Interview with Vladimir Lastovsky – CEO, InAppStory [2023]

The idea of using Stories within the app first came to us in 2019 when we piloted the format for one of our subscription-based content apps. We were impressed by adoption from our customer base – around 30% of the monthly unique visitors interacted with the Stories. This comes from Instagram’s dominant position on the market.

The format of Stories and its usability became native for many active mobile users. Following the success, we created a solution for b2b where any partner can easily integrate the Stories and create content in a user-friendly console. We perfectly match the rising demand on the market for a better in-app user experience.

I experimented a lot in different areas from logistics to private equity before I found myself in the digital area. About six years ago I was appointed as a country manager (actually CEO) in the Russian branch of an international IT company. I managed operations, sales, IT, and business development.

I was amazed by opportunities around digital and how the whole sector evolved in Russia. It also opened me the bridge from the corporate world to building something on my own. As a result, I launched two digital projects – one in b2c and another in b2b (a Stories platform). 

I do believe that the main role of a founder and CEO is to gather the right people and inspire them to believe in you and what you are doing. For me, starting a business it’s like an adventure – you know nothing about the future, but your eyes are shiny and you are in good company.

You have no guarantee of success but throughout the way, you are experiencing the most exciting part of your life. The final result is for sure important but not as much as the feeling of creating and building something new.

Actually, I put my family as a part of this adventure. It’s all linked to each other. I mean I know that I should be balanced enough in order to create something at work. At the same time, my family knows how important work is for me.

Also, we actively apply remote principles at work which help me to easily shift my working tasks throughout the day to have time with my family.

I think it should be a multitasking tool that addresses a lot of pains and goals of digital marketing. We try to build not only a platform that generates qualified leads to boost sales but also helps onboard users, collect data insights, provide interactive mechanics, and gamification.

This creates higher value to a partner and meets multiple use cases.

Mainly I want to explore myself in the international development of our platform. I’m quite confident and successful in local markets but globally we are at a starting point. As a part of the play, I’m personally moving to Portugal to start focusing on global markets and opportunities.

Considering this I need to address a lot of new challenges both personally and business-wise in order to succeed in this movement.

I was always looking for the perfect timing to start the idea in my previous life. But constant doubts and lack of certainty prevented me from moving forward. Now I realize how wrong I was. Not because I eliminated all the doubts once I started but just because I’m compensated by the beautiful part of running a startup when you live through it.

Startup is life. Just take your fears for granted. And start doing things. You feel the benefits of it. Actually, this is the only way to understand whether you are capable of walking through all this or not.  

Always try to share your ideas with others. The feedback you can receive (positive or not) is a great indicator and trial of your belief in what you are trying to build. You should overcome the fear that somebody can recreate or copycat something based on your idea. The idea is nothing without the hard execution where a million details matter. And nobody can copy your way of doing things which is crucial to success.  

Last but not least, try to find an equal partner(s) to start something new. It’s of high importance to split roles at the beginning but the value and the speed you can achieve as the team is much higher vs. a one-man show.

The main barrier for us is making the first contact with app owners. This is because of a lack of knowledge and understanding of our product mechanics. The main task for us is to build awareness among a professional network of product owners.

As a part of this, we invest in our own content creation, popularization of success cases, distribution channels, and media coverage. We focus on organic traffic and build a professional community around our area of expertise.

This is one of our most lovely and important projects. We as a team are worried about the planet, ecology, and nature. Some of us already have children which makes us even more conscious about what’s happening around us.

So when WWF approached us to launch a joint project we were excited to do this as our small contribution to the big mission they are accomplishing. 

I want to build a multinational company with standards of excellence similar to those of global leading IT companies. This should be attributed to the global presence (offices in different countries/continents), corporate culture, solid financial performance, and professional recognition.

On top of these standard goals, I want to make InAppStory a dream place of work where people are sharing their professional interests, socializing, bringing their families, and easily moving around different locations. I want to build a workspace of the future in InAppStory because I truly believe that motivated people are the main factor of success in the long run.