Gaming Industry Staffing Boom: Olha Nizhnyk’s 215-Person Company Story

The founder of Uppeople and Insula Labs reveals how specialized talent recruitment transforms game development while navigating wartime challenges

The global gaming industry continues to expand rapidly despite economic challenges, with a projected market value of $665 billion by 2030, according to research by Fortune Business Insights. Behind this growth stands a critical challenge: finding specialized talent. Ukrainian entrepreneur Olha Nizhnyk has addressed this need by scaling Insula Labs – a gaming industry staffing company – from zero to 215 specialists in just 18 months during one of the most challenging periods in Ukraine’s history. We spoke with her about building resilient talent solutions in volatile times.

Olha, your company, Insula Labs, has experienced remarkable growth during extraordinary circumstances, reaching 215 team members in less than two years. What critical decisions enabled this expansion during such a challenging period?

When we launched Insula Labs as a specialized gaming industry staffing firm in 2023, we were facing multiple challenges simultaneously – the war in Ukraine created unprecedented market disruption while the global tech sector was experiencing layoffs and uncertainty. The critical decision was identifying a specialized niche with higher margins and sustainable demand. We recognized that gaming studios needed specialized talent regardless of broader market conditions, and that talent supply was actually increasing due to restructuring at larger companies. Rather than competing in oversaturated markets, we leveraged our parent company Uppeople’s existing recruitment expertise but tailored it specifically for game development’s unique needs. This specialization allowed us to maintain above-market margins and attract prominent clients despite the crisis. The key was combining deep industry knowledge with crisis adaptability – ensuring we could reliably deliver specialized talent even as market conditions evolved rapidly around us.

You’ve built two talent companies serving global clients. How did your earlier experiences with organizations like UNDP Ukraine and TEDx shape your approach to talent acquisition?

My experience at UNDP Ukraine from 2015 to 2017 gave me firsthand insight into how proper support mechanisms – whether financial grants or expert consultation – can transform entrepreneurial potential into tangible results. Working there, I helped entrepreneurs navigate obstacles through structured support systems, which taught me how to identify hidden potential that others might overlook. Meanwhile, organizing a TEDx conference that ranked among the top 100 globally for engagement showed me how bringing together the right people creates exponential value. These experiences fundamentally shaped my talent acquisition philosophy – I learned that successful recruitment isn’t just about filling positions; it’s about creating environments where exceptional people can maximize their impact. This became especially relevant when we expanded internationally. When I moved to the United States in 2023 to develop the American market for both Uppeople and Insula Labs, I applied these principles to bridge cultural and geographic gaps, focusing particularly on California’s gaming sector, where finding the right specialist can make or break a project’s success.

Your recruitment methodology has attracted major clients like Nextiva in the US and SnoopGame in Europe. What distinguishes your approach in an industry often criticized for being transactional?

The traditional recruitment model often treats candidates as interchangeable assets and companies as generic employers, creating a fundamental disconnect. My methodology centers on what I call “contextual talent matching” rather than keyword-based filtering. For instance, with Nextiva, we didn’t just source candidates with the required technical skills; we conducted in-depth research on their company culture, growth trajectory, and the specific team dynamics for each role. This allowed us to identify candidates who not only had the technical capabilities but whose career aspirations aligned with Nextiva’s direction. The results speak for themselves – we’ve placed over 250 technical talents with a single major European client over the past two years, with exceptional retention rates. We’ve also formalized this approach into a documented methodology that several tech companies have adopted internally. What truly separates us is our focus on long-term success metrics rather than placement numbers alone. We track not just how many positions we fill, but how those placements perform after six months and whether they advance within the organization – metrics that reflect genuine alignment rather than superficial matching.

You’ve been invited to judge startup competitions and speak at international events on talent acquisition. How has your perspective on finding exceptional talent evolved since founding your companies?

My perspective has fundamentally shifted from viewing talent acquisition as a standalone function to seeing it as a strategic business driver that requires integration with product development, market positioning, and organizational design. When judging startup competitions or speaking at events like TechCrunch or CES as part of the Ukrainian delegation, I’ve observed that the companies that struggle most are those that treat recruitment as an afterthought rather than a core strategic function. My approach now emphasizes timing and context – the same exceptional candidate who thrives in one environment might fail in another not because of their abilities, but because of misalignment with the organization’s current stage or trajectory. This evolution in thinking led us to develop more sophisticated assessment methodologies that evaluate not just technical capabilities but adaptability and growth alignment.

What stands out even more than your business success is the impact you’ve made through WowKids – an initiative that reached over 60,000 children, providing not just material support but opportunities for learning and growth during incredibly challenging circumstances. How does this work connect to your professional endeavors?

WowKids began as a response to an immediate need – supporting displaced children and orphans affected by conflict, but it evolved into a profound learning experience that directly influences how I approach talent development professionally. What became apparent through this work was how resilience and potential often flourish in unexpected places when given the right support structure. This mirrors what we do professionally – identifying promising talent that others might overlook because they don’t fit conventional patterns. The dedication and creativity of volunteers who supported WowKids during crisis periods demonstrated how purpose-driven work attracts exceptional contributors, which reinforced my belief that organizational purpose is a powerful talent magnet. Many approaches we developed for WowKids – rapid resource mobilization, decentralized team coordination, and adaptive program design – have directly informed how we structure our professional talent services, especially when working with clients navigating market uncertainty. There’s a beautiful symmetry between nurturing potential in vulnerable children and identifying untapped talent in professional contexts – both require looking beyond obvious indicators to recognize latent capabilities.

What advice would you give entrepreneurs building companies during uncertain times, especially those operating across different markets and cultures?

Uncertainty creates not just challenges but distinctive opportunities for those willing to adapt quickly while maintaining strategic focus. First, develop what I call “selective resilience” – rather than trying to withstand every market shift equally, identify the core elements of your business model that must remain stable, then allow everything else to adapt fluidly. During our expansion, we maintained our fundamental assessment methodology while completely restructuring our service delivery and pricing models to match market conditions. Second, leverage crisis-driven perspective shifts – periods of uncertainty often reveal which problems are truly essential versus merely conventional. When we launched Insula Labs during wartime, the crisis clarified which client needs were fundamental. This clarity allowed us to eliminate non-essential processes and focus resources where they created genuine value. Finally, recognize that cross-cultural navigation becomes both more challenging and more valuable during uncertain times. Building companies across American, European, and Ukrainian business contexts required us to distinguish between universal principles that translate across markets and contextual practices that must be localized. The entrepreneurs who thrive in today’s environment won’t be those who simply weather uncertainty, but those who develop systematic approaches to extracting the unique opportunities that only exist during periods of significant change.

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