Written By Vitalii Bulynin, Co-Founder & CEO, Versus Trade
When we launched Versus Trade, we entered an industry where hundreds of established players were already competing for the same customers, often with nearly identical products and pricing.
The obvious question was: how do you scale when everyone seems to be offering the same thing?
One year later, Versus Trade has grown into an award-winning retail broker serving traders in more than 45 countries and surpassing $300 billion in trading volume. While every startup journey is different, the lessons we’ve learned are applicable far beyond the brokerage industry.
Build around people, not products
Many startups begin by asking, “What should we build?”
Our question was, “What problem are people still trying to solve?”
Before launching the fintech company, we spent significant time speaking with traders, partners, and industry professionals across different, local markets. Those conversations revealed that traders were not looking for lower spreads or another trading platform. They wanted a faster, more transparent experience, greater flexibility, and products that reflected how markets are evolving and how new-gen traders behave.
Those insights shaped our entire approach. We built access to more than 200 instruments while introducing proprietary products such as Versus Pairs, allowing traders to express relative market views instead of focusing solely on individual assets. Innovation came from listening to the people we wanted to serve.
Speed is a competitive advantage only when it removes friction
Startups often equate speed with shipping more features. I’ve found that sustainable growth comes from removing unnecessary complexity instead.
Whether it’s simplifying onboarding, improving execution, or making support more accessible, every small reduction in friction creates a better customer experience.
As technology continues to reshape financial services, I believe the companies that win will be the ones making complex experiences feel effortless.
Scale through people
One of the hardest lessons for any founder is recognizing when your biggest contribution is no longer doing everything yourself. Early-stage companies naturally depend on founders and leaders making every important decision. That approach works at the beginning, but eventually it becomes the very thing limiting growth.
Scaling Versus Trade boosted an important principle for me: hire people who know more than you in their field, give them ownership, and create an environment where good ideas can come from anywhere. A founder’s and CEO’s role evolves from solving every problem to creating the conditions for others to solve them.
Stay close to your market
One mistake I see many growing businesses make is relying exclusively on dashboards and analytics. Data is essential, but it rarely tells the whole story.
As we’ve expanded internationally, we’ve invested heavily in being present where our traders and partners are through industry events, regional teams, and direct conversations across local markets. Some of our best product ideas and strategic decisions have come from those face-to-face interactions rather than spreadsheets.
Growth in 2026 comes from understanding the people behind it.
Scaling is about continuous adaptation
If there’s one lesson entrepreneurship continues to teach me, it’s that growth isn’t about finding a formula and repeating it forever. In our industry, markets change. Customer expectations evolve. Technology raises the standard almost every year.
The startups that continue to grow are the ones willing to question their own assumptions, listen carefully to their customers, and adapt faster than the market around them.
For us, that’s what building Versus Trade has always been about, and I believe it’s one of the few principles that applies to every industry.
About the Author
Vitalii Bulynin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Versus Trade, an award-winning CFD broker. With over 20 years of experience in financial markets, he has traded professionally, managed multi-million-dollar trading portfolios, and now leads the company’s strategy, product development, and global growth. His expertise spans online trading, fintech innovation, and building trader-focused financial products.
