Meet: Dima Vasilenco

What aspects of your time as an LCC student did you enjoy the most?

You can study PR at a variety of universities in the UK, but after my previous experience at UAL, it was the only university I considered. The best thing about UAL is the environment, where you find yourself surrounded by extremely creative people across various disciplines: art, design, photography, and journalism.

How did studying at LCC help you launch your career?

All subjects throughout my course were very hands-on and it was great being able to do something practical, not just theoretical. We created presentations, pitched to imaginary media, wrote articles, and creatively directed potential client projects. I believe studying at UAL gives you a DIY attitude.

Firstly, our studies were structured in an interesting way, where outside of the traditional things PR is associated with, such as media and business, we learned to use Photoshop, video editing, basic graphic design, and much more. This enables you to think about your work much more broadly.

Secondly, seeing what people across different courses were doing, made you see that anything you think of is possible. This is especially noticeable when you're attending university graduation shows and exhibitions.

Generally, this DIY attitude gives you an approach of ‘doing’ instead of "I plan to do", whether it comes to making art and organising exhibitions; or launching startups and making websites.

That's why, in my opinion, UAL has a long list of notable alumni from all sorts of creative fields and professions.

Have you always been interested in fintech?

Not at all. I started my career in technology PR - as the tech industry was starting to boom around 2012, it was the place to be! In my career, I've had the chance to work with tech giants such as Google and Microsoft, as well as a number of fast-growing companies like ThousandEyes.

In the first year of Good Advice, our focus was on tech. However, with the new clients that came through referrals and word of mouth, as well as growing expertise in the sector, we naturally became a PR agency focused on fintech, finance, and banking. It was just fate, I guess.

You’ve recently been listed in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Media & Marketing category... Congratulations! Could you tell us a bit more about it?

Thanks! Forbes 30 Under 30 is an annual list of the 30 brightest people under 30 years old in various industries. I was lucky enough to be featured in the 2023 list after being nominated by one of my friends who was featured in a previous year. Beyond just getting validation from Forbes, this opened up an opportunity for me to meet a lot of interesting people through the local lister communities and the Forbes Summit. Forbes 30 Under 30 has categories for artists, athletes, doctors, designers, and much more, so you get an opportunity to meet a wide range of exceptional people from all over the world!

What’s next for Good Advice?

In August of 2023, I moved to New York. A combination of prior successes and new opportunities in the US enabled me to obtain the O1 “Extraordinary Ability” visa, allowing me to live and work here. The next phase for Good Advice is growth—we're growing our team as well as our client list in both the UK and the US, but the US is a specific focus since I'm living here now.

The important part in growing a company is making sure the agency's expansion doesn't affect the quality of our work, which we always aim to do at the highest level possible. So far, I have been able to balance this. I’m aiming to grow even more in 2024, growing the team and client portfolio,but keeping the focus on our key speciality areas.

What advice would you give to students who are interested in the same field as you?

Some things can only be learned, not taught. PR in practice is very different from what you study about it, even with the most hands-on approach to education. It is still important to know the theory of Public Relations and the industry. However, work involves many things, such as media relations, pitching, strategy, and understanding of the media - all these things you can only learn and get better at by doing.

As for advice - many people talk about the benefits of networking, however, the most important network you already have is your friends. Maybe your friend is doing a creative project or runs a small business - try and help them to get some publicity, and you'll learn a lot from even just trying to do this.

In terms of entrepreneurship advice - the hardest part of running a business was managing people. You're used to doing things a certain way and expect people working with you to do the same, and if that doesn’t happen, you get frustrated. Don’t try to micromanage people and trust your team - that's the simplest but the most important advice I ever got.

The last one is simple - don’t be afraid to fail. Remember that all the people you look up to are not superhumans, they just simply decided to believe in themselves.