Roman Stafiychuk is an entrepreneur engaged in the production of wooden items for everyday use. His brand JTNlab handcrafts organizers for medicines, LED lamps, and other personalized products made from natural wood that best reflect the personality of their owners. The store’s motto is to give customers positive emotions. To achieve this effect, the craftsmen working at JTNlab pay attention to every detail from the first cut to the finishing touches.
How it all started
Roman began trading in 2012. He dreamed of bringing to life the words of the actor and showman, the current President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, that you should live in Ukraine, and aspire to earn in dollars. On the other hand, he wanted to be helpful to people. These two criteria combined became the best motivation that prevented him from giving up when the search for a suitable product to trade had to start over again.
At that time, the entrepreneur had no sales experience. Sometimes he bought goods on eBay, so he decided to work specifically with this marketplace. He learned the features of the functionality as he went along, watching videos online.
“On eBay, I sold my first welding machine to Puerto Rico. And everything was fine, but during shipping, I didn’t account for the fact that the machine has one weight, and the cables for the machine, which are needed for welding, — another. Luckily, the buyer turned out to be loyal, and I managed to break even.”
After that, the man tried selling tobacco products.
“I listed cigarettes in the store. They were purchased by people from Australia. And suddenly, not without the remark of the Western Bid staff, I realized that selling cigarettes is prohibited. It turned out that when I was researching the market earlier, looking for what exactly can be sold, my lack of English played a cruel joke on me. I paid no attention to the fact that others were selling not cigarettes, but boxes of cigarette packs as souvenirs. It was quite a funny story. Funny, but instructive.”
Shop on Etsy
After the story with cigarettes, Roman continued searching for products that would interest overseas customers and be useful to people. At that time, the entrepreneur’s second cousin was engaged in making musical instruments from wood — and they created an Etsy shop for them in 2014. However, the instruments did not meet expectations. Sales were extremely poor. Eventually, they had to leave the venture.
Later, the man became interested in Nixie clock — clocks with gas-discharge indicators. He found a craftsman in Dnipro who produced such clocks. For some time, Roman bought his products and resold them. Having earned a certain amount, the entrepreneur finally considered creating his own unique product.
“I started with lamps, and then, quite accidentally, I saw organizers for pills on Etsy. I liked their convenience. If you take pills, with such an organizer, you don’t need to carry a bunch of blister packs and bottles with you. You gather everything into one box, and at the same time, you see if you’ve taken a pill today or not. So, I decided to start making such organizers. As my friend says, ‘steal like an artist’. That is, we saw the idea, took it as a basis, but improved and implemented it in our own style.”
The majority of improvements JTNlab makes are thanks to its clients. Thanks to personalized orders, Roman learns what interests people, what format is convenient for them, and what capacity is optimal.
“For our customers, organizers are not just boxes for medicines, but also a home decor element. They can buy a rather expensive item, say for $300, place it in the living room visibly, and then enjoy, like children, when guests notice the upgrade.”
At such moments, Roman feels like an emotional seller. He noticed that an ordinary wooden box makes sick people happier, giving them aesthetic pleasure.
“Honestly, over seven years of work, I had a maximum of ten dissatisfied customers. That’s about 0.2% of total sales. The main majority of buyers remain satisfied.”
An interesting case happened with an 82-year-old grandmother who independently figured out how to register on Etsy, link PayPal, and place an order for five organizers. There was also an instance where a mother bought an organizer for her 15-year-old son, who didn’t want to take medicines. The lid had a 3D image of a ship, and the boy liked it so much that he started reminding his mother about medication times himself.
Production organization
JTNlab does not have its own production. Roman found woodcarvers in his area and teamed up with them.
“If I crafted everything myself, it would take a lot of time to properly learn the craft. Moreover, I would need to buy CNC machines… So when I, so to speak, rent the production, I don’t deal with sourcing raw materials or worry if my milling cutter breaks. They just tell me the amount to pay for the carving. I pay, the craftsmen do their job. Everyone is satisfied.”
Roman works honestly and openly with the craftsmen. Following his example, the woodcarvers even registered with Western Bid and created their own shop, but with children’s toys.
After February 24
Despite the war, JTNlab continues to hold its positions. Roman recalls that on February 21, there was only one or two orders because people abroad were scared of the war. By February 25, people began buying more, but on February 26-27, Etsy paused all stores.
As soon as Roman resumed work on his store, customers from abroad rushed to buy products to support Ukraine.
“They said they didn’t need the products. That it was their way to support us in this difficult time… In the end, I gave in and decided to donate those funds to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Roman even added a ‘Russian warship, go f*** yourself…’ badge to an order as a sign of gratitude. Overall, people donated around a thousand dollars.”
Western Bid
Roman is highly satisfied with Western Bid’s work. He notes that the company is constantly introducing new services, such as a fulfillment warehouse in the USA or convenient delivery options (UPS Express).
“It’s funny to recall that once, for selling e-cigarette refills on eBay, Western Bid issued me two warnings, and then blocked my funds for 180 days. That incident motivated me to engage in honest sales. The company didn’t stop cooperating with him once or forever but gave the person a chance to stop and reconsider their actions. Personally, that helped me a lot.”
Conclusion on Western Bid’s role
For Roman Stafiychuk, Western Bid has been not just a logistics partner but also an important “ethical filter”:
- Mentorship through rules: The company’s strict stance on prohibited goods helped the entrepreneur change his business vector to a legal and successful one in time.
- Flexibility in crisis: Quick recovery and implementation of new services during the war allowed JTNlab to retain international clients.
- Tools for scaling: Using fulfillment and express delivery makes Ukrainian products competitive in the US market.