Building a Top-Tier Ukrainian Product Team for Click Boarding

Client: Click Boarding
Industry: Employee Onboarding & HR Tech
Company Size: 50-200 employees
Regions Covered: USA
Website: clickboarding.com
Engagement Period: August 2020 – January 2023

The Challenge

In 2020, Click Boarding, a US-based HR tech company, brought in a new CTO with a bold strategy: assemble a best-in-class Ukrainian development team to drive product innovation and ownership.

The US market was overheated, and so was Europe. The CTO knew that Ukraine offered world-class talent at an optimized price/value ratio. But there was a catch:

• The bar was extremely high – think long US-style interview processes, including take-home assignments (later swapped for live coding).
• Beyond technical skill, candidates had to bring a product mindset – ownership, initiative, and the ability to think like internal stakeholders, not outsourced contractors.

In a hot hiring market, this was no small feat.

Our Approach: Curating a Product-Driven Dream Team

We deployed our team augmentation model, starting with two .NET developers (Senior and Middle) on day one. But this wasn’t just about hiring developers – it was about building a scalable product team from the top down.

Over the course of the engagement (despite COVID and later wartime disruptions), we assembled a multidisciplinary team that included:

• Engineering Managers
• Product Designers
• Front-End Developers
• Technical Implementation Consultants
• Engineering Leads
• Lead .NET Full Stack Developers
• Software Engineers (Mid/Senior levels)

At peak (August 2021), the team counted 12 specialists – each carefully vetted through rigorous hiring processes.

When the war broke out in February 2022, Click Boarding implemented a hiring freeze, but we shifted focus to relocation support, ensuring the team’s safety and stability. Another creative touch: Click’s four-day workweek policy, which helped attract top candidates even in an overheated market.

Key Highlights

✅ Team Size: 12 members at peak (Engineering Managers, Engineering Lead, .NET Full Stack Developers, Front-End Developers, Product Designers, Technical Consultants)
✅ Rigorous Hiring Process: US-level screening with live coding and multiple rounds
✅ Relocation Support: Seamless transition for developers ahead of the 2022 war
✅ Flexibility & Compliance: Adjusted to US standards (e.g., ventilation requirements, drug testing, insurance policies)
✅ Adaptation to Leadership Changes: Successfully navigated CTO transitions with shifting expectations

What Set Us Apart

🔹 Transparency & Speed – Despite long hiring cycles, we maintained clear communication and fast sourcing in a tight market.
🔹 Cultural Fluency – We understood US recruitment dynamics (multi-round interviews, take-home assignments, product mindset) and secured the right candidates – a rarity in Ukraine’s market.
🔹 Flexible Compliance – From COVID ventilation standards, to drug testing and insurance adjustments, we adapted to every operational nuance.
🔹 Relationship Management – We navigated the transition to a new CTO, aligning with shifting requests and expectations – even when dealing with strong personalities.

Results

✔️ Built a product-minded team that went beyond coding – owning features, driving innovation, and integrating deeply with Click’s US operations
✔️ Maintained team stability through market turmoil, a global pandemic, and war
✔️ Facilitated smooth relocation for developers ahead of the Ukraine conflict
✔️ Ended the engagement on a high note, with every developer securing new roles in their relocation countries post-hiring freeze