First sale – at age 4
I was born in Lutsk and lived on Pavlova Street until I was seven. Back then, there was a small market on Lvivska Street where elderly women sold vegetables and fruits. One summer, my brother and I decided to sell our own agricultural products at that market-carrots, onions, cucumbers-that we had picked from our grandma’s garden.
We sold everything and bought ourselves a pack of Donald Duck chewing gum. Absolutely fantastic! It was 1986, and I was just four years old. Since then, sales have been anchored in my mind with a clear message it’s pure excitement!
Later, whenever I was asked in interviews how many years of sales experience I had, I counted from that very moment.
Throughout school and beyond, I was always active. In every work-place, I naturally took on leadership roles, initiated various activities, and got involved in everything.
But my jouney to this mindset wasn’t a straight path—it was shaped by a very specific experience.
A turning point
As a teenager, I spent a lot of time on the streets.
Bad company, alcohol, soft drugs-just like in the wild ’90s and early 2000s.
By some miracle, I managed to avoid getting caught up in something that could have ruined my life-or ended it altogether.
One moment, in particular, put an end to that chapter.
One day, I showed up at my friend’s place while high. His mom had certain extrasensory abilities. She looked straight into my eyes and said: «Hosha, if you don’t stop, it will end badly for you.» Those words hit me hard. They genuinely scared me. That’s when I realized I needed to make a drastic change in my life.
Education & a life-changing trip
Before university, I studied at Lutsk’s best high school-Gymnasium #21. (Yes, yes Dima Monatik went there too.) We had an incredible class—11-B. Everyone was unique and out-of-the-box thinkers.
Thanks to our geography teacher, Svitlana Oleksiivna, and the late head of the Volyn Regional Administration, Borys Petrovych Klimchuk, we wrote a research paper on “The Foreign Economic Activities of Volyn Region.”
I won an honorable second place, which came with a year-long scholarship and a 21-day trip to Artek. That trip changed me completely. The phenomenal atmosphere of Gurzuf, the brilliant young people I met (among them, Lesia Orobets future Member of Parliament, Nazar Cherniavskyi CEO of Sayenko & Kharenko, and Heorhii Hrishkan-the lead actor in the film Another), along with the camp’s unique traditions, gave me a profound realization:
We are all unique.
And I can do anything.
Well. almost anything.
Public activism & politics
After high school, I enrolled at Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, majoring in Applied Linguistics.
After attending a training session called «How to Start a Political Career,» I got involved in civic activism, which led to me being noticed and invited to join the campaign headquarters of «Our Ukraine.»
At the time, public activism felt like a breath of fresh air—an entirely different environment filled with ambitious and proactive people. Eventually, I joined the party and actively participated in social initiatives. I became a member of the Association of Young Reformers (AMoRe) and worked as an election commission member.
During Viktor Yushchenko’s presidential campaign in Volyn, I was responsible for handling crisis situations and became the youngest representative in the District Election Commission. We were the ones counting all the ballots from Volyn.
In 2004, 1 was among a team of three people from different political parties responsible for transporting all the Volyn region’s ballots to the Central Election Commission in Kyiv. Two police cars, sirens on, escorting us. Only later did I realize just how dangerous that mission was at the time.
That same year, I wrote my thesis in English on «NLP as an Influence Tool in PR and Politics,» analyzing how politicians and PR strategists shape public opinion through their messaging.
Ten years later; thanks to LinkedIn, I was contacted by Lambert Academic Publishing, which offered to publish my thesis as a printed book. It’s now available on Amazon for $39.
After my best friend Andriy, whom I worked with actively in public and political spheres-committed suicide. I swore I would never enter politics again. However, in 2016, I briefly became the head of the Agrarian Party of Lutsk while working in sales Roullier Group, a premium agricultural fertilizer company.
Corporate business
Before turning 25, I worked all kinds of jobs: selling ads on public transport, selling ice cream, delivering newspapers, working as a laborer in a factory, a hotel doorman, a furniture sales-man, a promoter for alcohol brands, and issuing consumer loans.
At around 25, I got serious about corporate business as a full-time employee. I worked for companies like Philip Morris, Kimberly-Clark, Modern Expo, KMZ Industries (Dragon Capital), Roullier Group (Timac Agro Ukraine), and GigaGroup.
Over 13 years, I gained a strong professional background, working across different industries, regions, and products but always in roles related to sales and team management.
It all started in 2008 when I landed my dream job at Philip Morris as a Territory Executive. It was a highly competitive position — over 50 applicants per spot. For me, this was the dream job at that moment!
High salary. A brand-new company car: My own laptop (a $5,000 military-grade Panasonic, like in action movies). Fully covered vacations, health insurance, top-notch dental care, ongoing training and development.
Thanks to Philip Morris, I experienced KaZantip firsthand-I came up with a rebranding concept for Chesterfield and won a week-long trip to the festival.
Later, I moved on to Kimberly-Clark as a Trade Activator, relocating to Chernivtsi for work.
I had one of the most beautiful territories in Ukraine Chernivtsi, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Moldova.
My manager at the time, Victor Rudeichuk (now my close friend and godfather to my child), and I achieved incredible results. One year, the company rewarded 99 top employees with a trip to Disneyland Paris — I was recognized for my protessional achievements and commitment to self-development.
Later, craving a change, I used LinkedIn to break into a completely new industry-a leadership role at Roullier Group, a French private agro-company specializing in innovative fertilizers. At first, my hiring raised eye-brows-how could they take someone without an agronomy degree or industry experience?
There was even internal pushback. But I had done my homework.
Before my interview, I found and contacted former and current employees via LinkedIn. I conducted an in-depth SWOT analysis of the market and the company’s products.
My insights shocked the hiring team. And in the end, they decided to give me a chance. I was responsible for sales across Western Ukraine. Thanks to our team effort, we dominated sales rankings in Ukraine.
As a reward, I was selected to escort our top farmers on a week-long business trip to the Roullier Group headquarters in Saint-Malo, France. We traveled across Brittany, visited Mont-Saint-Michel, and even attended a show at the legendary Crazy Horse cabaret. Unforgettable experiences!
My Journey with Modern Expo After that, I worked at Modern Expo. As a Country Manager, I was responsible for five countries – Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Moldova, and Belarus. It was at Modern Expo that I first realized my LinkedIn activity could actually be useful to others.
The company’s owner, Petro Pylypyuk, gathered top managers every month and a half for leadership meetings, where we prepared various presentations. He required us to include one slide where we shared personal life hacks, methods, or tools we used to achieve better results.
At one of these meetings, I introduced my colleagues to LinkedIn. Soon after, I was asked to create a LinkedIn presentation for the Modern Expo University, focusing on how to use the platform for B2B sales.
I decided not to stop there. I reached out to Darina Samolyuk, the owner of the «EGO» training center, and together we organized the first LinkedIn masterclass in Lutsk. I still remember how nervous I was in front of the camera when we recorded the video invitation. The moment the camera turned on, I froze I literally couldn’t get a word out.
Twelve people attended that masterclass, and that was the first time I made money from my LinkedIn expertise. That’s when I realized this is something worth developing further.
Crisis = Opportunity
Then, life hit me hard. Due to certain circumstances, I left Modern Expo and went through a divorce with my first wife. I felt completely lost. Everything I had built for years had collapsed. To pull myself out of this crisis, I did something I had never done before – I invested in a personal development training program called «The Architecture of Your Life» by Herman Del.
That program changed everything. I realized it was time for a complete reset. I decided to move to Kyiv and start over from scratch. At Herman’s training, I heard something that stuck with me-my knowledge of LinkedIn was unique, and I needed to share it.
So, as soon as I arrived in Kyiv, I sold my first LinkedIn masterclass to top lawyers, investors, and business owners. To be honest, I was terrified. I kept wondering-how would people in Kyiv perceive me? Would they find my insights valuable? But in the end, everyone was highly satisfied.
More importantly, that event led me to connect with people who later became partners, collaborators, and even friends. One of those connections was Anton Khvastunov. Our acquaintance turned into a nearly year-long collaboration, where I helped GigaGroup with business development.
Another key connection was Fedir Drepin. Together, we created “Zdravo Sunday Club,” a men’s group where we combined sauna sessions with deep conversations. The club included business owners, executives, athletes, and other driven individuals. We practiced cold plunges in open water all year round-it was our way of «recharging our batteries» through a unique form of networking. That experience was incredibly valuable and energizing for me.
Personal Brand
Right after moving to Kyiv, while working at KMZ Industries, l attended a personal branding training by Tetiana Lukianuk (who is now the CEO of Google Ukraine). That’s when I had a major realization—1 had always hidden behind big company brands, but no one really knew who Ihor Nikolenko was.
That realization pushed me to create my own website and start consulting as a side hustle initially, just a hobby. But over time, this «hobby» started generating 15-20% of my total monthly income.
Then, in March 2020, on the first day of COVID lockdowns, I was laid off. At first, I panicked. I sent my resume to every interesting company I could think of. But then I stopped. I took a deep breath. With the support of my wife, I made a firm decision – if not now, when? This was my chance to go all-in on my own project.
For the first time, I officially registered as an entrepreneur and started working for myself.
Linkedln: Why Businesses Need It
Today, I position myself as a LinkedIn mentor for businesses. I help top executives and leading companies achieve their business goals through effective use of the world’s #1 business network-LinkedIn.
My clients include top companies such as MHP, Kyivstar, Darnytsia, Interpipe, Enzym, KPMG Ukraine, and Nova Poshta, as well as top executives like Natalia Yeremieva (Owner of Stekloplast), Ihor Stepanov (Owner of Artvillage), Yehen Shagov (Owner of Gama Consulting), Natalia Iaromenko (Owner of Lamel Cosmetics), and many more.
I am a LinkedIn mentor for the European Business Association (EBA) and have lectured for the President MBA program at the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School. I’m also registering a National Record in the Guinness Book of Ukraine as the person with the most LinkedIn recommendations on a personal profile.
In 2020, I launched Ukraine’s first LinkedIn online marathon, «Close Your Gestalt in LinkedIn».
In April 2021, I launched a new project, LinkedIn Boost Camp-the first Ukrainian-language course on LinkedIn and Social Selling.
The global business landscape has changed-people now spend more time online than ever before. That’s why I always say that the traditional B2B vs. B2C distinction no longer matters. The only thing that matters now is H2H-Human to Human.
Trust has become the new currency. Without trust, no sale or purchase is possible. LinkedIn is a global platform where businesses of all sizes can find clients, partners, and investors anywhere Europe, America, Australia, you name it.
It’s your global PR megaphone. Ask any of your international business partners they’re on LinkedIn—I bet most of them will say “yes. That’s why I’m actively promoting Social Selling in Ukraine.
The Information War
Since the start of the full-scale war, I’ve been actively engaged in global informational warfare. We put pressure on the headquarters of international companies still operating in Russia.
My LinkedIn profile became both a sniper rifle and a megaphone of truth. Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide saw my posts exposing the brutal realities of war. As a result, my profile was blocked three times, and I almost lost it permanently.
But thanks to the right connections at LinkedIn’s headquarters, I managed to get it reinstated. Through LinkedIn and my clients, I was able to secure critical aid for our soldiers.
During that time, I also worked on many pro bono projects, including Children of Heroes Charity Fund, Resilience Summit, Good Bread from Good People, B4Ukraine, The Ukrainian Review, and more.
Additionally, I contributed to the book Management in Times of War by former Deputy Minister of Social Policy, Kostiantyn Koshelenko.
kniga.biz.ua/ua/book-management-in-times-of. war-0040061.html
Gestalt Therapy
One thing that fundamentally changed my life was gestalt therapy. My wife, Olesia Nikolenko, is a talented gestalt psychotherapist. She encouraged me to face my fears, heal my wounds, and break free from limiting beliefs.
I spent eight months in a group therapy course, and I can confidently say my life now has two distinct phases -before and after gestalt. I no longer wait for external help – I rely on myself.
This investment in therapy was the best investment of my life. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to truly understand themselves and live differently. For me, therapy is soul hygiene just like we wash our bodies or clean our clothes, we need to take care of our inner world.
Fatherhood
Shortly after moving to Kyiv, I met my wife. That was in 2017. By 2018, we welcomed our incredible daughter. In December 2020, we became parents to twin girls. Today, I’m a father of five four daughters and one son.
I raise my kids with freedom-to explore different activities, express themselves, and make choices, even with small things like food. I believe in physical affection, encouragement, and motivation. I try to be a role model because I know—the best parenting is leading by example.
Recently, my daughter wrote an essay about someone who inspires her. Her classmates wrote about famous people and athletes. She wrote about me. That was the best reward I could ask for. So, my message to you—live fully, close your gestalts, and remember: YOLO-You Only Live Once.
Kyiv, Ukraine
