Oleksandr Kosovan started MacPaw at 21 from a Kyiv dorm room. Today, every fifth Mac on the planet has at least one of his company’s apps. Two years into Russia’s full-scale invasion — with roughly 70 percent of his team still in Ukraine and an estimated $50 million in losses from the war — Kosovan sat down with the Kyiv Independent to assess where the company stands, and why he still believes Ukraine’s IT sector is uniquely positioned for the future.

Two years into the full-scale invasion, what is the overall state of MacPaw?

The last couple of years have been the most challenging period for both MacPaw and myself. I had to make decisions with life-altering consequences. The team underwent significant changes — many specialists relocated, many adapted to remote work. But MacPaw experienced growth in certain areas while maintaining stability in others. In 2022, our staff actually grew by 22 percent. In 2023, it grew another 14 percent. We are now over 540 people.

How is it possible to grow your headcount during a war?

The IT industry remains Ukraine’s only fully operational export branch, despite the war — in fact, it is increasing export volumes and its contribution to GDP. In 2023, IT services totalled $8 billion, which is 41.5 percent of Ukraine’s total exports. Ukrainian developers are known worldwide for their skills and work ethic. The war did not change that. If anything, it reinforced it. The war has also led to an increase in cybersecurity startups and investment opportunities. So the sector, paradoxically, remains attractive.

“The IT industry remains Ukraine’s only fully operational export branch, despite the war — increasing export volumes and its contribution to GDP.”

Around 70 percent of your team stayed in Ukraine. What does keeping that team functional look like day to day?

It’s challenging to maintain productivity amidst regular air alerts, mobilisation, blackouts, and the general recession in Ukraine’s economy. We prepared for various scenarios and developed contingency plans to keep the Kyiv office operational. We also gave free access to ClearVPN to Ukrainian users to help protect them from cyberattacks. But I won’t pretend it is not hard. I am nostalgic for the times when the team worked together from one peaceful office in Kyiv.

You have estimated MacPaw’s war-related losses at around $50 million. Can you break that down?

The most significant loss came from the postponement of major product releases due to uncertainties in quality and timelines amid potential blackouts. A lot of time and resources also went toward developing Business Continuity Plans for various scenarios, including the possibility of complete loss of internet connections in Ukraine. We also halted sales in Russia and Belarus entirely. That said, our business model was already independent of the Ukrainian market — most customers come from the US and Europe, and our infrastructure was on secure cloud providers like AWS. That saved us.

In the middle of all that, you still launched a cybersecurity division and opened a Boston office. That seems counterintuitive.

MacPaw’s software has been downloaded in over 180 countries. The United States represents 41 percent of our user base. Opening in Boston was about being closer to our key market. And Moonlock, our cybersecurity division — we launched that in July 2023. The global significance of cybersecurity has only grown. If you are a company that already knows the Mac deeply, it makes sense to protect it deeply too. These are strategic moves, not crisis responses.

“It’s been a bumpy ride, marked by adaptation and resilience, to maintain pre-war performance levels.”

Where is the focus for the rest of 2024?

The primary focus remains on integrating AI into products, and enhancing security and privacy solutions for customers in existing and new offerings. We have ambitious plans, but they have needed a lot of thought to navigate the complexities of the ongoing war. We want to get back to the 40 percent pre-war annual growth rate. We are not there yet, but we believe we can get there. The goal for Boston is to have at least 30 team members by 2025. That work is underway.

MacPaw’s Foundation has contributed over $9 million to support Ukrainians. How do you think about a company’s role in a national crisis?

When you are headquartered in a country at war, there is no separation between the company and what is happening around you. Our users worldwide chose to support Ukraine through us. We also allocated $1 million to the Promprylad.Renovation innovation centre in Ivano-Frankivsk — supporting local businesses so they stay part of the economy. It’s been a bumpy ride, marked by adaptation and resilience, to maintain pre-war performance levels. But the vision for 2024 and beyond is clear: sustain, grow, and evolve.