A Ukrainian manager, together with a team of like-minded people, created an online platform called FERM, which allows you to rent construction machinery and equipment. Dmytro Kharitonenko, the manager of the startup, told dev.ua about what prompted the startupers to develop the solution, how it works, and who it will be useful for.
A Ukrainian manager, together with a team of like-minded people, created an online platform called FERM, which allows you to rent construction machinery and equipment. Dmytro Kharitonenko, the manager of the startup, told dev.ua about what prompted the startupers to develop the solution, how it works, and who it will be useful for.
23-year-old Dmytro himself comes from the capital of our country, the city of Kyiv. After school, he received an education in the field of energy, and later began his career in the construction industry. It was at his first job that the key obligation was to provide construction equipment for construction sites. And then Dmytro was faced with the fact that the Ukrainian market lacks an IT solution where customers and suppliers of equipment can find one-of-a-kind, conditionally, via a smartphone, like logistics exchanges, and not by banal calling through ads.
This prompted the category manager to create his own product in this direction. Dmytro shared his idea with a small team of like-minded people who understand the needs of the agricultural sector well and have experience in developing digital products. Together, analyzing the construction equipment market, they founded a company that implements IT solutions, creating an online platform that facilitates and automates the process of finding equipment and work.
The main idea of FERM is to provide farmers and entrepreneurs with access to goods, services, financial instruments and knowledge. On the platform, you can not only purchase the necessary goods, but also get quality services, professional support from experts and new opportunities for developing or creating your own business in Ukraine. The solution unites customers and suppliers of goods and services in one place and shortens the path from request to service performance to a minimum.
The solution is currently in MVP format. The platform is already operational, allowing customers to find and order special equipment services and has over 4,000 units of special equipment from trusted partners — and this number is growing every day. The equipment is available in all regions of Ukraine.
For FERM, developers use a technical stack that was developed from scratch by an experienced team of IT specialists, which will make the platform scalable and ensure flexibility and further development of the product.
The team checks each partner before they get on the platform to add only reliable performers. Each order on FERM is processed individually, the founder says that startups carefully select performers, taking into account the location, type of equipment, scope of work, deadlines, and specifics of the business.
«We strive to create a service where farmers and entrepreneurs can focus on their business without wasting time searching for and vetting contractors,» emphasizes Dmytro.
FERM was initially worked on by a small number of like-minded people, and the team of 10 specialists grew to 90 people, united by the common goal of making agroservices accessible.
«Our team is the perfect combination of expertise in agribusiness, service business, and IT. We have brought together people who have worked in the agricultural sector for years and deeply understand the needs of farmers and agribusinesses, with specialists who have experience in building digital services, products, and scalable IT solutions,» says Dmytro.
The core of the team, namely 40 employees, is the commercial team, since each category on the FERM platform is a separate business line that operates according to its own logic and monetization model.
20 specialists are working on the development of the platform’s functionality: product managers, business analysts, UX specialists, and a development team. Some of the technical solutions are created by startups in collaboration with reliable outsource teams, which allows them to be flexible and quickly scale development.
The team is constantly expanding, and FERM is currently actively looking for specialists in the field of agro-services — both with commercial expertise and technical knowledge.
FERM’s main clients are micro, small and medium-sized businesses: owners of farms, agricultural enterprises and companies from related sectors who need special equipment or agricultural services. At the same time, the startups plan to expand the functionality for individuals and are already preparing separate modules for private users.
Currently, startups are actively attracting supplier partners throughout Ukraine.
Some business areas of FERM already cooperate with large agricultural holdings, but they do not disclose the names of clients. In addition, the startups are open to cooperation with any partners. «For us, there are no restrictions on size or areas of business,» says Dmytro.
The startup’s founders were also silent about investments, monetization, and pricing policy.
The startup’s plans include expanding FERM’s functionality: personal accounts for clients and suppliers, modules with expert content and blogs, as well as deploying a full-fledged marketplace within the platform.
In addition, the developers plan to:
«In the long term, we see FERM as a universal ecosystem for the agricultural sector, covering the entire spectrum of needs: from renting equipment and ordering services to purchasing goods, sharing knowledge, analytics, and automating processes,» notes Dmytro Kharitonenko.
