Co-Founder @ Stan | building a $BN company 🚀

Hi, I’m Vitalii 👋🏻

Over the past 3 years, I’ve built a $30M ARR business with 30 people.

A $1M/employee company.

Now, we’re building a category-defining brand—with $100M ARR in sight.

To do that, I focus on Culture, People, and Product.

Everything that got me here is self-taught.

Born and raised in Russia, I started working at 13—packing parachutes and skydiving. 🪂
By 18, I had 800+ jumps and enough saved to pay for my first year of college.

Jumping out of planes redefined my relationship with fear.
Once you commit, you act. Without hesitation.

I learned English in one year to study abroad—still the hardest thing I’ve done.
That brought me to Canada, where I earned a degree in Chemical Engineering.

I never used it.

My side projects opened doors for me—first to Deloitte, then to eBay.
But the real work happened outside the job.

I made time to build:
9–5 for the paycheck,
5–9 (both morning and night) for what I actually cared about.

That’s where I proved to myself—nothing is impossible.

In 2021, I met my cofounder. We went all-in and started building Stan.

On my LinkedIn, I write about:

→ Founder war stories (unfiltered)
→ Building a $1M/employee startup
→ Creating top 1% culture

🎧 Follow me here if you're building—or want to build—something great.

People I work with would describe me as:

→ I make things happen
→ Zero tolerance for mediocrity
→ I build and run top 1% talent-density teams

🫂 DM me on LinkedIn if you'd like to work at Stan.

But know—it’s likely to be the hardest thing you’ve ever done.
And worth it. For the right person.

—

On LinkedIn, I share stories for founders building what’s next—
The ones who care about People, Culture, and Redefining what's possible.

If that’s you,
Follow me. Drop a comment. Or just say hi 👋🏻

Vitalii Dodonov

I've just hired Emily Talas to make Stan the #1 place to work in Toronto 🇨🇦

A day later: "You're so lucky to have her."

I got 7 texts like this following the announcement ^^. Must be doing something right 😅

Here's a stat I feel vulnerable to share:

50% of our candidates from traditional channels don't work out by month 3.

At the same time, 
90% of employee referrals stay indefinitely and create disproportionate value.

There's signal in that.

And we're acting on it ✅

Starting now, we’re going 90% community-based hiring.

When I met Emily, I knew almost instantly she'd be the one:

Born to a family of entrepreneurs. Working since 14. Found her ikigai in Community x Tech (how rare is that!?). People I respect texted me about her.

I bet on Emily because the talent I'm after doesn't talk to recruiters: 
"The best people are never unemployed."

But on occasion, they hang out with other cool people. 
Emily's mission is to create the occasion.

In 2026, Emily's likely to drive 90% of our hiring in Toronto.

Think hackathons, hacker houses, private dinners, collaborations, and special events giving unknown talent a chance to meet us.

🇨🇦 Toronto — what's one event you wish existed here? We're painting a blank canvas, share some ideas!

My first bet of 2026: $20,000 on builders in Canada 🇨🇦

Build with AI? On Jan 23 👇

I’m inviting 60 builders to embark on a weekend-long sprint to create something new at the edge of AI.

Details:
🛠 Participants: 60 builders
⏰ Duration: 2 days 
🎯 Theme: AI × Voice × Video
👥 Team: Solo, with friends, or AI teammates

Each participant/team gets a $200 tech credit and competes for:

$20,000 cash
30-min 1:1 with me (ask anything you want)

To help spread the word, please repost this and tag anyone who should see it!

This is an invite-only event.

📩 To apply, leave a comment describing the most impressive thing you’ve built in one line.

Traditional recruiting is dead. That's why I'm paying $20,000 to a stranger in January.

I've hired 40+ people.

Together, we've built a $30M ARR startup. Profitably.

One thing in common among my best hires:

I wouldn't call them if all I saw was their resume. Take a look:

Esther, now my EA, has a fashion management degree. She got the job by walking into a machine shop and producing a mechanical drawing — before we even met 💅🛠️

Jason (JSON) won a hackathon last year he couldn't legally join because he was 17. I hired him on the spot (with his parents' approval) and he's built a $1.4M product with me in 9 months 🧑🏻‍💻

Ricky, now Head of Engineering, came from a company I'd never heard of. Did fine in the interview (on his birthday! 🎂). Then called me at 10 PM with a better solution he couldn't stop thinking about. 

Resumes can only tell you so much — unreliable signal.

So instead of reading resumes, I host hackathons. Give builders a reason to come. 

Then watch.

So here we are 👇

January 23. Toronto. 2-day hackathon on the edge of AI.

Win $20,000 — and (or!) a job building a $1B company. Invite-only. 

📩 To apply: tell me a story of what you've built that you're most proud of in the comments.

CRA paid me $750K for building in Canada 🇨🇦

And now I'm giving it back - starting with $20K on Jan 23. 

In 2021, we established our office in Canada.

3 years later: $30M ARR. 30 people. One of the fastest-growing startups in the country.

My vision was to build a $1B company with 10 engineers - I'm evolving that now.

Since then, our Toronto office expanded far beyond engineering and has become HQ for 20+ brilliant people building at the edge of technology and entrepreneurship.

There are 2 major tech hubs in the world — SF and Toronto.

And while SF has access to capital and a developed VC ecosystem, California seems to be working against its own interest.

I mean… who wants to become a billionaire in California now? 👎

Anyway — Canada paid me $750K last year for building here.

And I'm paying it back to Canadian builders.

January 23. Hackathon in Toronto. 60 builders. $20,000 grand prize.

Come join us — and let the prize be the seed funding for your company (or use the opportunity to interview at Stan — whatever your ambition is).

Invite-only (curating a high calibre room!)

📩 To apply, drop your proudest project in one sentence in the comments. I'll reach out with an invite if it resonates.

I'm paying $20,000 for 2 days of someone's work on Jan 23.

Early in my career, 

I was making $8,000/mo writing code for a big company, while hacking away on side projects. I always wanted to work for myself.

One day, I was in a room with an entrepreneur who was upset about fees he was paying for software. So I asked:

V: How much are you paying?
M: 10%.

V: And how much money is that?
M: $50K/year.

My mind goes: no wonder he's upset. I bet I could do a simple Stripe integration with 3.4% fees. I already did something similar for my side project.

V: If I could get your fees down to 5%, how much would that be worth to you?
M: I'd pay $10K without even thinking.

V: I'm gonna do it for you for $10K.

It took me a weekend — 3 days (nights included), mostly repackaging code I already had across other projects.

I gave him a demo on Monday, and by Friday, $10,000 landed in my PayPal.

That weekend I learned: the right room + the right skills = life-changing opportunity. 

And now, I want to put you in that room 👇

January 23. Hackathon in Toronto. 60 builders. $20,000 grand prize. 
Invite-only. 

📩 To apply, drop your most impactful build story in the comments — I'll personally reach out to the builders I want in the room.

I hired my Executive Assistant because of her napkin drawing 📜

Her name is Esther.

A year ago, I was looking for an Executive Assistant. 

Looking for the top 1%, I needed a way to test problem-solving and initiative.

So I gave candidates a creative test:

I was building a frame for a flying car as a passion project at the time.

How many ppl know anything about flying cars anyway? 🤷‍♂️

I wrote down an abstract description of a few parts I needed.

The assignment was to research machine shops and find a way to manufacture them 

When I reviewed Esther's submission, she had a picture of this drawing inside (see the image).

I invited her to my office:

V: "Do you know anything about manufacturing?"
E: "No… I study business and fashion"
V: "How did you get this image?"
E: "They drew it for me at the machine shop"
V: "You went to the machine shop?"

(I reviewed a few dozen submissions by then. All candidates just called).

E: "I called first but what they were saying didn't quite fit what you were looking for"

E: "I figured it'd be easier if I just go there to figure it out. "
E: "So I just walked over." 

V: "That must've taken hours. Why invest that time?"

E: "Umm... I didn't really think about it. I wasn't getting what I needed. So I did what I had to do."

Having heard this I knew the interview was over.

Anyone who thinks like that will succeed in anything they do.

She got the job.

And since then, Esther was behind a number of very unique experiences we created at Stan:

Like making the big $750K CRA cheques, organizing Hacker Houses in SF and hosting AI Hackathons on Toronto. 

Congratulations on your 1 year at Stan, Esther!

undefined undefined

Executive Assistant @ Stan

Stan

HackAI 2.0 starting tonight. It’s time to build 😤

New Show: Emily in 𝙿̶𝚊̶𝚛̶𝚒̶𝚜̶ Stan (or "How to get a Founder to hire you")

A story in screenshots 👇

Hiring - Emily in Stan

I'm paying $20,000 in January to the winner of my hackathon. But the real prize isn't the $20K.

The room matters more than the prize.

When I was 13, my dad gave me a gift — working alongside him.

He's a professional skydiver. Extreme sport, expensive hobby. His clients are top-tier business people (natural selection — the sport isn't cheap) 🪂

So in between sessions when we went out for saunas and dinners, I got to sit in and listen to them. War stories, betrayals, deals, schemes, mental models, what made them successful.

I absorbed it all, without even realizing it.

Looking back, I realize — those were the building blocks that led me to a $30M ARR startup, running at $1M/employee before AI.

And that's the opportunity I'm giving you.

Join Stan on January 23 to build for 2 days alongside my team and 59 other builders competing for a grand prize of $20,000.

→ Meet me, my team, and Toronto's best builders.
→ Maybe your future co-founder — or I offer you a job. (It happened last year.)

The $20K is nice. The room might change your life.

January 23. Toronto. Invite-only.

Grab your spot with the link in comments!

I asked a seasoned exec about his worst business decision.

He didn't miss a beat: "Cancelling the 9am."

For 10 years, he ran it daily.
The 2 years he stopped were his worst.

Without that anchor, people drifted in at 9:30.
Add coffee and "how was your weekend" — real work started at 11.

Half the day, gone.

The meetings weren't about updates.
They set the rhythm.

Remove that, and people rebuild discipline from scratch.
Exhausting.

At Stan, when we skip our morning sync, everything drags.

We don't miss the information.
We miss the rhythm.

Humans need structure.
It gives them permission to just start.

What’s your version of the 9am?

Someone asked me what I hope never changes about Stan in 5 years.

Me in 5 seconds: 

"Our commitment to talent density."

I'm building a company where having worked here is the ultimate badge of honor on a resume.

Where any other employer would be fighting to get our alumni on board. 
(If they ever want to work for another company, that is.)

I fundamentally believe the reason we win is this: We attract top 1% talent.

And we put them in an environment where their ability can be utilized to its absolute maximum potential.

With ownership, autonomy, and a set of large, cutting-edge problems they can tackle.

Everything else can change. 
The market, the product, our size.

But for me, it will always be about the talent.

Founders Q: What's the one thing you hope never changes about your company?

One of my favourite Years in Review on LinkedIn. Keep going Alexia - it's okay not to know what's coming. The path unfolds as you start walking.

Putting Humans Back at the Heart of Business | Certified L&D Professional | Soft Skills Expert | Heedership® & Bring Your Asha! Founder | ICF Coach

"It is never too late to be what you might have been." 💜
George Eliot wrote these words centuries ago. I understood them at 43.

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓.
Merci pour les rencontres qui sont devenues des amitiés.
Merci pour les doutes qui sont devenus des certitudes.
Merci pour chaque "oui" qui m'a rapprochée de qui je suis vraiment.

This year, I finally found where I belong. Coaching. Delivering Trainings. Learning & Development. Toastmasters: Human Connection.

And as I look at this visual, thank you for the idea Stanley (Your Content Coach) and Vitalii Dodonov, I see my entire "purple" year captured in one image. Learn. Grow. Repeat. The infinity loop between Heedership and Leadership. The three pillars. The magic.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰? 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔.
I don't know exactly what's coming. And that's the most exciting part.

What I do know: I'm ready. Curious. Open.

It is never too late to become who you might have been.
And it's never too early to dream about who you're still becoming.

Pure magic. 💜

𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤-𝐢𝐧: What are you curious about for 2026?

Consumer-focused venture capital investor. Inspired by identifying evolving human needs, dedicated to supporting visionary founders who are innovating in every aspect of life.

Eurie Kim

I'm a sucker for a new year! I just love a fresh start! And 2026 for whatever reason feels like one full of possibilities to me. 

For example: 
What if your wearable could do more than track — it could actually warn you when something was acting up?

Tom Hale published a powerful op-ed in The Wall Street Journal calling for a modernized FDA framework for wearables. The proposal: a new classification called "digital health screeners" — software features that signal when something may be off, without crossing into formal diagnosis.

Think of it as a "check engine light" for your body.

Right now, wearables sit in a regulatory gray zone. The FDA's binary framework — wellness product or medical device — doesn't fit the sophisticated sensing capabilities of today's technology. Manufacturers are forced to either limit functionality or face slow, burdensome paths to market.

With forward looking reform, features that are already technologically possible could reach consumers faster:
🩺 Blood pressure screening
😴 Sleep apnea detection  
🤰 Early warning signals for conditions like pre-eclampsia

This isn't about bypassing safety — it's about creating clear standards, performance benchmarks, and a pathway that matches the actual risk profile of these tools.

The vision of proactive, personalized health is within reach. But the real unlock will happen when policy catches up with innovation.

Proud to be on this journey with Tom and the entire ŌURA team as they push for a future where technology empowers people to take proactive action to improve their health — before it becomes a crisis.

Read the full piece in Tom's post👇

#BuildTheFuture

Last week, I published an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal proposing an update to modernize regulation for rapidly evolving wearable technology.

I outline a new FDA device classification for software features that stop short of diagnosis but can signal when something may be off – think of it as  a “check engine light” for the body. This approach builds on the FDA’s existing framework while unlocking innovation, strengthening consumer trust, and improving public health outcomes.

With a more tailored regulatory pathway, people could gain access more quickly to proactive health features that are already technologically possible today. I go deeper into the concept, and what it would mean for companies like Oura and the broader digital health ecosystem, in the piece.

Network, weigh in! What do you think of “Digital Health Screeners?”

#WithOura

https://lnkd.in/ezw3qPUt

Open article: Opinion | With Less Regulation, Your Oura Ring Could Do More by wsj.com

Opinion | With Less Regulation, Your Oura Ring Could Do More

2025 was the year AI tipped into our every day lives. Pew Research Center estimates about 34% of U.S. adults have used ChatGPT, with nearly 58% of those under 30 using it. "800M weekly active users" quoted as of end of 2025.

Prediction: 2026 will be the year user expectations catch up to technology. 

Exploratory trials -> new behaviors -> new needs -> new expectations. 

And new expectations will resemble old ones. The meteoric rise of general LLMs last year was undeniable (inescapable). But now the realities are setting in. Security. Privacy. Sovereignty over your own data, models, and workflows. These things matter. 

For the Department of Defense, for large enterprises handling sensitive information, for anyone who can't afford to send their most critical data to someone else's cloud — the question isn't "can we use AI?" It's "how can we use our OWN AI?"

This higher bar is exactly what David Stout and the team at webAI have been building. AI that runs where your data lives. No cloud dependency. No WiFi required. Full control and ownership of your own AI. 

Proud to be a returning backer at Forerunner as webAI hits a milestone $2.5B valuation with Marc Benioff's Time Ventures and Atreides Management, LP joining the round. 

The future of AI isn't just about capability. It's about control.

Congrats David, Tyler Mauer, @Ethan Baird, David Shuman, and the entire webAI team. The mission in just beginning — but this is a moment worth celebrating 🥂

#BuildTheFuture

Proud of what we’re building at webAI—and even more proud of the people building it.

This wouldn’t be possible without our co-founders Tyler Mauer and Ethan Baird, whose conviction, taste, and persistence shaped the foundation from the very beginning.

Grateful as well to David Shuman—an exceptional Chairman, investor, and friend—for steady guidance and long-term belief, and to Andrew Zilli who joined mid-fundraise and immediately stepped in to help carry real operational weight when it mattered most.

Jobs not done. Back to work.

Coverage from Axios:

Open article: Exclusive: webAI is now valued at over $2.5 billion by axios.com

Illustration of a unicorn horn sticking out of a pile of cash.

Exclusive: webAI is now valued at over $2.5 billion

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The Battle

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