Some individuals can unite people around themselves and create unique opportunities for the full development of their talents. This can be in art, sports, business, politics, and any other field.

In Ukraine, one of such powerful attractors for the younger generation oriented towards digital technologies is Marina Ilyina. She managed to gather around herself a huge team of creative professionals in a variety of fields:

IT
Business
Finance
Entertainment
Marketing

The result is a unique form of business organization, PIN-UP Global ecosystem, which successfully operates in 7 countries and continues to expand every year. However, in addition to business activity, Marina Ilina PIN-UP Global pays great attention to humanitarian projects. Find out what is special about the PIN-UP organization and how one of its activities has turned into a humanitarian foundation ready to help Ukrainians suffering from hostilities.

Marina Ilina PIN-UP Global Architecture: How to Create a Crisis-Resilient Business Organization

The globalizing world creates many unique opportunities for business expansion. At the same time, globalization also leads to risks hitherto unknown. Therefore, scaling the activities of businesses is only possible if you create an organization capable of quickly adapting to both emerging opportunities and potential threats.

When Marina Ilyina became the founder and CEO of PIN-UP Global in 2016, she understood this well. By education, Marina is an economist and marketer. That is why creating a viable business that can achieve success in turbulent markets was both a challenge and an opportunity for her to apply the knowledge gained at the university.

“A big crisis for any business is a change in the rules of work in the market — whether it is the introduction of regulation (opening of new markets) or a change in technology. But it is always a point of growth” — Marina Ilina PIN-UP.

Why a Network Organization Was Chosen for PIN-UP Global

The idea of ​​creating a rigid hierarchical structure with a single center was discarded by Marina from the very beginning. This form of organization does not make it possible to quickly respond to all emerging opportunities or threats. Every decision must be approved within this hierarchy, which incredibly slows down the response of the lower levels of the business. Therefore, as an idea for creating PIN-UP’s architecture, Marina Ilyina proposed a network structure based on segments. This form of organization gives greater independence to the branches and divisions within the business ecosystem. In addition to cooperation, an element of competition was added to its activities, which also stimulated the search for innovative solutions by each of the teams. Currently, ecosystem PIN-UP Global is developing 8 areas or segments of activity, including:

PIN-UP. TECH
PIN-UP.CRM
PIN-UP.TRAFFIC
PIN-UP.PLAY, etc.

For example, PIN-UP. BUSINESS is responsible for scientifically grounded business management based on competent marketing, strategic planning, and effective HR. And PIN-UP.INVESTMENTS is engaged in the search and management of investments for numerous projects.

Marina Ilina PIN-UP Foundation: Goals and Directions of Activities

One of the important indicators of the success of a business in the social context is its participation in humanitarian projects. It indicates that businessmen work not only in their own interests but also to create more favorable conditions for society as a whole. In the PIN-UP Global architecture, a separate PIN-UP.CARE segment was allocated to charitable projects from the very beginning. Its task was to interact with non-profit organizations to participate in projects aimed at improving the situation in various areas:

Protection of human rights;
Environmental sustainability;
Help to low-income citizens;
Care for children left without parents, etc.

In addition, another segment, PIN-UP.TEAM, has a humanitarian dimension. It is focused on uniting the team working at PIN-UP Global. Thanks to it, a network of active people is created. They are eager to implement joint tasks, be it business, travel, or helping people in front-line territories.

From Individual Segments to PIN-UP Foundation

When war came to Ukraine, the Marina Ilina PIN-UP immediately became involved in helping people affected by the armed conflict. Marina knows firsthand about the problems of the territories where hostilities take place. She studied at the East Ukrainian National University in Lugansk. Therefore, Marina Ilina PIN-UP Foundation developed a strategy to help people affected by the war and began to implement numerous humanitarian projects:

Construction of street shelters for protection against bombings;
Providing the population in front-line territories with essential goods;
Assistance in the restoration of territories affected by hostilities;
Evacuation of the population from particularly unsafe areas, etc.

“Each volunteer trip is a step towards helping Ukrainians who are going through the difficult times of the war. PIN-UP Foundation volunteers don’t just deliver humanitarian kits, they bring hope to those in need” — Marina Ilina PIN-UP Global.

Thanks to the efforts and personal charisma of Marina Ilyina, the foundation was able to unite not only the employees of the PIN-UP Global ecosystem but also numerous partners around the world. Non-governmental organizations, volunteers, professionals whose help is so needed by Ukrainians, philanthropists, etc. are involved in the activities of the foundation. Every month, the Marina Ilina PIN-UP Foundation helps thousands of people in Kharkiv, Kherson, Donetsk, and other regions of Ukraine.

Conclusions

Interaction between business and society is possible not only on a selfish basis but also on a constructive and creative one. The experience of developing the Marina Ilina PIN-UP Foundation is a striking example of this. The very desire to help others was initially built into the architecture of PIN-UP Global. And when a serious challenge arose in the form of war, one of its activities turned into a significant foundation. Actively involved in helping people on the front-line territories, Marina Ilyina managed to unite around her foundation many other people and organizations striving for the same goal.

The example of Marina Ilina PIN-UP Global shows how, as the business scales, its involvement in the implementation of humanitarian projects also grows. Only in this way can a business create ideal conditions for its development since its activities are aimed not only at increasing its assets but also at improving the well-being of others.