Ivan Hnatkiv on Ukrainian Entrepreneurship and Life in Poland

Ivan Hnatkiv is a Ukrainian entrepreneur from Zaporizhzhia based in Warsaw. He has lived in Poland for about ten years and describes his businesses as an aesthetic medicine clinic he runs with his wife, a doctor, and a financial startup. His experience includes recruitment, outsourcing, and building professional networks in Poland.

Ivan Hnatkiv speaks with Scott Douglas Jacobsen about moving from Zaporizhzhia to Warsaw, learning Polish, building professional relationships, and developing businesses. He reflects on Ukrainian support networks, changing Polish attitudes, Russian propaganda, and the uncertainty of returning home, while encouraging Ukrainian entrepreneurs to persevere and build lives for their families.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Could you introduce your businesses you run in Warsaw?

Ivan Hnatkiv: I am an entrepreneur here in Warsaw. I have lived here for around ten years and run two businesses. One is an aesthetic medicine clinic. My wife is a doctor, and we run the clinic together. The other is a financial startup.

Jacobsen: What were the difficulties of leaving Zaporizhzhia around ten years ago and moving to Poland? Compared with Germany, Poland and Ukraine have more shared historical and cultural connections. They can share sympathies, but also historical tensions.

There have been reports of prejudice against Ukrainians in Poland. Some coverage has been sensationalized, and getting a clear statistical picture can be difficult. However, qualitative reporting suggests that hostility has increased. There is footage of physical assaults, including against women. In traditionalist cultures, men are expected not to hit women. Breaking that taboo can indicate how strong the prejudice has become.

As a businessperson who moved here and has seen relations change during the war, what challenges and opportunities do you see?

Hnatkiv: I think the most difficult part was what many immigrants experience when starting a new life in a new country. When I came to Poland, I had no money, friends, or anyone who could help me get started. I needed to learn the language and understand how to build relationships here.

The hardest first step was figuring out how things worked. Ukrainians and Poles have many similarities in our mentalities, but we also have many differences. Building a circle of people around me and understanding the rules was a major challenge.

Something that helped was that many Ukrainians arrived around the same time as I did. Since 2014, many Ukrainians have moved to Poland and elsewhere in Europe. We faced similar challenges and helped one another solve them. Working and cooperating with other Ukrainians was very valuable to me.

In my experience, Polish people were very kind to Ukrainians. Having lived here for around ten years, I have seen relationships change over time. Around 2016, relations between Poles and Ukrainians felt more natural to me.

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Polish people helped Ukrainians enormously. You could find help everywhere. Now, I feel things have changed a little.

I think Russian propaganda plays a role. I also believe Russia finances some right-wing political actors.

Jacobsen: These campaigns can intensify around elections and then subside afterward. Election periods can create vulnerabilities that propaganda exploits, including by targeting political forces that support Ukraine.

There are also social flashpoints. Propaganda can exploit a controversial incident, an accident, or an unusual event. In the United States, we often see public controversy around mass shootings. Here, if someone involved in a violent incident is Ukrainian, or is claimed to be Ukrainian, that can become an opportunity to spread hate propaganda and prejudice.

Hnatkiv: I agree with you.

Jacobsen: What gives you meaning in business?

Hnatkiv: I think that, as an immigrant, you feel you need to do more than someone who is already a citizen. When you start a new life in a new country, you feel you should work more and do more. You cannot stop.

I remember the city and country I came from, which are now in a very difficult situation. I understand I may not be able to return home soon.

Zaporizhzhia is close to the front line. I need to find a way to build a life for myself and my family here because I may not be able to go home.

Jacobsen: For Ukrainians who make the difficult decision to leave home and start a new life, particularly those starting businesses and facing the risk of failure, what is your main advice?

Hnatkiv: I think Ukrainians are very brave people. I know many who started here in construction or other manual jobs. After a few years, they were running their own businesses.

I want to tell them: keep believing and keep working. I believe Ukrainians have everything they need to succeed in life.

Jacobsen: Thank you very much for the opportunity and your time, Ivan.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen is a blogger on Vocal with more than 200 publications on the platform. He is the Founder and Publisher of In-Sight Publishing (ISBN: 978–1–0692343; 978–1–0673505) and Editor-in-Chief of In-Sight: Interviews (ISSN: 2369–6885). He writes for International Policy Digest (ISSN: 2332–9416), The Humanist (Print: ISSN, 0018–7399; Online: ISSN, 2163–3576), Basic Income Earth Network (UK Registered Charity 1177066), Humanist Perspectives (ISSN: 1719–6337), A Further Inquiry (SubStack), Vocal, Medium, The Good Men Project, The New Enlightenment Project, The Washington Outsider, rabble.ca, and other media. His bibliography index can be found via the Jacobsen Bank at In-Sight Publishing, comprising more than 10,000 articles, interviews, and republications across more than 200 outlets. He has served in national and international leadership roles within humanist and media organizations, held several academic fellowships, and currently serves on several boards. He is a member in good standing in numerous media organizations, including the Canadian Association of Journalists, PEN Canada (CRA: 88916 2541 RR0001), Reporters Without Borders (SIREN: 343 684 221/SIRET: 343 684 221 00041/EIN: 20–0708028), and others.

Image Credit: Scott Douglas Jacobsen.