Oleg Boiko is an international investor, entrepreneur, and the founder of Finstar Financial Group, a diversified holding company active in the financial services sector since 1996.
As the driving force behind a global business with decades of consistent growth, Boiko has built a career that spans emerging markets, complex transactions, and long-term strategic investments. His own success has given him a rare vantage point — one shaped not only by experience, but by close observation how the world’s most accomplished entrepreneurs operate.
Over the years, Oleg Boiko has reached a defining conclusion: lasting entrepreneurial success is rarely driven by intelligence or innovation alone. Instead, it is shaped by emotional intelligence — the ability to connect, motivate, and adapt — combined with an unshakable inner force that can push one forward regardless of setbacks. This, he believes, is what truly separates ultra-successful entrepreneurs from everyone else — something he calls the “Inner Woodpecker.”
What Is the "Inner Woodpecker"?
Oleg Boiko draws a compelling comparison between entrepreneurs and woodpeckers — persistent birds that relentlessly peck at trees to find food, create shelter, or communicate. He uses the metaphor to describe a core entrepreneurial trait: an unyielding inner drive to move forward, no matter the odds.
“The “Inner Woodpecker” is like having a constant drive to achieve and never being satisfied with a one-off success,“ Boiko says. “It’s that restless feeling that keeps you going, combined with emotional intelligence.“
Oleg Boiko believes that the “Inner Woodpecker” may emerge early or late in life, often triggered by people, circumstances, or even unexpected events. But without it, he suggests, true and lasting entrepreneurial success is unlikely.
EQ Over IQ: Emotional Intelligence as a Success Factor
While many people assume that high IQ is the primary engine of business success, Oleg Boiko now places it lower on the list — third or fourth at best.
“IQ is a characteristic that can be, well, hired,” Boiko explains. “Charisma, communication skills and leadership qualities — these things that define emotional intelligence and can’t be easily brought or even bought in. It has to exist in the first place.”
He emphasizes that emotional intelligence becomes especially critical when building large, complex ventures. Leaders must be able to align people with differing personalities, priorities, and incentives — and know how to guide and inspire them. For Boiko, the ability to motivate others is not a soft skill but a strategic necessity embedded at the core of leadership.
The Entrepreneur and Risk: Embracing the Unknown
Oleg Boiko is clear that entrepreneurship is inseparable from risk. In his view, the ability to tolerate and manage uncertainty is not optional — it’s fundamental to any meaningful business endeavor.
“Risk drives evolution,” he notes, drawing a parallel between entrepreneurship, science, and sport. “So, remember, there’s no competition without the risk of losing.” He acknowledges that business is often compared to gambling — and not without reason — since the odds are frequently unpredictable.
He also highlights the importance of keeping calm under pressure and turning failure into insight. Rather than getting upset over losses, Boiko says he prefers to analyze what went wrong, shift his mental state back into action mode, and keep moving. At times, he even uses frustration with himself as fuel to return with greater determination.
Leadership Means Developing Others
While some are born with natural emotional intelligence, Boiko believes it can be developed — but only if the potential is there and if the person is guided by a true mentor.
He suggests that the best way to acquire real leadership skills is through direct, real-time experience alongside someone who has already navigated similar challenges.
Oleg Boiko also notes that many of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs didn’t invent radically new ideas. Instead, they refined existing ones — and simply did them better than anyone else. Creativity, analytical ability, and the courage to think differently are all traits he sees repeatedly among the world’s wealthiest businesspeople.
Managing Complexity — and Yourself
For Boiko, true leadership lies in the ability to bring people, systems, and markets into alignment — while staying grounded on a personal level.
He observes that when business structures are designed to make people feel seen, valued, and motivated, strong results tend to follow. At the core of human behavior, he argues, are emotions — and understanding them is essential to building lasting success.
And when it comes to success, Boiko knows that it’s not just about acquiring wealth — it’s about managing the psychological pressure that comes with it. Money, he says, reveals character and tests resolve.
“Remember, sometimes you have to go down to come up again,” he notes. “There are valuable lessons to be learned from hitting rock bottom — that is, if you have a reasonable level of emotional and analytical intelligence, and if that ‘Inner Woodpecker’ in you keeps pounding away.”
