Dmitriy Kucher and Dmitriy Breslavets are the founders of P2H, a leading American IT company with Ukrainian roots. P2H started 17 years ago as the first out-of-the-box design-to-HTML conversion service on the market and turned into one of the leading IT providers. It now offers a wide range of digital services, including software engineering, product design, and consulting. Today, P2H has a team of over 500 specialists and has a vast portfolio of projects for more than 100,000 clients.
Dozens of live digital public services have P2H cutting-edge solutions at their core. Thanks to the company's impeccable reputation and a highly professional, experienced team who can quickly design and develop even the most complex solutions, P2H started participating in the implementation of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 program. The company has been digitizing its public services for over seven years now.
Breslavets and Kucher created their own business when they were both just in their twenties. Dmitriy Kucher has been interested in physics, mathematics, and programming since high school. At a young age, he developed his first computer programs to analyze experimental data collected by his relative from the Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering in Kharkiv. Dmitriy initially saw himself in an academic environment, but fortunately, over time, he realized that the field of information technology attracts him many times more.
Dmitriy Breslavets, like his business partner, became interested in programming at school. He deepened his knowledge in high school and got his master's degree at the Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics. After that, he worked as a part-time tutor and, at the same time, embarked on an entrepreneurial journey and developed his electronic assignment book project for the Ukrainian school system. That's when he met the future co-founder of P2H.
Let's learn more about how Breslavets and Kucher scaled their business and went from a company with a clear hierarchical structure to a flat organization.
Q: How did you start your business?
Dmitriy Kucher: At the beginning of our partnership, we rented a place and computers at an internet cafe in the basement. Later we saved up on our equipment. We also moved to my grandmother's apartment to save on rent. At that time, we were living from client to client and had no stable flow of orders.
Everything changed when we launched PSD2HTML.com. We revolutionized the niche by developing the first out-of-the-box service for converting designs into HTML code at a fixed rate within known timeframes. Our customers just needed to place an order in the evening, send us the design they made in Adobe Photoshop, and get the pixel-perfect HTML code the next morning. This niche seemed attractive to us because, on the one hand, it promised a great demand, and on the other, would allow us to establish a development process aimed at delivering exceptional, bug-free results.
Our hopes were justified: the number of customers began to multiply. Our progress greatly motivated us and paved the way to scale the company further.
Q: What challenges have you encountered while developing your company?
Dmitriy Breslavets: At a certain point, we started getting so many orders that we couldn't handle them anymore. We constantly recruit new specialists, and after a few months, there weren't any free markup developers in Kharkiv. We realized this problem could be solved through training, and in 2007 launched an educational program. There are many IT courses on the market now, but the demand for IT wasn't that strong at that time.
Initially, we trained a junior developer in 6 months, but in a couple of years, we optimized the process and reduced this period by four times. The program has helped us a lot in following a stable growth trajectory.
Q: What stage is the company at now?
Dmitriy Kucher: In 18 years, we have helped over 100 thousand clients, including Mazda, Maersk, Qantas. Among our customers are small digital agencies that need out-of-the-box solutions and corporations and government entities requiring more complex, personalized products. Many of them come by recommendation, which proves our impeccable reputation in the market. By the way, the first customer is still working with us.
Q: You've been working in the Saudi Arabia market for a long time. Could you please tell us about your projects there?
Dmitriy Breslavets: Yes, we've actually been working there for several years already. A separate division digitizes the country's public services and develops e-government solutions. For instance, we ensured digital transformation of the national labor market by creating a robust, high-load sustainable platform focused on both public and business demands and government initiatives. It has become the number one paperless solution in the country, serving more than 5,5 million users who were given access to hundreds of e-services.
The beginning of our cooperation was quite intriguing because, before our collaboration, the customer already had one of the projects in the active development phase. They planned to use PHP. However, they couldn't find a contractor to fulfill one of the tasks. Our senior engineer suggested an option over the weekend but in a different programming language, which did not bother the client. By quickly solving a problem that others couldn't handle, we have established ourselves as top experts in the industry. And that's how we got the project.
We are now expanding our Middle East presence. Five years of work in Saudi Arabia and a gradual understanding of local traditions and mentality have given us invaluable experience, which will greatly help with other clients from the region.
Q: P2H worked in a hierarchical structure, like an assembly line, for a long time. Why did you decide to go to a flat one?
Dmitriy Kucher: The hierarchical structure worked for simple, straightforward projects. Following well-established processes, it helped us serve many clients without a hitch for several years. Our company had "layers" of specialists through which each project went. In the first stage, managers took orders and passed them on to developers. The latter converted the design into code. Testers then checked their work and passed the results to customers.
Dmitriy Breslavets: Nevertheless, this approach began to fail at some point. Projects became increasingly complicated, and it was no longer enough to work by the usual methods. We realized that we needed to add elements of self-management to the company and build it on mutual trust. We expected our approach to motivate the team to improve the product, and it paid off.
Eventually, P2H switched entirely to a flat organizational structure. We reduced the number of management levels and bureaucracy, giving the desired freedom to those who needed it and lining up the most transparent processes for everyone. Decent feedback from our team shows that people can now better realize their professional potential.
Dmitriy Kucher: I would like to note that this transition is only possible if the company's management evolves with it and learns to treat its team and leadership differently. I myself have come a long way in this respect and have learned to appreciate my colleagues in a new way.
Q: What principles guide you in forming teams within the company?
Dmitriy Kucher: We appreciate openness, the ability to think critically, and willingness and readiness to take initiative. We take these values into account when recruiting candidates and building teams. That being said, I put above all having joy at work because it takes up a considerable part of our lives. If a job is not satisfying, nothing can make up for it. So, overall, we're looking for a balanced approach and work-life balance.
Q: How do you plan to develop the company going further?
Dmitriy Breslavets: We will continue to expand our divisions and look for new niches. For example, P2H has recently launched a platform for contractor referral program. It distributes rewards among all participants involved in a successful referral, making the talent search process way more efficient.
Q: How is the war affecting P2H?
Dmitriy Breslavets: When the war started, P2H's largest office was located in Kharkiv. In the first weeks, my team and I were involved in daily evacuations, helping people find buses and creating car routes for our colleagues and their relatives. Our colleagues who were already in a safe place helped each other, taking over other people's tasks when those in charge were unable to do them.
Dmitriy Kucher: The crisis brought out the best in us. In Kharkiv people drove colleagues out of the suburbs in their own cars, despite the shelling. By the first week of March, many of our coworkers and their families had left the city. Most had settled in a company-rented hotel in Lviv. Since then, some have moved to the EU.
Dmitriy Breslavets: And if we talk about the clients, from the first days, they contacted us and offered help, from financial aid to accommodating people in their apartments. We still feel their support.
