СoolTalk success story: «At the bootcamp, we realized the problem we’re tackling is much bigger, so now we’re in the middle of pivoting our solution»

From March 11 to 22, SET University team with the support of the USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine (USAID CEP)  held an intensive bootcamp for tech projects whose founders are women or whose core teams are 70% women. The bootcamp was called We. Brave and its goal was to provide participants with the necessary expertise and networking to successfully develop projects, create new jobs, and enter new markets. Twenty-five startup teams were selected for the bootcamp, including products from the following areas: EdTech, Recruitment & HRTech, Cybersecurity, Healthcare, Wellness, Self-development, AR/VR, and Service sector. The three winning teams received an additional budget of $6500 for consulting and mentoring to further develop their businesses.

In this article, we tell you about one of the participants of the bootcamp, СoolTalk, and share the impressions of its co-founder Alina Ganova

Product Background

CoolTalk is a service designed to help people make decisions regarding their career development more mindful. It includes an AI-based test to identify relevant career paths and offers a platform for mentor consultations.

The team of founders began working on CoolTalk about a year ago. Alina Ganova, Yevhen Poplavskyi, and Shura Gerasymenko became interested in how young people make decisions about their career development. After researching the topic and conducting interviews with graduates, parents, and professionals in the education field, they realized that there are still many problems in this area. High school graduates often lack a clear understanding of the job market, while parents tend to influence their future plans and both often struggle to find the right guidance for making informed decisions.

«We have started to do this for younger versions of ourselves. This is an important personal story for us, as none of our team members’ initial education aligns with what we’re currently doing,» – Alina says

By the way, Alina and Yevhen together have over 20 years of experience in developing technical products, while Shura, the art director, has over 10 years of design experience, including working with leading Ukrainian creative agencies.

Since starting CoolTalk, the team has interviewed potential users, built a diverse mentor network spanning IT professionals to chefs and architects, and developed an initial version of the product. 

However, they felt the need for more knowledge and support from experienced experts to further refine their product. That’s why they decided to participate in the WE.Brave bootcamp.

Key takeaways from the bootcamp

«The bootcamp broadened our perspective. We realized that amidst war and global shifts, more people are feeling the need to reassess their professional paths. While we initially targeted the youth, now we aim to be inclusive of a wider audience,» shared Alina with the SET University team.

Due to the change in audience, the CoolTalk team is currently preparing a pivot (a change in development direction) for their product – adjusting the business model and processes, adapting the methodology for the test to determine the most relevant professions, redesigning, and preparing a new self-exploration tool. Additionally, the team plans to add several new services, including recommendations for educational courses and institutions in Ukraine and abroad.

Alina also points out that the workshops with Yuliia Kudina on team management and Jane Davidyuk on operational optimization were especially helpful for CoolTalk.

Some of the mentors continued to support CoolTalk as advisors after the bootcamp. «It’s crucial for us to have people we can rely on for mentorship feedback. We appreciate being able to share and discuss our work immediately. It helps keep the process moving forward quickly,» Alina says.

CoolTalk`s co-founder Alina on their bootcamp experience

The bootcamp has been an incredible source of inspiration. Our main takeaway is that in case we have questions, we know where we can find people who most likely will know the answers to them. I once read that “we are no longer in the age of gaining information; we are in the age of connecting knowledge”. This is exactly what is achieved through projects like the WE.Brave bootcamp.

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The USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine (USAID CEP) supports Ukrainian businesses aiming to provide support for competitive industries and firms on Ukrainian and international markets, foster a better business enabling environment, and enabling Ukrainian companies to benefit from international trade.

SET University is a Ukrainian educational institution that provides higher education to future leaders of the technology industry. SET University combines a modern approach to education with a focus on technology and entrepreneurship, the name SET is an acronym for Science, Entrepreneurship, and Technology. SET offers Master’s degree and Micromaster’s programs, as well as accelerators and bootcamps to support startups.