I rarely attend workshops — but this one, organized by Kharkiv IT Cluster, immediately caught my attention.
The topic — how to build a marketing strategy for an IT company — is something you don’t often see done well.
Usually, such strategies exist only in:
- large companies, where marketing has a defined role in business processes, or
- startups, that are just entering the market and need to find their audience fast.
🎤 Speaker: Max Makarenko
Highly interactive and engaging.
He started by asking who we are and why we came — a great icebreaker.
Then he broke down the essentials of a marketing strategy
and explained what a buyer persona truly means.
✅ What I Liked
- 🔍 A strong focus on the question: “Does your content actually work?”
And if not — why? With practical explanations for common issues.
- 🎯 How to make sure your content reaches the right audience — and avoids the wrong one.
- 🧩 The importance of focusing on your business domain, not just your tech stack.
- 🧠 A clear, structured look at positioning — and why it’s crucial for credibility and long-term growth.
❌ What I Didn’t Like
⏱️ The length.
Three hours of intensive content was a bit much — the material was valuable, but needed more pacing and segmentation.
💭 Takeaway
I’m genuinely considering attending a workshop or training by this speaker.
It was inspiring, and I’d love to go deeper into understanding the customer — their mindset, needs, and how to communicate with them more effectively.