18 · Entrepreneur · Vienna, Austria

Two companies
before 19.

I built an encrypted messenger that reached 7,000 users and an EdTech platform with 121 graduates — both from scratch, while finishing high school. Now based in Vienna, looking for the right co-founder and environment to build something much bigger.

Product. Distribution. Speed.
See my edge Get in touch
VS
Volodymyr Shpodarunok
7,000+
Bridge Messenger users
2×
Accelerator finalist
$15k
Armed Forces fundraiser
7,000+ users• 121 graduates• 2M social reach• $15k raised for Armed Forces of Ukraine• 170k Unsplash views• 40+ events organized• 4 languages• Notre Dame accelerator finalist• 7,000+ users• 121 graduates• 2M social reach• $15k raised for Armed Forces of Ukraine• 170k Unsplash views• 40+ events organized• 4 languages• Notre Dame accelerator finalist•
My Edge

Why I'm different
from other founders.

I ship fast — and I don't stop.

Bridge Messenger: zero to 7,000 users in 14 months. NMT.Academy: zero to 121 paying students in 12 months. Both built with no external funding, no team, and while finishing my final year of school with a 10.47 GPA. I don't wait for perfect conditions — I start and iterate.

14 mo
zero → 7k users
I know markets most founders ignore.

I built for Eastern Europe's 40M+ underserved users — low-bandwidth environments, post-Soviet education systems, conflict-zone communication needs. These aren't niche problems. They're early signals of massive global needs that Western founders consistently overlook. I have the cultural context and lived experience to build there credibly.

40M+
underserved users
I design the product and talk to the user — at the same time.

As CPO of Bridge and CEO of NMT.Academy, I owned both the product and the customer. I did the design in Figma, ran user interviews, iterated on positioning, and managed growth — often on the same day. This combination — product depth plus distribution instinct — is rare at any age.

CPO+CEO
product + growth
Track Record

Numbers that
don't lie.

7,000+
Bridge Messenger users
121
NMT Academy graduates
2M
Social media reach
$15k
Raised for Armed Forces
170k
Unsplash views
2×
Accelerator finalist
15+
Media mentions
40+
Events organized
Ventures

What I've built —
and what I learned.

Bridge Messenger
CPO & Co-founder
Jul 2024 – Sep 2025
The insight
40M+ workers in Eastern Europe operate in low-bandwidth environments where mainstream messengers fail. We built for them — secure, lightweight, offline-first.

As CPO, I owned the full product: UX, feature prioritisation, go-to-market. We became the first team ever to complete the UCU Startup Accelerator while still in high school — running the programme alongside final exams and 27 hours of weekly tutoring sessions I ran myself.

What I learned
Distribution beats features. We grew to 7k users through community trust, not ads. And hardware constraints force better product decisions than unlimited resources ever would.
Product Strategy UI/UX Design Secure Comms UCU Accelerator Top-10 / 147 teams
7,000+
Active users at peak
Top-10
of 147 teams, IdeasLab
Notre Dame
Youngest finalist team
121
Students successfully guided
Top national ranking
Students reached #2 in History exam results nationwide
Transitioning from niche solution to scalable EdTech platform.
NMT.Academy
CEO & Co-founder
Jul 2024 – Present
The insight
350,000+ Ukrainian students sit the NMT exam each year. Existing prep is generic and offline. We built a data-driven, simulation-first platform that adapts to each student's weak spots.

Started as a side project while running Bridge — one teacher, one subject. Grew organically through results: our school reached #2 in Ukraine for History NMT scores. Now expanding faculty to make the platform nationwide.

What I learned
Measurable outcomes are the only marketing you need in education. Every student who scored well became a referral. Build the result, the growth follows.
EdTech Product Design Exam Simulation Outcome-led Growth Nationwide Scale
Freelance UI/UX Designer
Self-Employed · Jun 2024 – Present

Delivering professional UI/UX design, brand systems, packaging, and digital assets for international clients via Figma and Adobe Creative Suite.

22k
Behance views
170k
Unsplash views
Timeline

Building since
day one.

Mar 2026 – Jan 2027
Entrepreneurial Leadership Program, Vienna
Selected for an intensive one-year program in Vienna — leadership, business fundamentals, professional networking.
May – Jul 2025
Race to Revenue — University of Notre Dame
Youngest finalist team in Notre Dame's intensive entrepreneurship accelerator. South Bend, IN.
2025
IdeasLab UCU — TOP-10 Startup
Ranked TOP-10 among 147 teams. Validated market strategy and business modeling for Bridge Messenger.
Feb 2026 – Jan 2027
Youth Advisory — KidsKonnectUkraine
Strategic insights for global initiatives connecting and empowering Ukrainian youth worldwide (remote).
Oct 2023 – Oct 2024
Student Parliament President
Led 100+ members, organized 40+ events, raised $15k for Armed Forces of Ukraine. Awarded "Voice of the Gymnasium."
2025 – Present
German B1–B2 — Sprachenzentrum, University of Vienna
Intensive German language studies at the University of Vienna's language centre.
Photography

Seeing the world
through a lens.

Photography is a deliberate exercise in attention — whether documenting foggy Lviv streets or Venice's chaos. The same visual discipline shapes how I design products. Composition matters. Perspective changes everything.

Venice, Italy
Venice, Italy
7,867 views on Unsplash
Lviv, Ukraine
Lviv, Ukraine
31,237 views on Unsplash
Featured on Unsplash
Photography collections · worldwide audience
170k+
Toolkit

Tools of the trade.

Design
Figma UI/UX · Brand Systems
Photoshop Photo editing
Lightroom Photography
Adobe Illustrator Packaging · Identity
Production
Premiere Pro Video editing
After Effects Motion graphics
VS Code Web development
AI Workflow Automation Productivity
Languages
Ukrainian Native
English C1 — Advanced
German B2 — Ongoing
Russian Native
Co-founder profile

What I bring.
What I'm looking for.

I bring
Product velocity — I can take an idea from whiteboard to working prototype in days, and to first users in weeks.
Market intuition — Deep knowledge of Eastern European, CIS, and post-Soviet consumer and B2B markets — underserved segments most founders overlook entirely.
Distribution-first thinking — Both my companies grew through community and outcomes, not paid channels. I know how to build products people talk about.
Execution under pressure — Two companies, no funding, during high school. I know how to prioritise when resources are zero.
I'm looking for
A technical co-founder with depth in engineering — ideally someone building in AI, data infrastructure, or developer tools — who complements my product and GTM strengths.
Someone who moves as fast as I do — who treats the first few months as a sprint to find the right problem, not a slow deliberation.
Someone ambitious about scope — not optimising for a small exit, but genuinely trying to build something that changes how a large number of people work or learn.

Let's build
something real.

Open to accelerator programs, co-founder conversations, advisory relationships, and angel introductions. Based in Vienna — available globally.

Especially interested in EdTech, secure communications, productivity tools, and emerging European markets.

Email
[email protected]
Phone / Messenger
+43 677 630 76210
Also reachable at
+380 98 234 54 99 (UA messengers)
Location
Vienna, Austria
LinkedIn
Volo Shpodarunok
Instagram
@chanhudjyon
Volodymyr Shpodarunok © 2026
| Unsplash | Behance