52 | From Student Startup to Global Beauty-Tech Brand

From a Bedroom Factory to a Global Beauty-Tech Brand

Some businesses start in garages. Some start in coworking spaces. Yuliia Siletska started hers in an apartment in Ukraine – with one room as the bedroom and the other slowly turning into a tiny production space.

In episode 52 of the Nomad Summit Podcast, we meet Yuliia, the founder and CEO of ÜLKA, a Ukrainian beauty-tech company that manufactures professional equipment for the beauty industry.

Today, ÜLKA sells to more than 50 countries and has a factory with 80 employees. But the beginning was much smaller, much messier, and much more intense.

"One room was our bedroom, another was divided to produce this machine. And we worked a lot. We woke up at 3:00 AM and finish our work when it was 8:00 PM."

That “machine” was a dust collector for nail technicians – a product born from a very real problem in the beauty industry.

A Problem Most People Never Think About

Most of us probably don’t spend much time thinking about what happens in a nail salon. But if you work there every day, it matters a lot.

When nail technicians file artificial nails, dust particles are released into the air. And according to Yuliia, this is not just harmless dust.

"We have 72 elements which can cause some difficult illnesses."

For Yuliia, this became more than a business opportunity. It became a mission: to make beauty professionals’ workspaces healthier and safer.

"All the rules that we have in stomatologies by dentists, it should be identically applied to beauty sphere. But it is not."

In other words, beauty professionals should not have to choose between doing the work they love and protecting their health.

Starting at 17 – Because She Was Bored

Yuliia started her entrepreneurial journey when she was just 17. Not because she had a big investor, a detailed business plan, or a fancy startup pitch deck.

She was simply restless.

I was so bored after my super intense school, so I tried different businesses.

First, she printed books for fellow students. Then she and her boyfriend at the time started making devices for photographers. Eventually, a nail artist friend came to them with a problem: she needed a proper dust collector, but there were no good options available in Ukraine.

So they built one.

Then came the question that starts so many great businesses:

What if other people need this too?

The Moment It Became Real

At first, Yuliia and her partner were doing everything themselves – production, sales, social media, engineering, customer communication. Everything.

Then a Ukrainian retail company found them and placed an order for 90 units.

"It was as many that it couldn't fit in some corridor of our flat, and that moment I realized that here we are. It is real big business."

That was the point where the apartment was no longer enough.

They didn’t just need more space. They needed a real production setup.

Building a Factory in Ukraine

Today, ÜLKA has a factory in the Dnipro Region of Ukraine, with around 80 employees. That alone would be impressive for a 27-year-old founder.

But there is another layer to this story.

The factory is in eastern Ukraine, not far from the front line. Running a manufacturing company is already complicated. Running one during wartime is something else entirely.

"A lot of them actually, but we've got a lot of good devices and stuff to be as resistant as we need. I have generator, big one for factory. We have solar panels, and I have quite a big bag of money to move."

That “bag of money” is not just a dramatic phrase. It is practical preparation. If the company needs to move production equipment to another country, Yuliia wants to be ready.

Running a Factory Remotely

One of the most surprising parts of this conversation is that Yuliia does not need to be physically present at the factory every day.

In fact, she has built much of the company around remote systems and online team structures.

"The factory part is offline, but I was so lazy to run an office and start collecting, finding employees only in one city, so I've decided there that it's possible to build an online model."

Since 2019, much of her team has worked online. She uses CRM systems, remote planning, and trusted managers to keep things moving.

That makes her story especially interesting for the Nomad Summit audience. Yuliia is not the classic “laptop on the beach” digital nomad. She runs a real manufacturing company with machines, products, logistics, and employees.

And yet, she has found a way to make her leadership increasingly location independent.

From Ukraine to Barcelona, China, Hong Kong, Bali, and Malaysia

Yuliia has lived and worked from several places, including Barcelona, China, Hong Kong, Bali, and now Malaysia.

In this episode, she joined us from Network School in Forest City, Malaysia, where she met Alexandra from the Nomad Summit team.

Forest City itself is a fascinating backdrop. It was built with big ambitions as a futuristic tech hub, but became known by many as a kind of “ghost city.” Now, with Network School bringing hundreds of entrepreneurs, builders, and tech people into the area, the place has a new kind of energy.

"For first five days, I felt like it is some kind of dystopia… And for now, I can say that it become an utopia."

How Travel Feeds Her Business

For Yuliia, travel is not just an escape from work. It is part of how she develops new ideas.

"What I've realized, this freedom, and there a lot of novelties, meeting another people, getting different ideas, and implementing it in my business. It helps me really."

She also discovers customer needs by visiting salons in different countries, talking directly with nail technicians, and seeing how beauty professionals actually work around the world.

"Being in different countries and different salons, talking with my direct client, not distributor… this is the way I discover the client's needs."

That is a different kind of market research. Not just spreadsheets and reports, but real conversations with the people using the product.

Becoming the Sole Owner

In 2026, Yuliia bought out her former partner’s share and became the sole owner of ÜLKA.

The business had started as a kind of family company. But after their divorce, she continued running the company while he still received his part of the profit.

"I'm too ambitious and then maybe a bit greedy to my ex. So I've calculated it doesn't matter how many hours in a day will I work, he will receive his half."

So she made him an offer. He accepted. And now she is fully in charge.

That has changed the speed of the company.

"I've received more freedom… all my crazy ideas couldn't be realized. But now none of them, not my ex and not my ex-COO are stopping me."

Ambition, Risk, and a Cheaper Product

One of those “crazy ideas” was to create a cheaper model and push into the middle market.

After raising prices in 2023, some distributors told her sales had dropped by 30–35%. Her competitors were catching up, and she could feel the pressure.

"They are biting my back. Yeah. I feel it physically."

So instead of only staying in the higher-end part of the market, Yuliia decided to produce a more affordable model and sell it at much larger volume.

Her goal is not small.

"I want to do this year $8 million and grow to the middle one."

Events Still Matter

Even though ÜLKA is a global business with remote systems, Yuliia says international exhibitions have been one of the most important ways to build distributor relationships.

She has attended beauty industry events across Europe, Dubai, Las Vegas, and Miami.

"There we show our products in reality. It is so harsh to connect being in a distance, mailing, calling, everything."

That is a great reminder for anyone building a remote or international business. Online tools are powerful, but trust is often built face to face.

Which, of course, is also why communities and events like Nomad Summit matter.

Motherhood, Business, and Finding Calm

One of the most human parts of the conversation comes when Yuliia talks about motivation.

She is not just a founder. She is also a mother to a five-year-old son. And she is trying to balance ambition with happiness and calmness.

"My why point is to be happy, but being happy in my calmness. And it is quite a challenge because I like reaching my goals, being ambitions, doing everything fast."

She describes her son and the company as the two great things she and her ex created together.

"We made two great things with my ex. Our business and our great, really great son."

That might be one of the most honest lines in the episode.

Why You Should Listen to This Episode

This conversation is not just about beauty equipment. It is about spotting a real problem, building something physical, scaling internationally, leading through uncertainty, and finding freedom even when your business is rooted in factories, machines, and production lines.

Yuliia’s story is a reminder that entrepreneurship does not have to look like everyone else’s version of entrepreneurship.

It can start in an apartment.

It can grow from Ukraine to 50 countries.

It can involve nail dust, solar panels, distributors, exhibitions, remote teams, motherhood, ambition, and a Porsche Macan handed over as a bonus to a trusted factory manager.

And somehow, it all makes sense when you hear Yuliia tell the story herself.

Relevant Links

Nomad Summit: https://nomadsummit.com

ÜLKA: https://ulka-global.com

Yuliia Siletska on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yuliiasiletska

Network School: https://ns.com

Episode produced by RadioGuru: https://radioguru.co.uk