In 2012, three Ukrainian entrepreneurs — Kirill Bigai, Dmytro Voloshyn and Serge Lukianov — launched Preply with a clear aim: to build an online marketplace that connects learners with tutors around the world, breaking down geographic barriers and making one-on-one learning more accessible.
Kirill had experienced the limitations of traditional language tuition and embraced the idea that technology + human tutoring could deliver better, more flexible outcomes. According to interviews, the founding team asked: What if a student anywhere could find the right tutor, at the right time, in the right format? That question became the North Star for Preply.
Founding Team & Roles
- Kirill Bigai – Co-Founder & CEO: Kirill leads Preply’s vision, product strategy and business execution. His background is rooted in product and growth, bringing focus on the global expansion of the platform.
- Dmytro Voloshyn – Co-Founder & CTO: Dmytro led the technical side—building the marketplace platform, algorithmic matching, and infrastructure to support a growing global tutor-student ecosystem.
- Serge Lukianov – Co-Founder: Serge brought complementary capabilities (design, product, operational leadership) which supported the team in building from the ground up.
Together, the trio blended vision, engineering and execution—starting from Kiev (or Ukraine broadly) and scaling into a global business.
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Early Days: Laying the Foundation
Preply’s founding year is 2012. Initially they focused on building the marketplace, recruiting tutors, crafting the user-experience for learners, and then expanding into multiple languages and regions. Early funding and accelerator participation helped them validate the model.
“Preply was founded in 2012 by Kirill Bigai, Dmytro Voloshyn, and Serge Lukianov, three Ukrainian friends who shared a passion for education and technology.”
They focused initially on capturing tutor-supply, building trust, then refining matching and marketplace dynamics. Over the next few years, Preply invested in algorithmic ranking and the matching engine that would underpin growth.
Growth, Expansion & Milestones
Preply’s growth trajectory is impressive:
- By early 2021, Preply had over 40,000 tutors teaching around 50 languages across 180+ countries.
- In March 2020, the company raised USD 10 million (Series A) as demand surged due to Covid-19.
- Subsequently, in July 2022 they raised USD 50 million in a Series C round, and then extended it in 2023 to USD 70 million, bringing cumulative raises over USD 100 million. Offices now span multiple geographies (Barcelona, New York, Kyiv) and team nationalities exceed 60.
- The founders navigated a challenging geopolitical environment (including the Ukraine conflict) yet managed to scale globally—demonstrating resilience and global ambition.
Product & Differentiation
What sets Preply apart:
- Live one-on-one human tutoring: Unlike purely app-based self-study, Preply emphasises human tutor engagement, which the founders believe is more effective for many learners.
- Marketplace model: Tutors set their rates; learners pick tutors based on profile, reviews, availability. Preply provides matching, scheduling, payments and reviews.
- Algorithmic matching: Using more than 400 parameters (per some sources), Preply’s engine helps match students to tutors.
- Global, multilingual scale: With thousands of tutors across dozens of languages and countries, the platform addresses both consumer learners (e.g., learning English) and professionals (corporate learning) via Preply Business.
- Tech-enabled platform: Over time they built “Preply Classroom” (integrated video, chat, whiteboard) and added data/AI tools to enhance the tutor experience and learner outcomes.
Founders’ Philosophy & Impact
Kirill, Dmytro and Serge share a belief that education should be accessible, personalised and global. Their Scandinavian-style ambition (despite Ukrainian roots) was to build infrastructure not just an app. In an interview Kirill said:
“We believe that live tutoring + marketplace + tech is the future of language learning.”
Their story is also marked by empathy and scaling from early product/market fit: when Covid-19 hit, they were ready for surge in online learning and captured it via strong growth in North America and Europe.
Additionally, the founders demonstrate operational discipline—scaling from small beginnings in Ukraine/Boston area (some sources say USA founding) to multiple global offices—and building credible product + technology stack rather than simply chasing viral growth.
Challenges & Strategic Turning Points
The Preply founding and scaling journey had several hurdles:
- Market competition: The language-learning space has many players (apps, platforms, offline tutors). The founders responded by focusing on human tutoring plus marketplace infrastructure.
- Geopolitics: Being a Ukrainian-founded company during the Russia-Ukraine conflict posed risks; Preply’s leadership committed to employee safety, global distribution and continuity.
- Quality and scaling: Ensuring tutor quality, learner satisfaction, scheduling, payments and matching at scale is hard. The founders invested early in quality, algorithmic matching and global reach.
- Monetisation & business model: Transitioning from consumer learners to corporate language training (Preply Business) required product adjustments, pricing, enterprise sales.
- Technology shift: As AI and edtech evolve, the founders are navigating added features (AI tutors, assistant tools) while preserving human-tutor value. For example, the $70 M raise in 2023 was to push AI-assistant tools for tutors.
One key pivot: Prioritising growth in markets outside Ukraine early (Europe, U.S.) to ensure global scalability and risk diversification. They opened offices in Barcelona and New York, which helped credibility and global talent acquisition.
Why Their Story Matters
- Founder-market fit: The team built a product from scratch in a market they understood; language learning is deeply human, yet they applied tech and marketplace thinking.
- Global ambition from early stage: Not just local market focus, but global (180+ countries, 40k tutors, 50+ languages) – the founders always thought scale.
- Tech plus human approach: Many edtech firms go purely digital; Preply blends human interaction + algorithmic infrastructure—something the founders emphasised.
- Resilience: Originating in Ukraine, scaling during crisis, expanding globally—shows founder grit and adaptability.
- Growth timing: The founders were well-positioned when online learning demand surged (COVID etc.), and had built foundational infrastructure ahead of many.
The Road Ahead: Vision & Next Steps
Looking forward, the founders of Preply are focused on:
- Expanding their AI-assistant tools for tutors (e.g., grammar explanation, conversation prompts, lesson planning) to augment tutor productivity and learner outcomes.
- Growing the corporate training business (Preply Business) for enterprises that need language training at scale.
- Further scaling global footprint: more offices, localisation in languages/regions, deeper market penetration in Asia, Latin America.
- Maintaining tutor marketplace health: ensuring quality, retention, scaling supply and demand sides symmetrically.
- Enhancing their platform technology: improving matching, using data/analytics to personalise learning, integrating more features (mobile apps, micro-learning, interactive content).
Navigating edtech regulation, certification and trust building—especially as they become a major global brand in language learning.
