How Aleksandr Volodarsky Accidentally Created a $16M Business

Aleksandr helped one person hire an engineer. A few years later, it's turned into a $16 million, largely bootstrapped business.

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💼 LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/volodarik
🚀 Startup → lemon.io

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In this conversation we discuss:

Founder Mode

• (00:00) — Intro
• (01:07) — Lemon.io founding story
• (04:15) — How Aleksandr knew Lemon.io was a big opportunity
• (06:15) — Lemon.io's differentiator
• (07:49) — Why founders miss opportunities right in front of them
• (42:00) — Aleksandr’s first 2 businesses

Rebranding & Growth

• (09:49) — Intentional rebranding efforts
• (14:42) — Tactically executing a rebrand
• (16:25) — Building in public in 2025
• (18:48) — 2025 social media plan
• (22:19) — Building in public's impact early on
• (23:58) — Using Quora as a growth channel
• (24:22) — 2025's growth channel opportunity
• (26:34) — Utilizing the podcast growth channel
• (31:06) — Going all in with early-stage advertising

Hiring

• (34:31) — Making first sales hire
• (43:50) — The benefit of paid work trials
• (46:11) — What founders should evaluate when hiring
• (47:06) — How non-technical founders can evaluate technical talent
• (48:50) — Laying off employees while growing

Investment

• (35:54) — The wrong way to take on venture investment
• (39:38) — Buying out existing investors
• (40:07) — Why there’s no need to raise more for Lemon.io

Rapid Fire

• (52:58) — Who is one investor you’d recommend?
• (53:58) — One thing you'd change about startups?
• (54:41) — Advice for first-time founders?
• (55:36) — Something you believe that most disagree with?