The cost of seeing Europe is, at a minimum, a three hour border crossing from Ukraine.

At first it’s depressing. Instantly, one recognizes how much poorer Ukraine is. You realize how bad Ukraine’s roads are, how shoddy the housing is, how long the buildings in the city centers have gone without repair.

I tell myself that the gap is opportunity. Having grown up in a fully developed economy, I know what the future looks like. A huge advantage for an entrepreneur. The future, that is, if Ukraine doesn’t first bleed out from its parasitic bureaucracy.