Preply cofounder Kirill Bigai operated without a salary for an entire year to help build the language-learning platform into a $1.2 billion unicorn, according to Fortune. The bootstrapped start-up relied on personal sacrifices and side jobs before raising a $150 million Series D funding round led by WestCap in January, bringing its total funding to more than $299 million, according to company data.
Why Preply Founders Worked Without Salaries During Year One
When Kirill Bigai and cofounder Dmytro Voloshyn launched the online education marketplace in 2012, capital was scarce. According to Fortune, the initial pre-seed funding ran out within the first year. To keep operations alive from their hometown of Kyiv, Ukraine, the founders agreed to take zero pay. “We agreed to not pay each other salaries, because we didn’t have a lot of capital,” Bigai tells Fortune, adding that they wanted to make the company successful while holding down outside jobs.
During those initial 60-hour workweeks, Bigai worked as an implementation consultant at software company Creatio, utilizing prior engineering experience from Nokia Siemens Networks. Voloshyn pursued a PhD in machine learning and artificial intelligence while moonlighting as a software developer for AB InBev. Six months after the pre-seed funds dried up, the founders began paying themselves a modest $100 monthly salary. That figure slowly grew to $500 a month after two years, enabling them to finally quit their side jobs and run Preply full-time.
How a Personal Skype Session Sparked a $1.2 Billion Edtech Startup
The business idea stemmed from a personal problem, according to Fortune. As the son of entrepreneurs in Kyiv, Bigai wanted to build his own company and needed to learn English. He eventually found a remote tutor on the early video-calling platform Skype. Recognizing a gap in the market, Bigai and Voloshyn decided to build a central platform connecting language learners with teachers worldwide.
In the first three weeks, the founders registered 100 tutors via Google Forms, with Bigai cold-calling early customers. The platform quickly introduced messaging and payment features. By 2016, a $1.3 million seed funding round helped transform the product. Today, the Ukraine-based edtech company employs 800 full-time staff members and hosts 150,000 tutors teaching over 90 languages across 180 countries, alongside non-language subjects like math, computer science, and chess.
Did you know? Preply’s January Series D funding round brought its total valuation to $1.2 billion, with the fresh capital earmarked for developing AI tools and expanding engineering teams in New York and London, according to company reports.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much funding has Preply raised?
According to company data reported by Fortune, Preply has raised more than $299 million in total funding, capped by a $150 million Series D round led by WestCap.
When was Preply founded?
Preply was founded in 2012 by Kirill Bigai and Dmytro Voloshyn.
How many tutors are currently on Preply?
The platform hosts more than 150,000 tutors teaching across 180 countries, according to Fortune.
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