The impressive list of Russian entrepreneurs involved in multi billion dollar tech companies — from Pavel Durov (VK, Telegram), to Andrew Filev (Wrike), to Nikolay Storonsky (Revolut), to Ratmir Timashev (Veeam Software), and many more — is not coming to an end. 31-year-old Arseniy Vershinin, who was born in Ulan Ude, a small town in Siberia, is also one of them.
A teeanager fond of programming, Vershinin studied in an experimental science-oriented school in Use-Ilimsk (near Irkutsk, Siberia). He spent a year in the United States in the framework of the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) cultural exchange program.
“The program helped me learn English at a decent level and opened up the world in general. Having grown up in a small town, I found it very interesting to see how people from other countries live and think,” Vershinin recalled in a recent interview with Forbes Russia.
Vershinin then studied at the MIPT, a top science and technology university in Moscow known as ‘Phystech,’ before receiving a master’s degree at the Munich Technical University (TUM).
“When I was still studying in Moscow and observing how startups were developing at that time, I became interested in iOS development. I worked with local startups, before realizing that I needed an international atmosphere. This is why I moved to Munich,” Vershinin said.
In 2014, the young techie started a one-year startup-oriented program at Munich’s Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM). This is where he met Ignaz Forstmeier, Hanno Renner and Roman Schumacher, with whom he would co-found a startup soon after completing the program.
Christened ‘Personio,’ this Munich-based startup provides SMEs with solutions to digitize their HR management and recruiting processes — offering an alternative to the costly solutions of American HR software giants.
After six years of growth fuelled by half a dozen equity funding rounds, Personio claims to serve 5,000 small European businesses. Earlier this month, the latest round (Series E) brought around $270 million to the company at a $6 billion pre-money valuation — up from $1.6 billion in the previous round in January 2021, according to CrunchBase data.
An IPO or a direct listing is now on the horizon, possibly in a couple of years, Renner told Forbes.
Learn more about Vershinin’s life in Forbes Russia (in Russian), or listen to his podcast interview in Startup Conversations (in English)
