Overall, your life starts to imbalance from the very first moments when your startup is being built. You forget about all the other life aspects. But this is a must-have step on your startup journey — to go through this dead-zone to become stronger.