Interview with Kateryna Bezsudna, CEO & Co-founder of Defence Builder

Kateryna, please tell us about your childhood and education.

I grew up in Kyiv in a very supportive and motivating family that helped me create a solid foundation for development. They have always believed in me and encouraged me to express myself the way I wanted. As far as education is concerned, I graduated from two universities. The first one, the International Christian University, was founded by Kyiv National Economic University and the International University Vienna. All of the lectures were in English and in addition to teaching me Management and Administration, they helped me improve my English significantly. Most teachers were from the USA and they never distinguished us as male or female. Instead, they treated each of us as individuals and always showed respect.

The second one was the Banking University of the National Bank of Ukraine. I chose it to gain a better understanding of the operations of financial systems. The difference in the attitude of the teachers was evident, many of them had their own opinions about the role of women and demonstrated that to us. Now, I believe, the situation has improved.

How did your career start?

My first job was at an automotive company with a predominantly male staff and management. The company had an established hierarchy and structure, so my ideas for improvements were not accepted willingly. Becoming a part of that team and proving that my ideas were worth implementing was very difficult. My way out was to quit and start again at a new company, which I don’t recommend because you face the same problems and repeat the cycle all over again.

So how is it possible to change such an attitude from some men?

My approach is to do my work and be a partner. To accept that men also have a right to have feelings and to express them in a different way than I do.

Why did you choose to delve into the tech area?

The war revealed my hidden sides. After the full-scale war started, I helped with evacuations and led a Ukrainian-American charity fund to help us. We provided humanitarian and medical support for thousands of people, which really influenced me.

After that, I joined a tech company and led Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives there. We created a school for officer training that followed NATO standards that has trained over 5 thousand officers and helped them improve their efficiency. Later, I joined Brave 1, a united coordination platform created by the Government of Ukraine to promote collaboration between all of the stakeholders in the defence tech industry. I realized that I’d found what I had always dreamt of – creating tech products. I had the chance to meet and work with great engineers and estimate cool ideas and teams. I met incredible women who were leading huge tech projects, and realized that was what I wanted to do.

That’s how I became a Co-founder of Buntar Aerospace, a Ukrainian defence tech startup that develops complex solutions for UAV navigation and control in various environments.Besides that, I became a Co-founder and COO of Defence Builder together with Sigma Software Labs and other partners. This is a Ukrainian accelerator of defence startups whose mission is to create conditions for developing the country’s defence sector by training new teams while combining defence and business expertise. We help defence tech teams attract investment, scale production, and find opportunities to test their developments on the range and battlefield. I’m surrounded by many qualified and powerful women in these new roles.

And I also see how men treat me differently. Once you prove your abilities and skills, they start to listen to you. Even when I don’t understand some technical details, they teach me as their partner thus strengthening me. And I strengthen them by finding investors, partners and developing the ecosystem.

For the first time in my life, I feel strongly that I am in the right place. I like the volume and dynamics of our work and I like the partners of Defence Builder – Sigma Software, KSE, and Buntar Aerospace.

What are typical tasks in your work and what skills are required?

With two large projects in my hands, I now devote a bigger portion of my time to Defence Builder, because Buntar Aerospace is already on the right track. I have many daily tactical and strategic tasks – looking for strategic partners for our startups, finding investors interested in Defence Tech, maintaining relations with the Ukrainian government, planning business trips and conferences that help us build our ecosystem, and working with teams to improve their positioning and pitching.

What are the qualities that make a good leader?

Responsibility, resilience, the ability to make quick decisions, and a vision for the future. Leaders should always strive for more and research new areas. I’m also developing my skills at acquiring knowledge, networking, and teaching others because I consider those skills helpful in my role as a leader.

What do you do outside of work?

I have been doing classical dance for over six years. I chose ballet because numerous executions of exercises help show that you are improving and getting into shape. Thus, I tune in for a working day. Besides that, I like learning foreign languages and reading books. I also enjoy just talking to people. After hard work, I go out and communicate.

Which famous women inspire you?

Princess Olga, who ruled Kyivan Rus from 945 to 957 and demonstrated true leadership. As far as present-day women, I think of Oprah who has made herself, built a huge audience, and has become very popular.

I want to see more women among Defence Tech investors. Now men prevail in this area, but we are working to introduce more women, too. I recommend following Eveline Buchatskiy, managing partner at D3 investment fund, that actively supports Ukrainian defence tech startups. I watch Olena Mazhuga carefully. She is the Partner of the investment fund Flyer One Ventures, which shows great results. I’m also inspired by Daria Yaniieva, Investment Director of Sigma Software Labs, mentor, speaker, and startup community driver. Daria advocates for global promotion of UA-backed solutions and helps shape the future of tech innovation and driving the new DefenceTech paradigm in Ukraine. Women in the Ukrainian defence sector provide endless inspiration.

Women still experience pressure from society when choosing their path in life. What would you advise them?

I believe that we need to be who we want to be and ignore social roles and stereotypes. We have a limited amount of energy to waste on worrying about others’ expectations. I prefer to use mine to reach my goals and that’s how I self-love.