On October 23, Kyiv School of Economics, in partnership with the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, held the first Future Founders Lab. Zaporizhzhia is the first stop of a regional tour: the KSE team will next bring the format to other cities across Ukraine.
What is it Future Founders Lab
This project is a free one-day business intensive for young people aged 16–22. It was created to teach young people to understand the state and business through the logic of decisions, actions, and responsibility, Future Founders Lab shows them two ways to change the country: through entrepreneurship and through working with the state and bring this approach to the regions, where participants look at the same challenges through the eyes of an entrepreneur, the state, and young people.
“This project is for young people from all over Ukraine, for those who want to run their own business and for those who want to work for the state. We want to give young people academic knowledge and a chance to talk with practitioners and entrepreneurs, so they can decide who they want to be and what suits them best. Young people in Zaporizhzhia are very optimistic. They all want to stay and work in Ukraine, they dream of starting their own businesses, and they ask a lot about competition and state support,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko, President of KSE Business School.
How the Future Founders Lab runs
The 150+ participants were 11th-grade students, university students, and young professionals. In one day, they went from an idea to a practical solution: they analyzed cases from 5 Zaporizhzhia companies, worked with state funding instruments, and defended their solutions before entrepreneurs, mentors, and government representatives. The cases covered food production, agricultural machinery, branding, and other businesses.
What Happened During the Intensive
Lectures and workshops by KSE faculty on how to find business opportunities under uncertainty, test ideas, identify first customers, and build a business model, as well as how government decisions and support programs affect entrepreneurship.
A team entrepreneurship game: participants defined their target audience, adapted business models to real-world constraints, and looked for state support instruments.
Meetings with Zaporizhzhia entrepreneurs, who shared how they launched their businesses, found their first customers, and operate in a frontline city, and how they find opportunities where others see only problems. The panel featured:
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Polina Savicheva, founder of the clothing brand and sewing production SAVI ATELIER;
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Kyrylo Sukhatskyi, CEO of Brightmedia agency;
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Kyrylo Krasnoselskyi, PhD, CEO of Triada-Welding;
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Liudmyla Sirko, owner of the relocated business Lazurna Raiduha children’s recreation center (DOK Enerhodar LLC).
The panel was moderated by Yuliia Svyrydenko, President of KSE Business School.
Mentorship and feedback. 5 mentors helped teams find weak spots in their solutions and refine their business models.
Final pitch. Teams presented city development projects to the jury.
Why Zaporizhzhia
Future Founders Lab grew out of ThinkLab, an educational program created by KSE students for students from all over Ukraine. ThinkLab 1.0 brought together 100 participants in Kyiv in January 2026, and ThinkLab 2.0 gathered 200 in July. After the second season, participants wrote that this kind of format was missing outside the capital. So the team went to the regions, starting with Zaporizhzhia, where decisions about security, the economy, and reconstruction affect everyone every day.
“Responsibility isn’t given; it’s taken. Anyone who wants to change something must be ready to take responsibility for decisions. And the role of the leader is crucial here. A leader must support those who show initiative and are not afraid to make decisions. Even if a person makes a mistake, they shouldn’t be scolded for it. What matters is that they took responsibility. That is how you build a team capable of acting and delivering results,” said Ivan Fedorov, Head of the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine and Co-Chair of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Defense Council.
Next Stage: Future Founders Forum
Intensive participants can submit an essay and apply for the Future Founders Forum, a three-day business intensive in spring 2027 that will bring together young people from different regions of Ukraine.
How to Join
KSE and ThinkLab are preparing intensives in other regions. Participation is free; no specific major, entrepreneurial experience, business idea, or team is required.
To receive an invitation, fill out the form on the program page.
When registration opens in your region, the team will send you the details.
