Interview with Ilia Pavlenkov, a young and successful CEO in tech:

A conversation with Ilia Pavlenkov, who received the “Youngest Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Year (Information Technology)” award. At his age, he has already managed to create several successful startups and make a significant contribution to the development of the IT-industry. In this interview Ilia will share his thoughts on business, innovation and the future  of technology. 

Ilia, please tell us how your path in business started and what inspired you to create your first companies?

My path in business started at the age of 13, when I opened my first online store, which I registered with my mother, as well as city and school forums. It was an important experience that showed me that I could not only create something new, but also earn money from it. The first serious project was Jetlex, in which I co-founded with my partner Alexander. In this company, we developed a product that automated the entry of accounting primary documents into accounting systems. In early 2021, I founded Cucomm, single-handedly made the company profitable, and then hired a team. Now the company is actively growing, and our software for finding customers with medium and large checks around the world is often used by marketing agencies, SaaS service owners, event organizers and business owners. I’ve always been inspired by new technologies and the opportunity to change the world for the better.

What projects and achievements of your company do you consider the most important and why?

At Jetlex, one of the most important achievements was attracting over $150,000 in investment (which is a huge sum for the stage in Russia) and participating in the acceleration program of The Internet Initiatives Development Fund (23 teams out of 1000 that applied), as well as selling a product at the prototype stage. And the product itself is something to be proud of: it is technically very complex and consists of many machine learning models for processing accounting documents.

Speaking about Cucomm, firstly, I managed to sell to two clients a product that we were just starting to develop, even without an MVP. And secondly, I am proud of the fact that I initially did everything myself: I developed the product, did marketing, sales, bookkeeping, legal issues, made the company profitable, and then started hiring a team.

What projects and technologies do you consider the most promising today?

I believe that artificial intelligence and machine learning will play a key role in the future of technology. I thought so more than 6 years ago and I still think so. This is the technology that will have the maximum impact on our lives. Also in the near future it’s humanoid robots and of course unmanned vehicles.

 You received the award “Youngest Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Year (Information Technology)”. What are your feelings and thoughts about this award?

I am truly grateful to receive this prestigious industry award, which recognizes my contributions to business and technology. I am thrilled that the jury considers me an important entrepreneur. I feel inspired and motivated to continue pushing the boundaries in the IT industry and contribute to its growth and innovation. I am excited about the future and look forward to achieving even greater milestones.

How do you balance running your business and personal life? What hobbies help you relax?

I really enjoy running a business, so I genuinely enjoy both doing business and thinking about it at all hours of the day and night, weekdays and weekends and on vacation. And to switch things up I like to go to various conversation clubs: English clubs, debates, interest meetings and so on. I like to go skiing, and if possible I like to fly in small airplanes.

What advice do you have for young entrepreneurs who are just starting out in technology?

To be prepared for downs and failures, there will be a lot of challenges. But don’t give up because the longer you go forward, the more likely you are to succeed in the end, because you gain experience. Test hypotheses, be interested in new things, study trends in the markets.

Ilia, thank you for your interesting and inspiring answers. We wish you success in the further development of your projects and hope to see new achievements in the near future!