C-lvl: You have worked in various sectors, from retail and industrial enterprises to cryptofintech, and even managed a team of 150 engineers at a state corporation. What principles, approaches to scaling and working with teams, formed in those areas, do you consider the most applicable in the iGaming industry — and what, on the contrary, had to be rethought?

Artem: iGaming is a super dynamic industry where newcomers to the industry can build a strong career path in a very short time and achieve outstanding results. In addition, this is a fairly young industry, where a large number of young people are focused on rapid growth in their chosen vertical. Sometimes this leads to a situation where a person can be a recognized expert, for example, in buying, but at the same time have a very limited understanding of the processes and tasks in neighboring verticals. Plus, the growth rate of hard skills is significantly ahead of that of soft skills.
Speaking from the point of view of the competence profile, at the levels up to line management, there is a very small number of T-shaped (and even fewer P-shaped) specialists who envision what the critical path of the value creation process looks like within the company. This can lead to hidden or explicit conflicts, and significantly reduce the effectiveness of teamwork due to the inability to be an effective customer for the “neighbors” and shifting responsibility to them.
What to do? Train and improve the overall competence of the team. Every month, we try to conduct an All-Hands for all the company’s employees, where we not only synchronize at the team level but also prepare small training sessions. This all is being done so that at the end of the meetings, everyone can come out with a wealth of new knowledge and a better understanding of the field in which we work.

C-lvl: You have repeatedly emphasized that your main pride is the team. How do you find and preserve strong specialists? What is it about your approach that allows you not only to attract but also to reveal the potential of employees?

Artem: For a long time, the primary channel for finding team members was direct recruitment of candidates using well-known channels: LinkedIn, hh, TG, etc. This method is good for finding employees for junior/middle positions. But for hiring the senior/lead/management, it does not show the proper level of efficiency. Strong candidates often just don’t end up on the open market. To get into the sourcing funnels, they are either poached directly or they discuss plans to change jobs in a nearby network and receive a new offer without entering the market.

After realizing this, we began to actively invest in the HR brand of the company and the employees’ personal brands. A-players want to work with other A-players who are well-known, and this approach has shown a multiple increase in the effectiveness of cold recruiting.

As for development, I am a proponent of the servant leadership approach. My main task is to give the team clear, measurable goals, provide resources, and not interfere. All ambitious employees want independence when offering and making their own decisions, and I try to give them this opportunity as much as possible. Often, even if I do not agree with the proposed solution or the way to accomplish the task, I give the employee the opportunity to do as he/she sees fit (if I do not see critical financial or long-term strategic risks) so that they fully feel responsible for the outcome of their decisions. If you don’t take that step, there won’t be any real growth — engagement drops dramatically when you’re just executing someone else’s ideas without having any say or influence.

C-lvl: What qualities do you consider critical in a specialist? At the initial stage, what matters more to you — proven cases, formal education, adaptability, or alignment with your values? And how do you assess whether someone has the potential to grow within your team?

Artem: In general, I believe that soft skills are more important than hard skills, since hard skills can be gained quite quickly, but soft skills either don’t change at all, or it happens very slowly, and only if the person has a request for it. We have a corporate competence model that is directly linked to our core values: proactivity, transparency, and honesty. These values are imperative, and our cooperation will not work without them.

But despite the above, the decision-making speed and quality are critically important for the company at our stage of the life cycle, as it is obvious that we cannot compete with the leaders of the market in terms of resources directly. To ensure this, we need a strong management team that combines the necessary soft skills and a targeted industry expertise in Tier-1 markets where the cost of error is very high. I’m emphasizing that, since we had several unsuccessful examples of hiring specialists with Tier-3 experience who could not adequately demonstrate their expertise in Tier-1. It cost us a lot of time and money, but on the other hand, it allowed us to refine our expectations and a profile of candidates for leadership positions. I am proud to say that we have basically completed the task of forming a strong core of the team, and we are currently working on scaling up.

To grow, you only need the motivation to. To be curious, active, and to try and do more than is expected of you. I repeat: soft skills are critically important — when a person wants not only to take from a company, but also to give and sees the track of their own growth through the growth of the company.

C-lvl: You joined Brofist Partners in 2023. What have you implemented in building internal processes and approaches? Where did you start, what was clearly lacking in the market, and what principles did you put into the company’s architecture from the very beginning?

Artem: I started with the basics — a full due diligence process: getting to know the team, understanding roles and responsibilities, workflows across all verticals, cross-functional collaboration, the tools in use, key metrics, and so on. To my surprise, I identified over 70 areas that either needed improvement or had to be built from scratch. It felt like nothing should’ve been working in that setup — and yet the team was holding things together through sheer personal commitment and genuine passion for the industry.

We began with the fundamentals — aligning the tools used across teams, standardizing task management and operational artifacts, and implementing a CRM system.
We also moved all communication, documentation, and contact management from scattered personal channels into corporate systems.

Next, we tackled the confusion around ownership using a RACI matrix and reduced excessive cross-team communication overhead.
We defined mid-term objectives, ran a strategic session, and broke everything down into quarterly goals — which we then supported with short-term monthly and weekly planning cycles.

The toughest part was the metrics. The field was completely new to me, so I had to dive in as quickly as possible. We decided on the North Star, built a map of metrics for all departments — both primary and secondary, and their contribution to NS. We collected baseline values, set clear targets, and started building a centralized analytics system for consistent performance tracking.

From there, for each functional area we started breaking high-level processes into detailed steps, optimizing workflows, and scaling up with new hires and processes as needed.

C-lvl: With tighter regulation, especially in TIER-1 markets, what helps Brofist Partners stay in the game and keep up the pace? How to maintain a balance between flexibility and operational sustainability, and what is your competitive advantage?

Artem: In a nutshell, it’s analytics, networking, and diversification. In that exact order.

In analytics, we have built a full-fledged automated ETL process based on PowerBI / Metabase + Clickhouse. We track all key product, traffic, and business metrics in near to real time. This setup enables us to detect issues quickly, resolve them promptly, and ultimately — earn more and lose less. But the scope of work here is truly inexhaustible — there are still plenty of tools to develop, especially as growth demands faster hypothesis testing — particularly across user activation (0→5 deposits) and further retention.

Networking is all about sharing knowledge with partners. The market may be huge, but it’s also tightly knit. We’re on good terms with all the more or less relevant players on our GEO, maintain friendly relations, and regularly exchange experiences. One thing really stood out to me: people are not afraid to share experiences, cases, and feedback, because there is a huge gap between knowledge and the ability to apply it effectively. This has helped us not to lose money with scam partners or avoid hiring mistakes dozens of times.

As for diversification, here I mean both technological and affiliate partners. Our brands run on platforms by industry leaders like SOFTSWISS and iGate — each with its own strengths, limitations in terms of product offerings, GEO reach, traffic requirements, etc. Working with multiple providers gives us access to a broader range of GEOs, helps us collect platform-specific insights, shorten learning cycles, and ultimately — accelerate growth.

C-lvl: Everyone is talking about AI, gamification, and personalization. But what do you think is still undervalued in the industry? Which “old” tools are still working — and clearly remain relevant in 2025?

Artem: Everyone’s talking about AI — and yes, it matters. But in my view, what’s truly undervalued is consistent, human-to-human interaction with partners. In an industry where decisions are often made on the fly, personal trust and transparent communication still go further than any AI algorithm.

At the same time, the so-called “old” tools are still delivering great results — manual affiliate management, direct offers, smart Telegram promos, and small-split creative testing. When all of that is backed by solid analytics and a reliable back office, that’s when the magic happens.

And let’s not forget email marketing. It may seem boring — but it still converts.

New tech matters, no doubt. But what really holds up in 2025 are strong teams, agile processes, and an unwavering focus on execution quality.

C-lvl: Tell us about one of the most insightful cases you’ve seen recently. Which user patterns turned out to be unexpected, what was the main challenge, and what solutions worked best?

Artem: At one point, we noticed a drop in player retention — especially among users who were highly active in bonus campaigns but didn’t convert into long-term monetization. Behavioral analysis showed an interesting pattern: after wagering their bonus and then losing it, many players would drop out of the activity cycle entirely.

We tested a hypothesis via CRM: a trigger would activate after a losing session and full depletion of the bonus balance. The player would receive a personalized comeback offer — low entry (a minimal deposit), high ROI potential. The mechanic was simple: make a small deposit and receive extra value, like free spins or cashback modules, within a limited-time window.

This tactic delivered strong results: funnel re-engagement increased by 12–15% across cohorts, and returning players showed a 28% higher LTV compared to the average. We’ve since made this a core part of our retention framework — and we continue to test similar triggers, especially in combination with predictive analytics and behavioral segmentation.

C-lvl: You’re currently working on European markets, including France, Spain, and Greece. Why did you choose these regions, and what opportunities do you see there?

Artyom: These GEOs offer strong potential across several key indicators:

• Less saturated and harder to enter;
• As a result — cheaper to enter;
• Local players often prefer offshore casinos;
• High player LTV;
• Available marketing channels and large traffic volumes.

We see an opportunity to generate at least 1,000 quality FTDs per month.

Our traditionally strong GEOs — CH, DE, IE, DK, AU — are most tough to operate in: high-quality traffic is expensive and limited (PPC issues are well known), competition is fierce, and payback periods keep growing. To scale, we need solid ROI — which is why we’re actively testing new GEOs.

ES, GR, and FR have shown consistently strong conversion rates, high player engagement, solid average checks, and faster payback.
Alongside these, we’re also working with CZ, PL, HU, IT, and PT.

Full PPC payback periods:

• FR: 3–6 months
• GR: 3–5 months
• ES: 2–4 months

For comparison:

• AU: 4–8 months
• DK: 4–8 months
• IE: 5–9 months

C-lvl: How have creative approaches changed in 2025? What still works — and what’s fading into the background?

Artem:

• Crash creatives are still in demand, though their popularity has slightly declined — they now account for around 40% of the market.
• Dynamic creatives continue to capture attention and deliver high CTRs, remaining highly relevant.
• Static creatives with offline-inspired themes (e.g. land-based casinos, table games) are seeing a revival and gaining momentum in 2025.
• Humorous creatives — both static and dynamic — are gaining traction, offering a fresh take and a new format.
• The slot-based approach, unfortunately, isn’t performing as well: its share dropped to 5%, down from 15% in 2024. While its CR lags behind other formats, it still attracts a high-quality audience.

C-lvl: What channels and communication formats does Brofist Partners use to attract partners, maintain engagement, and build brand recognition? And in your opinion, which are the most effective for B2B in iGaming today?

Artem: The best partners come to the best people. In our industry, brand strength is incredibly important, and trust is a resource whose value can’t be overstated. Trust is earned through action. That means keeping your promises, staying transparent, building personal relationships, and investing in media presence overall.

We ensure transparency through clear processes, articles, case studies — and most importantly, by doing what we say we’ll do. The honesty and openness I mentioned earlier aren’t just words. We’re always available and, when needed, quickly resolve disputes with all relevant stakeholders involved — up to and including ownership.

Personal connection and media presence come through conferences, events, interviews, and podcasts.

As for tactics — we use all the major channels: Telegram, LinkedIn, and Instagram. We’ve launched our own blog where we share insights and case studies — not just as an advertiser, but also as an active affiliate partner. That strengthens recognition and reinforces our expertise. We’re also developing secondary content: creating curated selections, running newsletters, establishing media partnerships with industry platforms, and staying open to collaborations.