Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Goncharov

Julia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

My journey as an IT entrepreneur began with a leap of faith during a challenging time in 2020, right at the height of the global lockdown. Leaving behind my position as a product director, I co-founded my first startup, Leadhero, alongside my husband. With minimal resources and a lot of determination, we developed a tool to help businesses generate qualified leads quickly and affordably. Despite early struggles, including managing everything from sales to product development, we managed to secure three rounds of venture funding and achieve break-even within 18 months.

This experience taught me the value of adaptability, resilience, and the power of venture funding. Over the years, I’ve co-founded and led multiple ventures, including Unicorns Club, a platform revolutionizing how startups and investors connect, and Tocoway, a project leveraging AI to streamline outbound sales.

Throughout this journey, I’ve learned the importance of customer-first approaches, testing hypotheses quickly, and staying committed to a clear mission. Unicorns Club, for example, grew to attract over 400 startups and 100 investors within just two months of launch. The key to this growth has always been creating solutions that truly address market needs while fostering strong relationships.

While the startup world can be demanding, my focus has always been on maintaining a sense of purpose and balance, learning from failures, and celebrating small victories. Today, I remain dedicated to building meaningful businesses that empower founders, support innovation, and create lasting impact.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

The road has been anything but smooth, but each challenge has shaped my journey and strengthened my resolve. Early on, when we launched Leadhero, I went through cycles of burnout, high turnover, and failed hires, which drained both our energy and resources.

Beyond staffing, adapting to changing market demands was another hurdle. Our product had to pivot multiple times as we discovered deeper customer needs. Initially, we thought generating leads was enough, but we realized clients needed end-to-end sales support, which required an overhaul of our entire strategy.

Another significant challenge has been navigating the mental toll of entrepreneurship. Long hours, relentless stress, and the uncertainty of startups tested my personal resilience.

My personal income fell dramatically: it was impossible to pay myself a market salary from investments, and there was no time left for additional employment. So my husband and I even had to move to another city. Where life was more inexpensive. And this is not looking at the presence of venture capital investments and a constant stream of new clients!

But in the second year we achieved our entrepreneurial happiness: sales were growing, and operational work was regulated and distributed among employees. Probably the greatest happiness you feel is when you sell your business for a huge sum of money. But even if we had achieved neither of these things, the experience was worth the effort.

I’ve learned the hard way that the path to success is never linear and often involves unexpected detours.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

As a product manager and co-founder of Unicorns Club and Tocoway, my professional focus has always been on solving real-world problems and creating opportunities for those who need them most.

At Unicorns Club, I’m building a platform that tackles the systemic inequality in access to venture capital. Too often, startup founders from diverse backgrounds face barriers that Ivy League alumni or Silicon Valley insiders don’t. My goal is to level the playing field, giving entrepreneurs from all corners of the world the same opportunities to connect with investors and grow their businesses.

Tocoway, on the other hand, emerged from a personal challenge I faced—overcoming a language barrier while trying to sell services to U.S. clients. It’s also rooted in the broader issue of hiring skilled sales managers, which is often expensive and complex for startups. Tocoway uses AI to revolutionize the sales process, automating repetitive tasks like outreach and enabling founders to focus on what they do best.

What sets me apart is my passion for building solutions that drive equality and efficiency. Whether it’s giving startups a fair shot at funding or streamlining sales for international markets, my work is about breaking down barriers and enabling success on a global scale.

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?

When I was 12, my mom, our parrot, and I spent the summer in a village. Our friends let us stay in their countryside house, and although there wasn’t much to do, that summer turned out to be very special for me. Money was always tight in our family, so I decided to try and earn some myself. I found a path where families from the train station and nearby houses walked to the lake and set up there with my parrot. I offered people the chance to play with him in exchange for donations—everyone gave as much as they wanted. That’s how I earned my first money and bought ice cream. It was my first entrepreneurial experience, teaching me to think creatively and appreciate the value of taking initiative.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tocoway.com/
• Twitter: https://x.com/yuliyayugo
• Other: https://www.unicorns.club/

Image Credits

Roman Khokhlov