About Me
I’m Den Bersus,
a digital growth alchemist who helps ambitious SMBs thrive online.
Early adventures
My journey started back in ’98 when I was a mischievous, rebellious kid and unexpectedly snagged my first award at a local junior design competition. A year later, I launched a fairly popular cybersecurity forum (yes, I was obsessed with the Hackers movie). Just two years after that, I contributed to building the official website for the Junior Ice Hockey World Championship.
But my path has never been conventional…
The corporate years
After graduating from university, I found myself juggling a demanding 15-year career in Global Trade Operations, including more than 5 years in C-level roles (COO/CDO) within the public sector. We ensured seamless cross-border compliance for Apple, Toyota Motor, ExxonMobil, Samsung, Pfizer, and other Fortune 500 companies.
Names and aliases disclosure
Corporate experience
- Chief Operations & Digital Officer.
- 5+ years in C-level roles.
- 12 years in leadership.
- Led teams of 860+ people.
- Strategic decisions, tactical implementation, and complete oversight.
- Delivered on high‑stakes, complex projects.
- Drove digital transformati on in heavily regulated environments.
- Optimized critical operations at scale.
- Built and operated robust risk management.
- Personal accountability for outcomes.
- Received federal medals and government honors.
within 12 months
within 18 months
within 12 months
within 6.5 months
I operated in a high‑stakes environment with full responsibility for digital transformation, operational optimization, and new venture launches. I identified gaps, built the required systems and teams, managed risk end‑to‑end, and took full personal accountability for delivering results.
My Career Path
2007 – Trade Compliance Analyst
2011 – Senior Trade Compliance Analyst
2013 – Head of Trade Operations
2017 – Regional General Manager
2018 – Chief Operations & Digital Officer
2022 – Digital Growth Alchemist
Sounds cool, doesn't it?
On paper, it was the dream career. But the reality behind the title was a daily battle against the very things that stifle innovation: a world of intense bureaucracy, endless meetings about meetings, absolutely bland coffee and strict regulations. There was less and less room for my inner creativity. I couldn’t even own personal social media accounts for years due to the job contract limitations.
At some point, I realized I’d reached my goals in this profession. Beyond that, I didn’t want to work a 9-to-5 office job anymore, nor did I want to be tied to a city or a country. I was tired of running around every single day, enduring dank weather, doing abstract work, dealing with silly corporate intrigues, and spending hours in traffic jams afterward.
It had become a game that no longer felt rewarding.
While climbing the corporate ladder, I was fortunate to work on a wide range of tech side projects: from building eCommerce brands from the ground up to developing custom software solutions and quite popular mobile apps. Combined with my technical background, this experience gave me a deep understanding of both development and marketing processes, allowing me to test various approaches and strategies firsthand. Along the way, I collaborated with dozens of independent experts and agencies, which helped me build a trusted network of proven professionals.
My Technical Experience & Expertise
2D CGI: since 1998
Websites: since 1998
Cybersecurity: since 1999
Gamevdev: since 2000
3D CGI: since 2007
Photography: since 2009
Mobile apps: since 2013
eCommerce: since 2015
Digital marketing: since 2015
Machine learning: since 2020
Artificial intelligence: since 2022
Software I use every day:
Cursor, Photoshop, Figma, AfterEffects, Davinci Resolve, Blender
Frameworks, LLMs, other tools:
WordPress, Elementor, WooCommerce, Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, ThreeJS, Drei, React3Fiber, N8N, Klaviyo, GA, Clarity, Ahrefs, Midjourney, FLUX, Pinecone, PHP, JS, HTML, CSS
The Pivot
During those endless coffee breaks amid tedious meetings, I found myself pondering life’s bigger questions and finally came to a simple truth: we live only once. No save games. No second chances.
So, I decided to leave the world of global trade entirely and focus on helping SMBs around the world grow the digital side of their businesses. It’s what I do best, and it’s what genuinely fulfills me (with solid rewards to boot).
Eventually, I made the deeply desired but very tough, life-changing decision. I packed a couple of bags, gathered my wife and kids, bought one-way tickets, and moved to a faraway tropical country. Yep, just like that.
Now, I’m a fractional CDO dedicated to bringing the same level of strategic thinking and execution, along with my design and development expertise, to empower SMBs in the digital space.
That’s my true passion.
Outside of digital
When I’m not building websites or fine-tuning marketing strategies, you’ll likely find me catching waves at sunrise (though I’m still a very mediocre surfer), perfecting a new combo in a video game, exploring tropical islands with my battered camera, cheering on my kids at their ballet class, or practicing high kicks in an MMA octagon. Yep, I like to work hard and play harder, and it’s this fusion of digital and real-world experiences that allows me to approach every project with fresh eyes and unwavering focus.
Philosophy
I know what an SMB means to its owners. I’ve seen those caffeine-fueled nights, tough pivot decisions, limited resources, and fragile teams. I also know how hard it is to find a reliable partner who not only knows what to do but how to do it (and actually gets it done). And there’s nothing more rewarding than seeing a business take off or level up, knowing your hard work, effort, and creative decisions contributed to its success.
My journey has given me a unique perspective: the strategic discipline of a large corporation and the hands-on passion and skills of a founder, designer, developer and marketer. I’m here with my team to bring it all to the table to help ambitious businesses thrive, and perhaps help them grow into the right kind of large corporations – innovative, human-centric, and always full of common sense.
That’s my mission.
Den Bersus
digital growth alchemist
Let's talk
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