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Yaroslav Kaplan
Executive leader with a proven track record of building and scaling businesses from
zero to growth across multiple industries.

WORK HISTORY​

2022–now​ Jooble / FlexiPay, CEO #Fintech, #HRtech
​ Financial platform enabling employees to access a portion of their earned
wages on demand; incubated within Jooble’s internal startup studio.
●​ Secured $600k+ in Seed funding
●​ Established strategic partnerships with Visa, Platon, Diia, and the
National Bank of Ukraine
●​ Built and led a hybrid organization combining an in-house team and
external contractors across product, sales, marketing, legal, and finance
●​ Delivered a full-scale product from zero to launch: iOS and Android
mobile apps, web platform, API integrations, and AI chatbot
●​ Signed enterprise clients, including Lactalis, Simi, Cheese Club, and
Avrora
●​ Recognized as a Top-20 Ukrainian Startup (Forbes Ukraine, 2024)

2021–2022​ FRACTAL (ex-Netpeak Group) / Digital Garden, CEO #Media, #UGC
​ User-generated content platform; launch suspended due to the war
●​ Developed the concept, a two-year roadmap, and a budget
●​ Built a hybrid editorial team
●​ Initiated development of the digital platform with a selected contractor

2020–2021​ Vector, COO #Media
​ Digital media about the creative economy

●​ Relaunched the media business and implemented core processes for
content and sales
●​ Scaled the team from 4 to 21, introduced OKRs for department heads
●​ Launched a new website as product owner, reaching 80k monthly
visitors
●​ Achieved 118% of the annual sales plan

2018–2020​ Holovision / FunLight, Co-Founder & CEO #XR
​ Multiple VR/AR ventures

●​ Turned a hackathon-born idea into a working immersive technology
product – amusement park attraction
●​ Pitched the startup at multiple events, including Web Summit (Lisbon)
and CES (Las Vegas)
●​ Secured $100k in Pre-seed funding and built a cross-functional team of
engineers, developers, and 3D artists
 ●​ Pivoted from a product-focused model to a service-based VR/AR studio
after failing to achieve product–market fit, establishing full operations
●​ Delivered 9 VR/AR solutions in architecture, healthcare, and art for
clients in the USA, EU, and Ukraine

2014–2018​ Escape Quest, Co-Founder & CEO #entertainment
​ Escape rooms and solutions

●​ Developed the concept and launched the first escape rooms in Ukraine
●​ Scaled the business into an international franchise of 100+ escape
rooms across 8 countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, serving
300k+ customers
●​ Launched a corporate events division, delivering projects for clients
including Philip Morris, Kyivstar, Comfy, Air France, and Eurovision
●​ Built in-house production and global distribution of a new category of
portable quest games​

2010–2014​ Enactus, Country Leader Ukraine #education
​ International non-profit focused on student social entrepreneurship

●​ Relaunched the program in Ukraine, built the national team, and
established operations
●​ Secured sponsorship from EY, Philip Morris, Metinvest, and PZU
●​ Expanded to 13 universities nationwide and reached the semifinals of
the Enactus World Cup 2013 (Cancun, Mexico)

EDUCATION

2004–2008​ Kyiv National Economic University
​ BA in Economics and Management

COURSES & PROGRAMS

2024​ Mission Possible
​ Acceleration program for startups

2024​ Venture Finance
​ Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

2020​ Software Product Management
​ University of Alberta / Coursera

2019​ UI / UX Design |​
California Institute of the Arts / Coursera

2018​ Aspen Institute Kyiv​
Values and society program
​

QUALIFICATIONS

Skills
●​ Strategy, Operations, Management
●​ Communication, Sales, Finances
●​ Product Development, Analytics, AI

Languages​ Ukrainian native, English upper-intermediate

Hobbies​ 3D printing, FPV drones, sports, outdoor

CONTACTS

[open contact info](look above in the "contact info" section)
[open contact info](look above in the "contact info" section) (all messengers)
LinkedIn
Dear Hiring Manager,

Assuming you’ve already reviewed my CV and would like to get to know me better – both as a
professional and as a person – below are the five capabilities that describe me best.

I hope this helps clarify whether we could work well together.

1. Curiosity
It’s a foundation of how I think and work.

I genuinely enjoy exploring new things – markets, products, industries, and how people make
decisions. Over my career, I’ve worked across education, entertainment, VR/AR, media, and
finance. In most cases, I started close to zero. That never bothered me. I learn fast and
actually like the process.

Conversations with experts have always been my fastest learning shortcut. Today, AI
(especially deep research modes) accelerates that learning curve dramatically.

2. Leadership
I’ve been in leadership roles for almost 20 years – starting way before it became a job title.
School, sports teams, startups, companies. I don’t force leadership; people usually say they
trust my vision and feel motivated to join in.

My style is shoulder-to-shoulder. I don’t just hand over ideas for others to execute. I stay in the
arena, take responsibility, and lead by example – especially when things are unclear or
uncomfortable.

3. Systematic & Structured
This is what people mention about me most often. I asked. You can too.

In any new role, I start by building structure: data rooms, mind maps, schemes, and task
boards. Tools don’t matter much – Notion, CRM, Google Drive, or a to-do app – what matters
is that information flows logically and decisions are traceable.

Structure is how I reduce chaos and speed up execution.

4. Delivering Results
I care about outcomes more than activity.

I’ve practiced Getting Things Done for over a decade (top 0.1% of Todoist users, ~16,000
completed tasks). On the team level, I’ve repeatedly used OKRs with both technical and
non-technical teams.

This combination helps me and the teams I lead execute consistently under uncertainty,
limited resources, and real pressure. I take responsibility for the final result, not just the plan.

5. Communication
I talk, write, pitch, negotiate – and occasionally torture flipcharts with hand-drawn diagrams.

I communicate clearly with clients, teams, investors, and partners, both in writing and orally.
I’ve done hundreds of presentations and demos for rooms of dozens and hundreds of people.
I’ve learned negotiation not to “win”, but to align stakeholders around goals, trade-offs, and
next steps that actually work.

Good communication is how ideas survive contact with reality.

I believe this combination makes me a reliable executive who can take real ownership. I’m
looking for a role where I can build or scale a business, product, or business unit – and be
accountable for the final result. I work best with high autonomy, clear goals, and environments
where strategy is tightly connected to execution.

Sincerely,​
Yaroslav Kaplan

P.S. Written by me first with typos and rough edges, then cleaned up with AI. As most good
work is.