We recently connected with Ihor Stepanov and have shared our conversation below.

Ihor , appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

This was our 5th family trip from Ukraine to America. If you are an entrepreneur, then you always pay attention to the opportunities that constantly swarm around you. One of my friends invited me to look at a subdivision under construction in which 70% of the houses had already been sold during the construction stage. I was very impressed by the power of the market, but very disappointed by the typicality of the houses and their usual style. I did a search on Zillow to see what was on the market and realized that Texas definitely lacks modern European design! Eureka – I thought and got to work.

I built houses in Ukraine, but the market dictated its conditions to us and when I saw the market potential and the demand for modern design, my construction “dragon” woke up.

Afterwards there was a long preparation process, it was necessary to open a company, find partners and money, get a visa, buy land, create a design, find constructors and vendors and build. The result was not long in coming; we received 12 offers for our first project and signed a contract very quickly.

I was confident that if you create breathtaking design, build with high quality, use unique materials from Europe and America, pay special attention to detail and give the client an unforgettable customer experience in their dream home, then your business is destined to succeed.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Igor Stepanov, CEO and founder of Art Village. I was born in Ukraine, in small-town Kremenchuk. After 30 years, I received the education of a designer, a marketing specialist, finished a business school and built several successful business projects in Ukraine, Poland and now in the USA.
My desire to create unique spaces for people has become a matter of my whole life.
I started my business journey in 1993, initially trying to resell anything I could. However, I quickly realized that my passion lay in creating value for people, not just reselling.
In the early 2000s, I began designing stores, many of which are now well-known throughout Ukraine. Ten years before moving to the USA, I ventured into building houses, beginning with a home for myself. This house turned out to be so unique and attractive that it inspired me to build more for sale.
By 2014, facing a prolonged crisis in Ukraine, I decided it was time for a change. After attempting to manage my business remotely in Europe, I chose to move to the U.S. to pursue my ventures firsthand. I settled in Austin and started building residential houses with a modern minimalist style. The quality of my work quickly gained recognition; my very first project in Austin sold within four hours of listing.
Today, Art Village has 22 projects at various stages, and our company frequently receives prestigious awards and recognition. My team and I specialize in building boutique houses, focusing on stunning design, high-quality materials and technologies, and exceptional customer service, ensuring that Art Village clients truly feel at home.

What does boutique home mean to us?
It’s about exceptional design like a special perfume. It’s built with the craftsmanship of a work of art. It prioritizes attention to clients needs. It embraces eco-friendly nature-friendly approaches.

At Art Village, we build more than just a house. 
* We create an image of our homeowner;
* We arrange space so everything is placed as efficiently as possible in order to save energy and time; 
* Our house constructions have some parts that can be easily adjusted to personal preferences;
* We create a modern design and use the best up-to-date technologies;
* We pick certain kinds of places where a person will be able to wake up and fall asleep, admiring the spectacular scenery as well as natural melodies;
* We remember our ancestors’ houses were built from natural materials, and we try to perform this basic technique;
* We are looking for aesthetics all around us, we want to make housing an affordable feature;
* We adore art and the art of living, that’s why we create masterpieces where creativity and love come together.

I plan to continue to carry on my mission and develop a company that will build 10 boutique houses a year at a cost of about $10 million each, and most importantly give value to people.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The first year in America and the first project vividly illustrate my resilience.
One of the challenges I faced. When I received permits for our first house on Crazyhorse, I immediately started looking for contractors for the foundation. I sent out 92 requests for foundation estimate. I received as many as 2 responses. One company was ready to start our project in six months, and the second politely refused from our project. All other companies didn’t even respond. Of course, I found my contractor, but it cost me incredible efforts.
A similar story was with investors, banks, contractors and suppliers. Due to the fact that I had no history in the United States, I literally had to push through each contract.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

A reputation is built over years and consists of many small and big things. For me, the most important factor in building a reputation is keeping our word. If you promise something to a client, do it, even if you lose money, do it anyway.
The second point is how you do it. With an approach in some way, how you will fulfill what you promised, in what quality and in what time frame.
In our business, it is important to create a customer experience in our homes; if the owner of the home is happy and feels at home, then this reflects positively on our reputation. If something happens and we use it for a long time, it will have a bad effect on our reputation. I always tell my team that the client feels alive in our home, the level of his happiness from our product is our most important indicator of success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://artvillagedvlp.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/igor_boutique_home_builder/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/igor.stepanov.963
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ihor-stepanov/
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/@mytexasdreamhome/
• Other: Instagram Company page
  https://www.instagram.com/artvillagedvlp/

  LinkedIn Company page
  https://www.linkedin.com/company/art-village-llc/

  FB Company page
  https://www.facebook.com/artvillageusa