Vladimir’s Early Journey: From Janitor to Entrepreneur

Meet Vladimir Scutelnic, a driven entrepreneur whose journey from janitor in Moscow to founder of a groundbreaking startup exemplifies resilience and innovation. Vladimir’s early experiences working long hours for minimal pay in the cleaning industry instilled in him a deep understanding of the hard work and dedication required in this field. This background fuelled his desire to create a platform that would not only simplify the cleaning service booking process for customers but also significantly improve the earnings and working conditions for cleaners.

Cleanifiq.com, an award-winning platform, is like Airbnb for the cleaning industry. It simplifies booking, ensures quality, and guarantees fair pay for cleaners. In this interview, Vladimir shares his experiences, the challenges he faced, and the invaluable lessons he learned along the way. We delve into Vladimir’s innovative use of sweat equity, exploring the challenges he faced in recruiting the right talent and the strategies he employed to overcome these hurdles. Through Cleanifiq’s journey, we uncover valuable insights for other founders considering sweat equity to build their dream teams.

Leveraging Sweat Equity to Build a Dream Team

"I started working when I was 13 years old in Moscow as a janitor at a cinema," Vladimir recalls. "I used to work very crazy hours, 36-hour shifts, sleep for 12 hours, and go back for another 36-hour shift. I was paid less than anyone else in that cinema. The vast majority of the cleaners are female, and in the UK, there are one million cleaners. They do a very hard job and get paid pennies, sometimes less than minimum wage." 

The traditional cleaning industry is plagued with issues like inconsistent quality and unreliable payments. Cleanifiq addresses these problems by offering real-time price comparisons and easy bookings, ensuring both customer satisfaction and cleaner protection.

"We change the lives of our cleaners because we’ve created a process that is simple to use and fair for both the client and the cleaners. When I started the cleaning company, I didn’t want to go the traditional way of growing my company. I didn’t want to buy vans, buy equipment. I had this idea of creating this platform, but I couldn’t afford to hire top developers, so I offered equity instead."

The Importance of Transparency in Equity Agreements

Vladimir continues, "I just started doing it. I’m not a coder; I don’t know how to code. My task is to be a CEO, to be a person who gathers ideas, builds teams, builds processes, and thinks about how to solve different problems. I didn't want to be in a position where I had to learn to code. I wanted to build a team that was committed to our vision and were willing to work for equity."

Transparency in equity agreements is paramount. Vladimir shares a cautionary tale about a former equity partner, emphasising the need for clear communication and backup agreements. Vladimir also provided insights into his recent experience with a developer who did not meet expectations, highlighting the importance of clear agreements and the need for founders to be proactive in addressing issues that arise.

"Everybody was literally on the same page, and no one could later say ‘But I said this or that.’ It’s essential to set expectations and be upfront about the terms of the agreement. We faced issues like unreliable partners and unmet commitments. It was a big indication that we needed to set clear agreements and expectations upfront. Commitment and reliability are crucial when working with equity-based partners. The agreement was all about transparency. It was crucial to have clear terms to avoid any confusion and ensure everyone was aligned with the company’s goals."

Challenges of Recruiting and Managing Sweat Equity Talent

Vladimir reflects on some of the challenges, "One of the mistakes I make all the time is seeing the good in people and refusing to believe that it’s impossible for them to correct their behaviour. I’ve learned that you need to ensure the person you’re bringing on board is committed and understands the environment they’re going to work in. But it doesn’t always turn out how you would like. We started to work with a young coder; we had an equity agreement in place."

"Red flags started appearing because initially we’d agreed that we’re going to pay X amount of money for X amount of hours, but then the hours weren’t being respected. We noticed in screenshots that the person was working on another project during our agreed time. Then he was not comfortable with working on an hourly basis and wanted to work on a project basis. So we made adjustments to the agreement and also had him sign an NDA. But even after adjustments, he still wasn’t doing the hours promised or the work. It just became one excuse after another."

Lessons Learned: Ensuring Commitment and Accountability

"Eventually, I decided that this needs to stop. Even though he hadn’t honoured our agreement, we made the decision to pay for his outstanding hours and pulled out of the partnership. He got paid for the hours he worked, but there was no equity. It’s been an experience, however, it’s not an experience that makes me think sweat equity doesn’t work. And I hope the coder learns from this when he is working with others in the future. Perhaps one day he will see us in the top 500 Fortune companies and wonder about how much the equity he had would have been worth."

Final Advice for Founders Using Sweat Equity

Vladimir has some hard-won advice for bootstrapped startups looking to leverage equity in their businesses in return for talent and expertise, and how to prepare the would-be equity partner for life in the fast lane of startup business life.

"It’s going to be hard, it’s going to be chaos, but it’s a good chaos. Make sure that the person you’re taking onboard is completely aware about the environment they’re going into. Yes, it’s going to be interesting but hard, and they will need to be patient and consistent. Make sure that you have an agreement in place and that you also build into it what happens if things don’t go as planned."

Vladimir’s journey with Cleanifiq underscores the potential of sweat equity in building successful startups. By offering equity, he has attracted dedicated professionals who believed in his vision. For other founders, leveraging sweat equity can be a powerful tool to build strong, motivated teams. Cleanifiq’s story is a testament to the power of commitment, transparency, and strategic equity partnerships in driving startup success.

 

---

Do you have a sweat equity story to share? Email Mickela to share your sweat equity experience and be part of our Sweat Equity Stories series.  

Read our Sweat Equity article about how The Training Marketplace cut out the funding middleman with sweat equity

Sign up now and be part of our growing community and never miss out on the latest sweat equity trends, opportunities and events!