How a first-time event organiser built a global benefit concert for Ukraine in six weeks

Executive overview

Victoria Yampolsky, a Russia-born New York entrepreneur with no entertainment or aid experience, launched World Unite for Ukraine after feeling powerless watching news of Russia's invasion. Within six weeks she assembled 100 volunteers across 10 countries, secured Pink Floyd and a slate of Ukrainian artists, and partnered with the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation to stage a fundraising concert on June 16, 2022.

The model was pure entrepreneurial improvisation: cold calls, alumni networks, LinkedIn messages, and relentless reframing of every "no" into a smaller "yes." Purpose-driven morale kept the volunteer team moving fast with minimal internal friction.

Massive, directed action — not planning — is what converts an impossible idea into a real event.

From despair to launch

• Yampolsky was in Germany recovering from COVID when the invasion began; a sense of helplessness triggered the concert idea.
• The spark: a Facebook livestream of a musician playing from a bomb shelter — she decided to scale it globally.
• She called a childhood friend, Svetlana (an epidemiologist with no event experience), and they started with two people and no roadmap.
• Six weeks later: 100 volunteers, 10+ countries, website in eight languages, confirmed artists from the US, Canada, Sweden, and Ukraine.

Building the team and partnerships through cold outreach

• Every early connection came from direct outreach — LinkedIn cold messages, alumni email lists, personal calls.
• The streaming platform Mandolin was cold-messaged on LinkedIn; agreement came within two days.
• A Cornell entrepreneurship alumni list produced a board member of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, who became both a volunteer and a key introduction.
• The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation partnership was confirmed within three days of first contact.
• Blue Check — a program co-created with actor Liev Schreiber to vet Ukrainian aid charities — handles all fund allocation, removing the need to build that infrastructure.

Securing artists

• Pink Floyd required multiple phone calls to their UK office; an initial flat refusal was reframed into a request for archive video access, which they granted.
• First Ukrainian artist, Nastya Kamensky, came on board through a rights negotiation over her song "I Am Ukraine" — the song was never re-recorded, but the conversation led to her participation.
• A Ukrainian music-scene contact provided a list of popular artists with contact info, accelerating further casting.
• International artists were sourced through the same cold-call approach applied to every other gap.

Financial strategy and fundraising model

• Initial goal was $3 million; raised to $10 million as a deliberate signal to attract bigger sponsors and talent.
• The logic mirrors startup fundraising: targeting a larger number brings in more participants even if the final amount falls short.
• All proceeds flow directly to the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, which allocates funds only to Blue Check-verified charities with proven delivery infrastructure.
• Ticket sales and branded merchandise (designed by Ukrainian and Moldovan artists) provide additional revenue streams.
• The LLC structure was chosen for speed; potential conversion to a non-profit to be evaluated after the concert.

Lessons for entrepreneurs

• Start before you know how: Yampolsky and her co-founder both lacked relevant expertise and proceeded anyway.
• Take massive action on the current problem, review what comes back, then iterate — no long-range planning required.
• Set targets higher than you think is reachable; the ambition itself attracts collaborators.
• Shared purpose eliminates ego conflicts and keeps volunteer teams aligned without management overhead.
• "No" is a negotiating position — every refusal was met with a smaller, reframed ask.

On Russia, business boycotts, and the war

• Yampolsky's Russian contacts outside Russia oppose the war; those still inside largely support the invasion after state media exposure.
• On boycotts: sanctions impose a fraction of the cost on Russians that Ukrainians face daily — she views economic pressure as necessary to break through propaganda.
• On brands still operating in Russia: she draws the parallel to companies that continued doing business with Nazi Germany, noting history remembers them, but calls it a personal decision for each business.