“For me, Family Fortress is not just a job for the sake of profit and the well-being of my family. The ultimate goal of my business is happy, satisfied people.
I want our residents to be happy not only after moving in, but throughout their entire lives in our residential complexes. This is my way of saying thank you to God for everything he does for me. That is why we build not faster and cheaper, but with an eye to the future. We use the best materials, technologies and ideas of modern construction. If you do a good job for people, you will make a profit, and it will not go away. I have checked it, it works!
One day I saw kids playing Minecraft and I thought, “That’s cool! You can build the city you like: convenient, safe, with different interesting places. We live in cities whose builders did not care much about people. Concrete, asphalt, lawns with weeds, yards full of cars. It’s still a ‘world within a fence’, even if your garden is comfortable and green. You go outside and find yourself in the usual grey concrete reality and petrol atmosphere. Is this life?
One day my brother came to visit. He runs a construction business. We sit and talk. He tells me about his work. And I think: well, here it is, Minecraft in real life. You take it and build it as you want! Convenient, beautiful, for people to enjoy. My brother said, “No problem. Come to me, learn, work. If you like it, you can build your own house here.
At first, it took me a long time to figure out what was what in my brother’s business. I started from scratch: what a screed is, why sand is used in mortar. And in the end, I was already managing a team of 200 people. And I realised that building was really my thing.
In 2015, he built his first apartment block in Lutsk in three months. Soon after, “Family Fortress” and “Family Fortress. Happiness”. In these residential complexes, I fully realised my idea of what real homes for people should look like. I built a world “for myself”, like in Minecraft.
We do not rent out individual apartments, but a holistic, well-thought-out space for living. There is greenery everywhere. We plant mature trees to make it beautiful and cosy immediately, not in a few years. High-quality children’s and sports grounds are a must. And above all, safety. You can let your children out for a walk without worrying. So that even the smallest ones do not need to be constantly supervised.
Do you want to see how the residents of Fortecia live? Let me give you a little tour. Let’s go 🙂
I wanted the courtyards to become a logical extension of the apartments. I wanted the residents not to be locked in their homes alone with a TV or Playstation, but to communicate, make friends, and have picnics on the grass. I managed to do it, thank God!
I see that people like my standards of living. The apartments in our residential complexes are selling like hotcakes even at the foundation stage. We are growing and actively attracting investor funds. People receive dividends of up to 77% in 2 years. If you are interested in the topic of investment, come in and let’s discuss it.
During the holidays after the third grade, our neighbour, a bus driver, hired me as a conductor.
Honestly, I can’t imagine my children in such a situation. 10 years old. You’re still breathing at the passengers’ navels, and as an adult you collect money from them. Instead of having fun, you ride in a bus all day and breathe petrol. But for me, it was something very cool! That’s how my journey into business began.
I hang out with the drivers, collect the fare like an adult and give out the change. It’s a thrill! But the most existential thing was the fact that I earned my own money. It’s not like the 50 kopecks your mum gave you for a pie in the morning and you put it in a piggy bank. This is a completely different approach to life. It’s almost like independence.
It was the nineties. One system of values had broken down, and the other was just emerging. I grew up between two types of adults – like Robert Kiyosaki in his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Some were confused and continued to expect something from the state despite its obvious collapse. Others saw opportunities everywhere. I was more interested in them. Because I am like that myself. I am an idea generator. I see a goal, immediately start acting and charge everyone who is within range. Almost all the school emergencies and stories that teachers recalled with nervous laughter at the graduation ceremony were my own.
I was not interested in school. Everything was too slow. The goals for which we were learning all this were somewhere far away in the fog. “At work”, you immediately have a result. It was driving and included a search: what else could I do? Studying faded into the background. However, after school I regretted it. I rushed to catch up and accelerated so much that I have already received four higher education degrees.
I intuitively felt that I needed other skills than school ones. The ability to make friends, to see the needs of other people and to be of service to them. I needed to think creatively, act quickly and flexibly. I was drawn to the place where I could learn all this.
I can imagine what it was like for my mum. She is a teacher. Demanding, principled. And her son is a naughty boy. He ignores his studies, leads the class on some pranks, disappears with the older ones. He started a business at the age of 14.
Mum, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry! And thank you for not breaking me down, because I went through a real school back then. It was in this teenage business and with this environment that I realised that there are opportunities everywhere, and I am capable of building my own life.
I ended up here almost by accident. It was a business trip on behalf of the company where I was working at the time. I had to “prepare the ground” for business expansion. When I was getting ready to leave, my friend suggested: “Listen, I have friends in Lutsk, a good family. I’ll call them, they’ll meet you, they’ll show you around.”
That call decided the fate of the business trip and my entire life afterwards.
The guy who was supposed to meet me at the station was delayed. His sister met me. This was my Inna.
The business trip turned out to be so-so – what kind of work was there! But I found the girl of my dreams. A family that accepted me as one of their own. A city that became my home.
Inna and I sometimes talked about a big city. There is more dynamic life there, more opportunities for children and business. But the conversations have never even reached the point of desire. We both understand that Lutsk suits us best. I have family, friends, brothers and sisters in faith here. I also found my faith thanks to Inna and her family.
My father spent little time with us. Later he left the family altogether. I took it painfully. I dreamed of a strong big family. I decided that I would have one, and I would never leave it!
God fulfilled my wish. This is my family.
Inna and her family are sincere evangelical Christians. Thanks to them, I came to faith. I was baptised and seemed to be born a new person.
Before that, business was something purely material for me. As they say, this is nothing personal, it’s just business. If we have a topic, we squeeze the most out of it. Just because we can.
After my baptism, this gradually changed. I didn’t notice it myself when I started measuring business not by the money I earned, but by how many people it brings happiness to.
I build in such a way that our new residents, both now and in years to come, will think: how cool it is that we settled here! I try to run my business in such a way that everyone in the team, from deputies to builders, enjoys what they do. Life is a priceless gift. But it is difficult to understand this if it is full of things that annoy and exhaust you. It is important to me that people around me have more reasons to be happy and grateful.
This applies not only to people who work with me or buy apartments from me. I try to help those who need it. They say that charity should be quiet. But I am not ashamed to talk about what we do. I think it’s important to talk about your own good deeds to set an example for others, to give them an incentive to do the good they can. Here is a little more about our charity projects.
The church and life in faith are extremely important to me. God gives me strength and inspiration. With Him, everything I do becomes more alive and fulfilling. I am happy that my children are growing up in this atmosphere and I can pass on to them this state of love, gratitude and God’s support in everything from an early age.
Those who see me and my rhythm of life for the first time are surprised: where do you get the energy for all this?
I am a motor person by nature. I get fired up when I have a cool new idea, and my power is enough to inspire and organise everyone around me. This is true everywhere: work projects, travelling with family and friends, or church picnics. I love it when people feel good around me. It gives me the energy to move mountains.
I used to do hand-to-hand combat when I was young. Then I got bored, quit, and gained weight. When I was 40, I realised that my body was not keeping up with my pace and my plans. I couldn’t go on like this, because I have a family and a team behind me, and I am responsible for them. Good health is a must for me.
I found a coach and trusted him completely. It’s a great strategy: find someone who understands the topic better than you do, tell them your goal and rely on their professionalism.
And I did. I gained a lot of energy, a new level of endurance, and learnt a lot about myself and how to achieve my goals. Come here, I’ll show you where I train and share the insights that sport has given me.
For me, it’s both relaxation and fun. It’s a proven way to make people feel good and feel their satisfaction! If it wasn’t for construction, I would probably go into the restaurant business. Maybe one day I will.
My new record is that I fed 200 guests at a church picnic. This is already a restaurant level! Whenever I can, I take the kitchen into my own hands and enjoy it. If you also like to cook, keep a few of Knyazev’s signature recipes. I recommend them from the bottom of my heart.
My plans to open my own restaurant are still at the level of dreams. I will share with you a more realistic idea that I am implementing right now.
The next residential complexes of the Family Fortress will be built according to the project of the Union of European Architects from Luxembourg. I want to make the slogan “Ukraine is Europe” a reality! Convenience, ergonomics and aesthetics that we see when we travel around European cities should become a Ukrainian reality. At least here at Family Fortress.
The project for the residential complexes “Family Fortress. Haute Couture” and “Family Fortress. Pride” we ordered in Luxembourg. European developers, in cooperation with our architects from Lutsk, adapted the ultra-modern housing to Ukrainian standards and requirements. At the same time, they shared their experience and a modern view of the design of housing and surrounding areas.
These residential complexes will be European not only from the outside. The interior and utilities will be European in every way. In particular, we plan to abandon gas in favour of new heating technologies. This is our contribution to the country’s energy independence.
So don’t switch! Better yet, join us. Together we can do anything!
If you have any questions, want to cooperate, or have projects for partnership, write to me and let’s talk. I am always open to new people and ideas.
If you want to ask me something, have a desire to cooperate or have projects for partnership, write to me and we will talk. I am always open to new people and ideas.