FORWARD with Valeriya Ionan

In this episode, we dive into “wild freedom”, venture as adventure, Ukraine as “the real America in the center of Europe”, and why Kyiv today feels like New York in the late ’80s. If you are an investor, founder, policymaker or work with digital transformation and innovations, this conversation will challenge how you think about risk, the state, marketing and branding and the future of Ukraine.

Andriy Fedoriv, is a leading Ukrainian marketer, serial entrepreneur and VC investor, founder and CEO of Fedoriv Group and Fedoriv Agency, an award‑winning international marketing and innovation ecosystem working with top Ukrainian and global brands and backing a new generation of tech founders.

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In this episode of FORWARD with Valeriya Ionan, American entrepreneur and investor Dave Morgan shares why, after successful adtech exits in the United States, he chose to open core operational teams in Ukraine during wartime and invest directly into Ukrainian defense tech startups.

His experience challenges common assumptions: Ukraine’s innovation cycles move faster under pressure, local teams operate with unusual ownership and resilience, and technologies tested in real conflict often outperform those designed in comfort. The gap, he argues, is not information but proximity, most Western capital evaluates Ukraine without ever experiencing it.

This conversation is about how risk is perceived, how opportunity is missed and why commitment requires presence.

🎥 Watch this episode on YouTube.