Erik Mashkilleyson

Work / Case study

The Bridge of Trust

Trust begins with showing up.

We helped international solidarity become practical connections between investors and Ukrainian startups.

Communications strategy · 2024

Client
The Bridge of Trust
Project
Building Bonds in a War Zone
Year
2024
Sector
Pro bono, Ukraine
My role
Strategic Communications & Positioning
Themes
Trust, Culture, Growth
Sheet
05
Fig. 01
The Bridge of Trust.

I shaped the communications strategy for a volunteer-led initiative bringing international investors into wartime Ukraine, turning trust itself into the organising idea for the story.

01 Challenge

An investment relationship starts with people

Ukrainian startups were building ambitious businesses under extraordinary conditions. Connecting them with international capital required people to understand their capabilities, meet the founders and develop confidence in a working relationship.

The Bridge of Trust brought international investors physically to Lviv around IT Arena. The initiative created a setting for direct contact through startup pitches, mentoring and conversations. Communications had to help people understand both the opportunity and the circumstances in which those relationships would begin.

Fig. 02
Investors and founders talking outside a building in Lviv, wearing event lanyards.
Investors and founders meet in Lviv around IT Arena.

02 Solution

Trust as the organising idea

My contribution was the communications strategy. I helped shape a story centred on the trust created through personal engagement: showing up, meeting founders, hearing their ambitions and understanding their businesses.

That gave the initiative a human and practical focus. Ukrainian entrepreneurs could be seen through their ideas, skills and commercial potential. Investors could build a more informed understanding through experience and dialogue.

Fig. 03
The Lviv Opera with IT Arena 2024 banners between its columns, people gathering in the square outside.
The venue: IT Arena 2024 at the Lviv Opera.

03 Impact

An ecosystem of partners

The programme brought together The Bridge of Trust, Avidly, IT Arena, international investor networks and Ukrainian startups. The Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation participated in associated activity.

The volunteer-led effort selected 20 startups from more than 100 applicants and brought approximately 100 investors from 15 countries into the initiative. Mentoring, investor connections and international media coverage extended the value of those encounters.

Fig. 04
The eXtra Vision team presenting on the Lviv IT Cluster stage, the screen showing a map beside a surgical illustration and the question How to navigate here?
The winning pitch: eXtra Vision, a holographic 3D visualisation solution to help medical workers perform surgeries.

Selected artefacts

Fig. 05
Results slide: 100 investors, 15 countries, 5–6 million euros in venture capital in 2025, 100 million euros in the next 10 years.
The results.
Fig. 06
Map of Europe with participating countries highlighted in white.
A volunteer-led initiative built connections to Ukraine across Europe.
01What we created
  • Communications strategy
  • Organising idea: trust through showing up
02My role

I shaped the communications strategy.

03Impact
  • 20 startups selected from more than 100 applicants.
  • Approximately 100 investors from 15 countries.
  • The programme gave founders access to relationships and visibility that could support their next stage of growth. The communications strategy provided a coherent account of why those encounters mattered and helped carry the initiative’s story to international audiences.
04Recognition
  • 2025 SABRE Awards EMEA: Winner, Corporate Philanthropy and Fund-Raising, “Building Bonds in a War Zone”.
  • 2025 EMEA IN2 SABRE Awards: Winner, Start-Up Marketing Campaign, “Building Bonds in a War Zone”.
  • 2025 Finnish Comms Awards: Winner, Pro Bono, within Strategisuus ja viestinnän konsultointi, “Luottamuksen jälleenrakennus Ukrainaan”.