Resilience in business is not about survival — it’s about the ability to keep moving forward, even when everything around you changes. CEO of THE Capital, Andrii Sorochynskyi, shares how he turned a crisis into a point of growth, built a team that became a true pillar of support. He also explains why he believes the future of Kyiv lies in a culture of quality living.
After the start of the full-scale invasion, many companies either stopped or changed direction. You, however, scaled up. How did your understanding of leadership change during this time? What became most important — strategy, speed of decision-making, or humanity?
In times of crisis, everyone reacts in one of three ways — fight, flight, or freeze. At first, we definitely froze. We simply stopped: helped the army, donated, tried to be useful. But after a month, it became clear that if we did nothing, everything would fall apart. We started bringing people together — first, 18 team members who had been with us for years. Those who weren’t afraid to keep working even when it felt like the whole world had stopped. At that moment, leadership stopped being about long-term strategy and became about the ability to keep people close. Not letting them lose focus. Showing that even in the hardest times, there is still movement and meaning.
You managed not only to keep your team but also to expand it while most businesses were cutting staff. What helped you maintain unity within the team, even when everything around was changing? Were there moments when you had to rethink your approach to management?
We held on to people — and for people. Everyone had their own story, their own struggles, but we were united by one goal — not to give up. I realized that if I showed weakness or doubt, the team would feel it. So I kept moving forward, even when it wasn’t easy for me. The first year brought a lot of distraction — many lost direction and motivation. That’s why we had to change our management style: from maximum loyalty to more structure and discipline. It was the moment when we learned again how to be a team — different, but with one shared goal: to become number one in the market and keep the profession alive.
How has the client in the premium real estate segment changed over the past few years?
The market has changed dramatically. During the first year and a half after the start of the full-scale invasion, people were afraid — many wanted to buy “for pennies” or simply waited. Many pre-war clients left the country or put their lives on pause. But a different type of client has emerged — one who buys not for investment, but for living. People who moved from other regions are creating a new quality of demand. And over the past year, we’ve seen that Ukrainians are once again ready to invest, take risks, and build their future here. It’s a completely different level of awareness — when purchasing real estate becomes not just a transaction, but a conscious choice to live in Ukraine.
What does it mean for you to “be resilient” — personally and as a company?
Resilience is about confidence in your actions and in the final result. It’s about not “falling” — in every sense of the word. Today, strategic planning looks different: we no longer draw five-year plans, we work in short, steady cycles. If leadership is not resilient, the company becomes unstable. That’s why our responsibility is to be a pillar for the team — to motivate not with words, but with example. We believe that if not us, then who will move the market forward and shape the culture of quality service in real estate?
You mentioned building systematic processes that allowed the company to grow. Can you give an example of a specific decision or approach that became a turning point for the development of THE Capital?
Probably the strongest decision was to let go of chaos. We introduced structured processes, a CRM system, quality control, and clear regulations. We began developing an internal culture where everyone understands their impact. When the team sees that every call and every communication is part of a bigger process, they start acting with a different level of responsibility. Systematic work gave us the ability to grow even when everything around us was unstable.
How do you see the development of Kyiv after the war? What role can business — and particularly the premium real estate sector — play in rebuilding the city?
Kyiv is a heart that will always keep beating. There is almost no economy-class housing left here — we live in a city where comfort-plus has become the standard. This shows that the culture of living has evolved. And business has a huge role to play — not only in rebuilding physical structures but also in restoring trust, stability, and faith in tomorrow. THE Capital sees itself as part of this process: we help developers, clients, and property owners find one another, creating a living market that keeps Kyiv growing.
When each team member treats their part of the process as their own business — with responsibility and determination — the entire company grows. The results are visible in everything: in speed, quality, atmosphere, and the level of service. These are not just words — it’s a principle that allows us to drive the market forward and remain strong, even in challenging times.
