Mykola Kravchuk

Mykola Kravchuk is an indie entrepreneur based in Kyiv who has founded several startups used by millions of people worldwide. In 2017, he launched AirTrackBot, a chatbot designed to find cheap flights, which became the most popular travel chatbot on Telegram Messenger, with over 1.8 million users. In 2023, he introduced AirTrackBot for ChatGPT, serving as an AI-powered travel assistant.

Beginning his entrepreneurial journey in 2013, Mykola has launched dozens of products, many of which have failed. This experience highlights the common challenges that many solo entrepreneurs encounter in their efforts to establish profitable businesses. However, Mykola considers each failure as equivalent to a win because more attempts mean more chances to achieve a positive outcome.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

I spend 4-5 hours every day working on my products. As a founder, I perform a variety of roles within my business and it’s important to try not to overload my day with too many tasks, as this can negatively affect productivity. Thus, throughout the day, I aim to complete 3-4 major tasks, spreading my efforts across the week to avoid an accumulation of unfinished work.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Typically, I create products that solve my own problems. For instance, I developed AirTrackBot when I planned a trip to Budapest. I wanted to receive notifications about flight price drops directly on the Telegram messenger. Ultimately, this idea appealed to many users, and later, AirTrackBot grew into a fully-featured flight search engine.

When I encounter a problem in everyday life, I try to figure out if I can create a product to solve it. In most cases, a solution already exists. If not, then I assess how quickly I can develop a solution and if the costs seem reasonable, I begin to implement the idea.

What’s one trend that excites you?

The development of artificial intelligence both excites and amazes me. Seeing where we can go with it is thrilling.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

To-do list apps are not working for me well. So, I simply create a small list of tasks for the next day every evening, which I aim to complete. Also, I am certain that getting good sleep is essential for having a productive day.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Don’t worry about insufficient money, don’t be afraid to take risks and start from scratch. Everything will be alright.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you.

Have you ever heard the advice to ‘believe in yourself’? Well, I find that to be nonsense. When I launch a new product, I don’t particularly believe in its success. I expect that it will most likely fail, as is often the case, and you must be prepared to accept this. And believing in yourself does not in any way increase your chances of a positive outcome. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try because you’re going to fail. It means that you should approach matters with a cool head.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Launch products quickly and with minimal expenses. This strategy works for many indie makers. If you pour efforts into creating just one product, there’s a high risk of getting stuck. So, I recommend shipping fast and repeat it.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

When I feel overwhelmed or unfocused, I try to reset myself. I achieve this in various ways: talking to people, listening to rhythmic music like ‘Out of Touch’ by Daryl Hall & John Oates, or visiting duck ponds.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

Working with influencers and content creators has helped me take my business to the next level. The advantage of this strategy is that you can achieve significant growth for your startup in a short time.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

At first, I was convinced that creating a startup without a team and VC funding was impossible. However, contrary to common beliefs, assembling a team, pitching the project to some jerks, and looking for VC is the most idiotic thing you can engage in. Thanks to many examples of bootstrapping entrepreneurs, I’ve changed my approach and never looked back.

Also, I wasn’t prepared for the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, my travel business stopped making money, and I couldn’t quickly adapt to the circumstances. It was hard to recover from this. And now, I’m trying to diversify my business, as it’s an important thing for survival in the long term.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Pay attention to the problems you face every day. Perhaps there lies the idea for your next business 🙂

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

I use Trello boards to manage the entire workflow – from ideas to improving my current products.

What is the best $100 you recently spent?

I recently spent $100 on advertising in a video by a TikTok creator. It was a promotion for AirTrackBot. The video got about 2 million views and it was definitely a good spending.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast from which you’ve received much value?

I try not to miss podcasts featuring indie entrepreneurs like Pieter Levels, the founder of Nomadlist, or Ivan Kutskir, who created the photo editor Photopea. They always inspire me.

Also, I just finished reading ‘Papillon’ by Henri Charrière, based on real events. It’s a story about failed attempts, willpower, and an optimistic outlook. I am grateful to Charrière for this book, as it helped me both personally and professionally.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

I also watched the film adaptations of Henri Charrière’s ‘Papillon’ – the 1973 version starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman, and the 2017 version with Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek. I believe the directors and actors in both films did an excellent job of capturing the key moments described in the book.

Key learnings:

• If you want to find an idea, pay attention to the problems you face every day. Perhaps there lies the idea for your next business.
• Be prepared that your business is likely to fail.
• Pitching the project to some jerks, and looking for VC is the most idiotic thing you can engage in.
• Working with influencers and content creators has helped me take my business to the next level.