Valentyn Vakatsiienko

Why do some people become great while others remain forever "promising"? This question has been my obsession since, as a Head of Backend Engineering, I tackled organizational expertise and motivation challenges at Wix during a period of hypergrowth. I spent 18 months crossing Eurasia, studying how elite performers are developed in organizations, craftsmanship guilds, sports academies, and martial arts traditions, to build a framework most tech leaders have never encountered. I didn't just study performance, I practiced it in the trenches: - Doubled the size of Backend Engineering at Wix Ukraine (30 to almost 60), - Drove tens of millions of dollars in ARR by closing strategic monetization gaps at Grammarly, - Tripled the Monetization group's size - Carried my team through massive layoffs with zero attrition. - Founded an Engineering Management learning community with members from Google, Netflix, Wix, Superhuman/Grammarly, Bolt, Agoda, and others. As a coach and mentor, I help you create and navigate change, whether securing promotions and offers from FAANG companies or gaining a firm footing in a turbulent environment. I guide you using the same tools that allowed me to deliver breakthroughs in unfamiliar domains, coach engineers to Staff level, and help my teams thrive during massive company-wide layoffs and reorganizations. We will work deeply and intensely. We will uncover your true values and strengths, break habits that hold you back, and build the ones that will propel you forward. We will learn to set goals that truly move and measure what really matters. We will develop a thirst for elite performance, and we will satisfy it. If you are ready to master the psychology and strategy of engineering leadership, let’s talk. A 15-minute intro is on me.