An 1882 Book Factory Reborn
On a warm spring day in 2014, looking for a first Ukrainian headquarters with his longtime partner Mark, Alex Fox stumbled upon an old book factory from 1882 — a historic building from the Austro-Hungarian era. Inside: printing equipment, the smell of paper and ink, everything covered in dust. The plaster was falling to pieces, and beneath it you could glimpse the original nineteenth-century brick.
“Are you sure you’re taking it? It’s in terrible shape…” asked Iryna, who had arranged the visit. “Absolutely. It’s perfect. It’s exactly what we need!” The inspiration was H-Farm in the Veneto — an old farm turned innovation hub — applied to a completely different context.
Everything Will Be OK
For the name he wanted something universal: “OK” — two short letters, recognizable all over the world. On the main wall, an LED sign dominated everything: “Everything Will Be OK.” Every now and then it flickered.
“It was not a random decoration. It was the manifesto of a philosophy: everything will be all right not because we passively wait for it to happen, but because we roll up our sleeves and actively create the conditions for it to happen.”
The first coworker, James from Australia, turned up among half-painted walls before the official opening at the start of 2015. Then came developers, remote specialists, Norwegian freelancers — and a cat named Jira, Senior Kat Advisor. The space won the Coworking.com Members Choice Award; the finest recognition was the Friday BBQ and wine, with three or four languages at the table.
Where This Book Began
One of the coworkers, Knut from Norway, sat at his desk day after day writing his own book. “Without watching Knut write his book at OK Factory, this book you’re reading now probably would never have existed.”
OK Factory was also where the first experiments with Ukrainian products for international markets began, and where the team that would run Ernest Airlines’ local operations came from. The official launch of Everything Will Be OK returns there on 13 October 2026.