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As Big Tech cuts 100,000+ jobs, Ukraine-founded Redwerk shows how a flat, bootstrapped software firm scaled globally without middle managers or venture capital.
Tech firms globally cut more than 100,000 jobs in 2025 as they reengineer for efficiency and rethink layers of management.
Enter international software development company and long-term technology partner Redwerk, a 20-year-old, Kyiv-founded software agency that has scaled globally without investors, middle managers, or flashy marketing.
Redwerk designs, builds, and maintains custom digital products for businesses worldwide.
Founded in 2005, the company develops web, mobile, desktop, and SaaS platforms, working across the full product lifecycle from architecture and UX to engineering, QA, deployment, and ongoing support.
Its teams have delivered complex systems across e-government, healthcare, fintech, media, and marketplaces, often modernising legacy infrastructure or building mission-critical platforms from scratch. For startups, Redwerk acts as an extended product and engineering arm. It helps founders turn early ideas into MVPs, scale platforms as user numbers grow, and transition from prototype to enterprise-grade infrastructure.
This includes product discovery, technical validation, cost-efficient team building, and long-term scaling support, allowing startups to move faster without building large in-house teams too early.
Its “build + break + perfect” model, via Redwerk + its sister brand QAWek, has powered platforms for clients such as Universal Music Group, Northeastern University, and even the European Parliament.
In a tech environment where bloated orgs are being stripped back, I wanted to understand how Redwerk’s flat, founder-led structure works. I spoke to CEO Konstantin Klyagin to learn more.
From BASIC to building a global software firm
Klyagin’s interest in computers began in early childhood. He traces his interest in computers back to early childhood.
“I first saw a computer when I was six, at my mother’s office, and started playing games,” he recalls.
“Very quickly, I became interested in how these things were made.”
By the age of eight, he had already written his first program in BASIC. At 15, he built a free bulletin board system (BBS) that allowed users to communicate over telephone lines, exchange files, and leave messages.
“At one point, it was among the top three systems of its kind in the world.”
At 17, he launched CenterICQ.
“It began as an ICQ client, but later we added support for other protocols like MSN Messenger, AOL, and Jabber,” he explains.
Together with other enthusiasts, he reverse-engineered the protocols, and even established contact with key figures behind them.
“I was even in contact with the founder of the Jabber protocol.”
He notes that this technology “is still widely used today underneath many modern messaging systems.”
That same year, he also began working professionally. “I started working when I was 17, for outsourcing companies in Ukraine,” he says. Over time, he observed different management styles and practices and made mental notes of what he would and wouldn’t want to replicate if he ever built his own company.
The turning point came at 23, when his open-source work attracted international attention.
“I received a request from someone in the Netherlands who had seen my open-source work and wanted me to develop a SaaS product. That became our first client.”
He assembled a small team in southern Ukraine — “in a town that is today about 30 kilometres from the frontline” — and later opened a second team in Kyiv. At the time, he was living in Berlin, but wanted to spend more time in Ukraine. Eventually, he moved to Kyiv and lived there for five uninterrupted years before the war.”
“That’s how Redwerk started,” he says, “and gradually grew.”
A company without middle managers
Klyagin explains Redwerk’s horizontal structure:
“We don’t have heads of departments. We do have functional verticals, but within them people work as equals and collaborate based on projects and tasks, not hierarchy.
A developer might say, “On this project, I work with this project manager, and on another project with a different one.”
There is no rigid chain of command; instead, he explained, “everyone can talk directly to everyone else. Our customers can also communicate directly with engineers if they want to go deep into technical details. We don’t hide people behind layers of management.”
The result?
Less bureaucracy, faster problem-solving, and increased accountability.
“People are more involved and more responsible for the outcomes,” he shared.
How careers work in a flat organisation
I was curious what career progression looks like in a flat structure — in traditional companies, the aim is always to work your way up. However, the job market today is very different from a few years ago.
Klyagin contends. “It’s an employer’s market now. Many companies are downsizing, and hiring has slowed.” As a result, at Redwerk, hiring is always driven by real demand.
“We don’t hire in advance and hope work will appear. We manage closely around utilisation. When around 70 per cent or more of our team’s time is billable, that’s healthy. The remaining capacity allows us to onboard new projects.
When demand grows, we don’t immediately hire full-time employees. We often start with contractors or part-time contributors, and only move to permanent roles when there is stable, long-term work. This avoids giving people false expectations and helps us stay financially responsible.”
In practice, Redwerk’s lean structure makes the team much more flexible and cost-efficient for clients.
“We sell what we call managed teams”, shared Klyagin.
Depending on the project, a team may include full-time developers, part-time QA, a part-time designer, and a project manager.
“We can scale resources up or down quickly and move people between projects as needed. Because we don’t lock ourselves into rigid organisational structures, we can adapt faster and avoid unnecessary overhead.”
For companies considering removing middle management, Klyagin cautions them to think carefully about the cultural impact. “If their current structure works, they shouldn’t change it just because ‘flat’ sounds fashionable. Transformation should be gradual. Start with one project or one department as an experiment. If it works, scale it step by step.”
Also, scale matters. Klyagin’s experience is with companies of up to around 100 people. He admits that at some point, as organisations grow much larger, you inevitably need layers of management simply to maintain clarity and coordination.
Four lessons from 20 years of bootstrapped growth
In its 20 years of operation, Redwerk has never received venture capital or other external funding.
“Everything has been financed through revenue. We’ve grown organically from the beginning,” shared Klyagin.
Klyagin distils that experience into four core lessons that have shaped how the company operates today:
First, profit discipline drives every decision.
“If you can’t afford something, don’t buy it. Don’t rely on debt or outside money. Build reserves and grow responsibly,” he asserts.
Second, in a services business, utilisation is critical. Headcount alone means nothing if people are not working on paid projects. Growth must be tied to real demand.
Third, diversification is essential. A diversified customer base across industries and company sizes makes the business far more stable.
And finally, never neglect small projects.
“Some of our largest, most valuable long-term clients started with very small engagements. One fashion company initially came to us to fix a single webpage, and later outsourced their entire digital presence to us.
Another client noticed a public QA report we had published as part of our “bug crawl” initiative, hired us, and eventually grew so much that they were acquired by Squarespace. That relationship later turned into work with Squarespace itself.
Small beginnings can lead to very big outcomes.”
And, in terms of his own role, Klyagin would definitely consider replacing his own role with AI in the future.
“Anything that gives me more time for my daughter, travel, and learning new languages is welcome,” he asserts.
“I’ve spent decades in software development, and I’m very open to automation, including in management.”