We interviewed the Founder of Lesksia, a platform to make learning easier and more effective. Join us as we explore his entrepreneurship journey and the solution built just for students.
How did your entrepreneurial journey start here in Moscow? What drew you to tech and startups in the first place?
I began my entrepreneurial journey in my first year of university, while I was still living in Voronezh. At the time, my focus was simple: to acquire as many practical skills as possible.
During that period, I met my longtime friend, David Olisa, who introduced me to the T-Shirt printing business. I spent most weekends traveling between Voronezh and Moscow, immersing myself in the trade and learning the business firsthand.
Alongside this, I started teaching myself how to design Shopify websites and explored dropshipping. Working on Shopify stores became my entry point into tech, and it was there that I discovered a genuine interest in product design. By 2019, I had begun learning more advanced UI/UX tools, which allowed me to refine my skills and scale my work more effectively.
Before Leksia, you worked on other tech ventures. What lessons from those earlier projects shaped how you approached building Leksia.
Speed of execution is everything. Ideas are cheap, and more often than not, ideas that feel incredible in theory fall apart in reality. The only reliable way to separate good ideas from bad ones is action – market research, product validation, and relentless execution.
When did you first realize you wanted to build something that supports students academically?
I first realized I wanted to build something that supports students academically while studying in Russia. As a student myself, I became very aware of how much of our academic workload was not about learning, but about repetition, formatting, transcription, and administrative tasks. Over time, it became clear to me that a significant portion of what students do – easily around 40% – could be automated without reducing academic quality
What stood out most was that students were spending hours on tasks that technology could already handle, yet there was no solution designed specifically around how students actually study and learn in our environment. That gap made the problem personal. I wasn’t trying to build “another app”; I wanted to build a system that removes friction from learning so students can focus on understanding, thinking, and performing better academically.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while launching your first startups while in Russia and how did you overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges I faced while launching my first startups in Russia was access to funding. Early-stage capital is harder to secure, and in many cases, eligibility for grants or state-backed programs requires having a Russian partner. As a foreign founder, this added an extra layer of complexity and forced me to be very strategic about how and where I sought financial support
Another major challenge was access to information. Unlike in many Western ecosystems where resources, programs, and opportunities are clearly documented online, a lot of critical information in Russia operates through informal channels. Understanding how things work – especially in the tech and startup space – often depends on who you know. I had to actively build relationships, attend events, and immerse myself in local networks to gain insights that weren’t publicly available
Of course I overcame these challenges by leaning heavily into networking,learning the ecosystem from the inside, and being resourceful with limited capital. Rather than waiting for ideal conditions, I focused on building, testing, and improving with what I had, which ultimately made me more resilient and adaptable as a founder.
What does entrepreneurship in Russia, especially as a young African entrepreneur, feel like? Have you faced unique cultural or business challenges?
Entrepreneurship in Russia, especially as a young African entrepreneur, requires you to work twice as hard to stay visible and competitive. The tech ecosystem is highly competitive, and you are constantly measured against established players with stronger networks, recognition, and access to resources. I often describe it as competing in a market dominated by brands like BMW and Mercedes – and you are neither. You are probably Lada, and you have to consistently prove your value to remain relevant. That said, my experience has not been defined by cultural or racial discrimination. On the contrary, I’ve had largely positive interactions with Russian founders, partners, and professionals. The environment is demanding, but it is also merit-driven. If you show competence, consistency, and seriousness about your work, people are willing to engage and collaborate.
The real challenge lies less in identity and more in earning trust and credibility in a system that expects results. Once that trust is built, opportunities begin to open up, but getting there requires persistence, resilience, and a strong sense of self-belief.
For people who haven’t yet seen Leksia, how would you describe it in your own words? What problem is it solving for students?
Leksia is an app for university students that helps them study more easily. Students can record lectures or upload files and links, and Leksia turns them into clear notes, summaries, and questions to prepare for exams. It is made for students who already have a lot of material but struggle to organize it and revise efficiently. Leksia helps them understand their subjects faster and avoid last-minute stress before exams
A student walks into a lecture, opens Leksia, and starts recording the lecture. As the lecturer speaks, the text appears live on the screen. After the class, the student saves the lecture, and Leksia automatically turns it into clear notes and creates exam-style quiz questions. When exam time comes, the student revises from the structured material instead of re-listening to long recordings or rewriting notes.
How did you identify that education support technology would be a space worth building in? Was it from your own student experience or something you saw others struggle with?
It was a combination of my own experience and what I observed in others. As a student in Russia, I saw how challenging it was for international students to keep up academically, especially when lectures were delivered in Russian. Many capable students struggled simply because of the language barrier, and in some universities, not speaking the language was often mistaken for lack of ability.
This became even clearer during my year as President of the Association of Nigerian Scholarship Students in Russia (ANSSIR), where I worked closely with students across different universities. Seeing the same challenges repeatedly.showed me that the issue wasn’t intelligence, but access to the right academic support, confirming that this was a space worth building in.
Leksia offers features like lecture transcription, structured notes, instant translation into many languages, and even AI-generated tests. Which of these do you think helps foreign students the most, and why?
While all of Leksia’s features work together, instant translation paired with structured notes has the greatest impact on foreign students. For many international students, the core challenge is not intelligence or effort, but comprehension. When lectures are delivered in a language they are still learning, students can easily fall behind even if they are academically strong
Thank you for your time. Leksia is really the next big thing for students. To all our readers, jump on the train and invite your friends to try it out at www.leksia.com.
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