Kate Prokhatska is the co-founder and CEO of giftmall, a gift card and rewards solution provider originally founded in Ukraine. With more than 13 years in the incentives industry, giftmall has expanded internationally across multiple European markets, and now provides corporate clients with access to over 3,000 brands in 45 countries.
Kate has helped build giftmall from the ground up, growing it from a small team into a business with even broader international ambitions, with a particular interest in building stronger incentives infrastructure in Eastern Europe.
We spoke to Kate about her career path, women in leadership, the role of recognition, and why women should never underestimate their experience, knowledge or strength.
Can you tell us about your career path and how you found your way into the engagement, gifting and recognition space?
I have been in incentives for 14 years and founded giftmall 13 years ago.
At the time, I saw a market gap. Loyalty and incentive programmes had some room for improvement, as they lacked scale and needed to show some actual benefits for end users and for companies. I wanted to build something digital, scalable and valuable for companies in the rewards area.
I am originally from Ukraine, so my path started in the Ukrainian market. There were no gift card solutions there 13 years ago, and that is how giftmall was founded.
Over the years, I have worked across many areas of the business: strategy, building relationships with customers, clients and partners, developing relationships with employees and building business culture as a whole.
Now, our main goal is to make corporate rewards simple, accessible and effective for users and businesses of any size. And for that we need to scale internationally and build relationships with vendors. We envision a gifting world where every reward is chosen by those who receive it. We want to bring more value to all participants in the market and industry, not only to our own company and clients, but also to partners and other market players.
When you started giftmall, was it just you? How did you make that leap?
Before giftmall, I worked at a startup in the gift card industry. That business worked with small and medium-sized companies. We strived to work with individual customers but also reach business clients.
The challenge was that the gift cards we provided were mainly for smaller businesses, such as local restaurants and beauty salons. Corporate clients did not always want to add those kinds of solutions to their incentive programmes.
That was where I saw the market fit. Clients needed gift cards that could be more valuable for end customers. They needed something people could redeem for goods, the way they might use their salary.
I saw that this could become a big opportunity in Ukraine. I co-founded giftmall with my business partner. At first, there were two of us. For many years, we had a very small team. Sometimes I was the only person working at the company. I answered phone calls, sold to corporate clients and sometimes even delivered gift cards as a courier!
Having grown the business from those early days, what kind of leader are you now?
I am very passionate about what I do. First, I look for people for my team who share the same passion.
Every leader requires a strong support system. That is why it is very important to me to find people who are as passionate about what they do at giftmall as I am. Their loyalty to our company is not only about money or the brand. It is about how they feel. It is about feeling strong enough to build this with me: a Ukrainian business building something in Europe and, in the future, across the world.
I have had many amazing people in my team over the years, and I am really thankful to them. Together, we have the same energy and drive to grow our business in international markets.
As a female CEO, do you feel there is a difference in how women are perceived in leadership?
In the past, I did experience this. First of all, I was very young. When you are a very young woman and you go into negotiations with a big brand or client, of course, sometimes they think you’re very small. Sometimes they try to show that to you.
But I never gave up. Never. That is my ethos.
I don’t often feel small because I am a woman, and I think that is because of my mindset.
Those situations never broke me. In some ways, they helped build my mindset. When that happened in business, I preferred not to focus on it too much.
Have there been women who inspired you, mentored you or made you think, “I can do this too”?
First of all, around 90% of my team are women, and all of them are amazing. They are really strong, and I have many examples to support my viewpoint.
I am inspired by many people who have done something valuable for the world or built something meaningful. But if that person is a woman, it gives me triple respect. When I hear another woman’s success story, it empowers me to move faster. It gives me strength and reminds me that I can do whatever I want.
What drew you to the Women in Incentives Network?
I started participating in IMA Europe, and it was an amazing experience for me because, in Ukraine, we do not have many spaces for people in our industry.
As the Ukrainian incentives market is still in its early stages, there aren’t many communities specifically designed for professionals like me. When I found places for industry players, I began communicating with people from incentives, gift cards and recognition fields. They started sharing other relevant spaces with me.
Of course, it felt natural that I should be part of Women in Incentives because it gives me power and inspiration. I am open to everything you can offer. First of all, I want to attend the events, participate in discussions and meet people. If I see opportunities to mentor someone or to be a mentee, I am, of course, open to them.
You are focused on scaling giftmall internationally. What kind of impact do you want to make?
Historically, we are from Ukraine. Ukraine is not officially a part of the European Union, but it is Europe. As I communicate with different market players across Europe, I understand that Western Europe is very strong in incentives, and we would like to bring that to Eastern Europe. These countries need to build their loyalty programmes, and giftmall is here to help.
The Eastern European market is in its early stages of development right now, and our task is to create convenient and valuable solutions for our clients that correspond with the peculiarities of this market.
How do you balance everything as a woman leading a growing business?
I always think about this because, as women, we have so many things to keep in mind and so many things to do. It is not only business. It is children, husbands, home, parents, gifts, events and then business. I always think about how we balance all of this. I believe we often feel that we’re not doing enough. We think we have not done this thing, or that thing, or another thing.
When I think about my balance, I see that being a woman actually helps. For better or for worse, we are built to do everything at the same time. I can balance all aspects of my life, not because I am special, but because I am a woman. I think we are all built like this.
Finally, if you could give your younger self one piece of advice before she started this journey, what would it be?
“Never underestimate your experience, knowledge, strength and willingness.” I would give myself this advice now and in the future, because we as women always underestimate ourselves.
Maybe it is because the world has been very hard for women. But this is the main advice I would give to all women – and to myself – at any age.
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Written by Elaine Keep www.elainekeep.com