The book “More Than a Team” by Artur Lupashko won at the KBU Awards 2025

The book “More Than a Team” by Artur Lupashko won at the KBU Awards 2025

On March 13 in Kyiv, at the KBU Awards 2025 ceremony, the best non-fiction books in Ukraine were announced. The book “More Than a Team” by Artur Lupashko, published by Punkt Publishing, won in the “Business Development” category. It became a follow-up to the bestseller of Ukrainian business literature, “More Than Service.” The book’s author, Artur Lupashko — founder and CEO of Ribas Hotels Group — gathered 18 stories from successful leaders of Ukrainian businesses to reveal the specifics of how they built their teams.

According to the author, “More Than a Team” is a roadmap for forming a dream team and achieving real results with it. “No business is possible without people and relationships with them. It’s unlikely anyone has managed to build a company without building a team. For some, it’s about learning to delegate and distribute roles. For others, it’s about securing the support and expertise of outstanding specialists,” says Artur Lupashko.

The book will be useful for executives and business owners who want to create effective mechanisms for success. To that end, the book compiles examples of team building from successful Ukrainian businesses. For instance, according to quotes from “More Than a Team,” “a team should consist of overqualified and overmotivated people. The smaller the company, the stronger its employees need to be,” emphasizes Andriy Fedoriv (Fedoriv Group). Iryna Horova (Pomitni) asserts that “true culture isn’t on paper — it’s in the heart of every person. If it doesn’t suit you, the company will simply push you out.” Meanwhile, Artur Mikhno (Work.ua) says that “the key is knowing what your candidates want. They are not looking for superhuman conditions. They need clear rules, respect for personal space, feedback, and opportunities for growth.” Or, as Pavlo Vrzheshch (Banda Agency) believes, “a team always reflects the values of its owner. In our case, those are honesty and openness. We are not afraid to admit our mistakes to clients.”

Overall, at this year’s KBU Awards ceremony, recognition was given to authors and publishers whose books engage with topics such as business, war, history, national identity, and personal development. The laureates were selected by the independent KBU Awards jury through several stages — from forming a longlist to the final evaluation of shortlisted books. The ceremony brought together authors, publishers, business representatives, members of the cultural community, jury members, and award partners. The event also served as a public gesture of support for Ukrainian non-fiction as an intellectual infrastructure of Ukraine, one that continues to develop even amid a full-scale war.