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CHM Software Innovative Solutions: Interview with Co-Founder Dmitry Agapov about Trade Automation and International Ambitions
Ukrainian company CHM Software develops innovative software solutions that will keep your business one step ahead! Its co-founder – DMITRO AGAPOV – spoke in our interview about the advantages of its products for retail automation and self-service systems, and also shared promising plans for conquering the international market. Read more about this and more!
– Congratulations, Dmitry! Tell us a little about your personal path to success. Who are you by education? Where have you worked?
– Success is a reward for achieving goals. And at each stage of life it can be different. The path to a certain success is endless. Because you set yourself a goal (small or global) and go towards it. And when this goal is achieved, it is already success. This brings us a certain joy and incentive to move on.
That is why I believe that I have had many successes in my life. I started my career as a merchandiser back in my student years, because I had to provide for my family. In my 4th year, I had my first child, and in my fifth year, I had a second child. I went to supermarkets and laid out dairy products. This was also a kind of success. Because I received a full salary, I worked for a company with foreign investments (“Food Master Ukraine”, trademark “Bilosvit”).
Later, I went to work as a purchasing manager for the Kharkiv supermarket chain Digma. I had good results in terms of financial indicators and the quality of product delivery. I was transferred to more financially significant purchases, because Digma was also engaged in the distribution of tobacco products and was a leader in the region. Thus, the company entrusted me with managing millions of dollars in turnover.
Then I was invited to take the position of head of the Kharkiv department of the company AIPEK, which was engaged in the sale of account replenishment cards and, at the same time, was developing a system for electronic account replenishment. At that time, there were not so many vending machines. The company distributed compact terminals that allowed small points (such as a pavilion, kiosk) to accept payments for mobile communications. Although I was still employed, I was already completely self-organized and I liked it.
– When did you decide to create your own business? How did it all start?
– During the crisis of 2008-2009, the company “IPEC” went bankrupt, and I was left without a job. It was a rather difficult period in my life. One of the co-owners suggested creating a new company and developing software for automating retail trade. At that time, there were many ordinary cash registers on the market that did not transmit data anywhere, and this made it impossible to manage balances promptly. Therefore, the idea was that the software, which connects to the cash register, would take data from the cash register’s memory online and transmit information to the central office via ordinary GPS, edge, and USB modems.
To implement this idea, I took all the capital from home – about 17 thousand hryvnias. My partner and I also borrowed another 10 thousand euros and thus created a joint business.
The first three years were the path of establishing the business. The partner did not see any prospects, because at first there were no sales. I bought out his share and continued to independently develop the business, attract financing, and new clients. Until 2014, I was both the financial director, commercial director, sales manager, and ideologist. I tried to organize the service myself. There was no euphoria that I had created an IT business then. The first three developers we hired were students of Kharkiv universities. Really talented guys who developed a lot of code and gave the company rapid development. But a more systematic business started only in 2017, when I realized that it was impossible to write ready-made products on my own, without attracting any investments. Creating a new product takes years. And the functions that we had were not enough for wider scaling.
Here is the idea, here is the market, here is the product, we need so much investment, we are looking for investors – this concept came only in 2019. The development of a cloud solution for Android-cashier has begun – a cloud accounting system for small and medium-sized businesses, focused on entering Western markets.
Today, the business is operationally stable in terms of those products that I call classics. That is, these are cashier workplaces, these are self-service cash registers. This product is installed in thousands of workstations in Ukraine. We are entering foreign markets with a fresher solution aimed at small and medium-sized businesses: both retail and catering establishments. We are currently completing certification in Lithuania (both local banks and large international banks are interested in us) in order to also launch our application on the markets of other countries. We are integrating with acquiring and providing the ability to accept bank cards without additional equipment. We have implemented today in Lithuania and Ukraine the ability to accept bank cards on any Android devices with NFC via Tap to phone technology. We are not just fiscalizers, we provide full accounting of goods, funds and business management. That is, a full-fledged accounting system.
– CHM Software is, first of all, innovations in trade! What exactly is it about?
– We are the first company in Ukraine that, back in 2011, developed a module for internal electronic document management and the ability to conduct an inventory with entry into an electronic document without closing the establishment – “Chameleon”. This innovation has become the most successful for promotion in a market segment where small retail outlets are combined into a network. Currently, we have clients with 500-600 retail outlets. Interesting facts: this module was released before the evolution of the market reached it. It is fully automated with a central server and works on any communication channels. When working with Chameleon, a large amount of accounting is not required.
One of the clients we launched in 2019–2020 is a chain of coffee shops and bakeries. When we first conducted an inventory there without closing the establishment, during the trading process, the IT director called me and said: “Dmytro, it works! Honestly, I didn’t believe it!”. All these document management functions are built into our new products.
VISA also pushed us to implement the ability to accept bank card payments in our applications via Tap to phone. We have integrated with Ukrainian banks. This is also already possible in more than 15 countries around the world.
– The head office of CHM software is located in Kharkiv. How did the full-scale war affect your work?
– Before the full-scale invasion, indeed, most of our employees were in Kharkiv. We had hired workers there who came and relocated from Lviv, Kyiv, and Boryspil. I think it was a very cool team. Unfortunately, the office is not so full of people at the moment, although we reopened it in January 2023. We also have an office in Kyiv. We are trying to keep the team working offline as well, because it is more efficient. But still, most of the 60 employees work remotely.
– What are you working on now? What are your goals?
– The closest success, the goal that I have set for myself, is to launch sales in the European Union. We expect sales to start in Lithuania within a month. We are currently developing the Baltic countries, in particular, Estonia. I hope that this year we will have clients in Spain, Portugal, and Slovenia.
Our higher goal is the catering market. In 2022, an investor appeared who offered to replace the Russian software, which occupies 70% of the Ukrainian market. It is currently disguised under other names, conducting re-registrations in other countries.
The restaurant business is quite complex and specific. These are special promotion channels, which means it is a new challenge for us. We have developed a startup that should reduce Russian influence. It is being tested. Our project for restaurants – Horeker – is already on the list of interesting investment projects from the Ukrainian IT industry. And our partners are developing a similar one for hotels. I am sure that success will come when we find international investors. And this project will give the market a high-quality Ukrainian ready-made product for managing catering establishments and hotels.
– I know, you also have ambitious plans for the restoration of Ukraine?
– I have always believed in Ukraine, although I do not always like the policies pursued by this or that government. Our country has everything for development: human and resource potential, good climatic conditions. As a Ukrainian entrepreneur, father of four children, during the war I decided to stay with my family in Ukraine and engage in building Ukrainian potential by developing competitive software solutions. Entering the international market will allow us to raise the state’s economy thanks to foreign investments.
Always, in any situation, my family and my team support me, for which I am infinitely grateful. I wish everyone peace, prosperity, and that the Constitution of Ukraine be the true main Law, freedom for all!
