When crisis becomes the “default background,” those who win are the ones who can adapt fast and find growth opportunities even in turbulence. That’s exactly what Oleksandr Rolskyi, CEO of newage.agency, and Valentyn Hrytsenko, Chief Strategy Officer at Ajax, spoke about at SUP DAY FORUM LVIV 2025—practical approaches that help Ukrainian businesses expand into global markets and keep momentum despite uncertainty.

The Superpower of Ukrainian Entrepreneurship

Valentyn Hrytsenko, Chief Strategy Officer at Ajax, built on that point: “Beyond being action-oriented, it’s important to stay hungry for what’s next. It doesn’t matter whether the world is waiting for us or not—we have to open those doors ourselves.”

The talk made one thing clear: success in international markets isn’t about luck or “unlimited resources.” It’s about a systematic approach, a clear strategy, and—ultimately—decisive action that turns a plan into outcomes.

Using the Ajax–newage.agency collaboration as a case study, the speakers broke down the practical steps of going global—from setting goals and sharpening positioning to execution tactics that work in real-world conditions.

Four Steps to International Expansion

Entering an international market is less a leap of faith and more a sequence of decisions that either add up to predictable results—or lead to chaos and overspending. To reduce uncertainty and move systematically, the speakers outlined four steps that help teams prepare for expansion: from market analysis and demand validation to product adaptation, choosing a go-to-market strategy, and scaling.

Step 1: Deep Market Analysis

Before entering a new market, it’s critical to build a full picture of its specifics—this helps reduce risk and understand where the real opportunities are. Strong market analysis consists of several interconnected blocks that together answer the key question: is there room for your product here, and what will it cost to earn that position?

Start by assessing the market’s stage of development: is it growing, stable, or declining? Growing markets are usually more welcoming to new entrants, but they also tend to be more competitive and change faster. Mature markets, by contrast, can be more predictable—yet they typically require sharper differentiation, clearer positioning, and a longer runway to build trust.

In Ajax’s case, entering certain European markets coincided with a period of increased demand for security systems, creating a favorable window for a new player to enter.

Equally important is analyzing the economic fundamentals of the target country or region. Key factors to consider include:

• the overall level of economic development
• how income is distributed across the population
• the purchasing power of your potential customers
• the size of your target audience

You should also evaluate current demand in your category. That means looking not only at the numbers (market size, growth rates, sales dynamics), but also at the qualitative side: how satisfied customers are with existing solutions, which needs are poorly served, where the “pain points” are that people will pay to solve, and what could become your real competitive edge.

Finally, consider the legal and regulatory environment. Certifications, quality and safety standards, labeling requirements, import rules, taxes, and local restrictions can do more than affect your launch plan—they can determine whether the market is viable at all. In some categories, this isn’t a “legal detail,” it’s a make-or-break factor.

For Ajax—whose products are directly tied to home and business security—compliance with local regulations was critical. The company invested early in obtaining the required certifications and adapting products to local standards, which helped avoid delays during market entry.

Step 2: In-Depth Competitor Research

Knowing your competitors isn’t only about understanding who you’re up against. It’s a way to see how the market is structured, identify unmet needs, and shape an offer that truly stands out. At this stage, you can often spot where there’s room to enter—through service, product, messaging, distribution channels, or pricing model.

Start with positioning. Analyze how competitors describe themselves, what promises they make, and which customer pain points they emphasize. This helps you understand what expectations are already set—and where your brand can say something genuinely new. Next, look at their unique value propositions: what each player highlights as an advantage, whether it’s actually unique, and which arguments are repeated across the category.

Separately, break down pricing—not just “how much,” but how the price is structured: subscription vs. one-time purchase, packages, add-ons, warranties, and delivery or implementation terms. The result shouldn’t be just a list of competitors, but a working market map—an input for strategic decisions that helps you claim your position faster and with fewer costly mistakes.

Step 3: Checking Readiness for Market Entry

Moving from analysis to execution starts with an honest question: is the company operationally and infrastructurally ready for a new market? As the speakers noted, this is where many Ukrainian businesses make critical mistakes—launching aggressive marketing before the foundation is in place. The result is higher costs, weaker conversion, and a team “putting out fires” instead of scaling.

Ajax’s experience showed that preparation has to cover several layers at once: documentation, technology, and operations. The first layer is market compliance. The company invested early in obtaining the required certifications and licenses in line with the regulatory standards of target countries. This wasn’t limited to basic paperwork—it also included specialized permits tied to how security systems are regulated in different markets. That approach helped avoid delays at the exact moment when marketing was ready to generate demand.

The second layer is sales-channel readiness. Ajax localized its corporate website for local languages and cultural contexts, and adapted SEO approaches for each country. In parallel, the team optimized the mobile app and built presence on key regional marketplaces—where customers actually prefer to buy.

The third layer is analytics and performance measurement. The newage.agency team helped set up a comprehensive tracking system for marketing performance, including GA4, GTM, and specialized conversion-tracking solutions. This made it possible to quickly see what was working, where the funnel was leaking, and adjust the strategy in real time.

Step 4: Building a Go-to-Market Promotion Strategy

A promotion strategy for international markets isn’t about “translating creatives” and repeating what worked at home. It’s about building a communication system for a new context—different audiences, competitive landscapes, consumption habits, and category rules in each country. What drives results in one market may fail in another, which is why strategy must start with foundational, but essential, answers.

An effective digital strategy rests on five questions that create the framework for launch and scaling.

• For whom? Define your target audience clearly: where they are, how they make decisions, what needs and pain points they have, and what triggers them to buy or inquire.
• Why? Set business goals for each market. In one country the priority may be rapid sales growth; in another, building awareness and trust; elsewhere, validating demand before investing in scale.
• How will we measure it? Define KPIs and evaluation rules. Without this, strategy turns into a set of activities that are hard to justify with numbers—and therefore hard to optimize.
• Where and how? Choose channels and tools that match your category and audience behavior in each market. The goal isn’t to “be everywhere,” but to design a user journey—from first touch to conversion.
• With what? Assess your resources: budget, team, operational capacity, and tech stack. Resource constraints often define the pace and shape of expansion, so it’s better to account for them upfront than to stall mid-launch.

An important point: the strategy was treated not as a one-off document, but as an ongoing process. After launch, what matters most is the discipline of testing hypotheses, analyzing results, and regularly adjusting your approach based on data—so you can scale what works and quickly drop what doesn’t.

Conclusions

The Ajax–newage.agency collaboration shows that Ukrainian companies have all the prerequisites to succeed in international markets—provided expansion is built systematically rather than on “gut feel.” Results don’t come from one lucky move, but from a combination of several foundational factors.

Key factors include:

• a systematic approach to analysis and planning;
• a deep understanding of local market specifics;
• technical and operational readiness for launch and scaling;
• and most importantly, being action-oriented and ready to adapt quickly when reality differs from the plan.

This combination is what turns international expansion from a “risky experiment” into a managed process with predictable outcomes.

If you’re planning to enter new markets—or strengthen your existing international presence—the newage.agency team can support you with research, strategy, and digital setup focused on measurable results.

FAQ: International Expansion for Ukrainian Companies

Where should you start when entering an international market?

Start not with ads, but with the fundamentals: pick 1–2 priority countries, validate real demand in your category, and assess competitors and entry barriers (certifications, regulations, and distribution channels). In parallel, prepare the minimum launch infrastructure—a localized website/landing page, a clear offer, analytics tracking, and a process for handling leads.

How do you choose the first market to expand into?

The best approach is to weigh three factors together: existing demand and category momentum, how reachable your target audience is, and the complexity of entry (regulations, certifications, logistics, and localization). Sometimes the “biggest” market isn’t the best place to start—it can be smarter to enter a market with lower barriers where you can get early traction faster.

What are the most common mistakes companies make before launching in a new market?

The most frequent pitfalls are launching marketing without having sales channels and processes ready, underestimating regulatory requirements, copying home-market positioning without adapting it, and failing to set up measurement. The result is money spent with no clear answers to “what’s working—and why.”

What matters more at the start: localization or a promotion strategy?

It’s not an either/or. Localization without strategy gives you polished assets with no results, while strategy without localization tends to convert poorly. Early on, a “smart minimum” is enough: basic localization (language, currency, key trust signals) plus a clear channel and funnel plan you can test and iterate quickly.

Which KPIs should you track in the first 1–3 months of expansion?

At the beginning, it’s important to measure not only sales, but also signals that the funnel is “coming to life.” Typically this includes lead quality and cost, conversion rates at key steps (click → lead → sales contact), the share of relevant inquiries, and demand/interest indicators (content engagement, views of key pages). Once you have stable early data, you can tighten KPIs toward stricter ROI/CPA targets.