How a self-taught coder built a £10M AI empire from scratch

Vitalii Dodonov went from studying chemical engineering to building a multi-million-pound AI business. Without a formal background in software, he taught himself to code and later co-founded Stan—a company now earning tens of millions each year. His journey began in labs and consultancy before shifting to tech. Dodonov first worked in a mineral processing lab while completing his chemical engineering degree at the University of Alberta. After graduating, he joined Deloitte, where he gained experience in consulting.

Later, he moved to eBay as a senior software engineer. Despite having no formal qualifications in the field, his self-taught coding skills secured him the role. During this time, he also built side projects, including Vhinny, a platform for aggregating financial data. In 2023, Dodonov co-founded Stan, an AI-driven company. Within just two weeks, he developed Stanley, the AI tool powering the business. The platform quickly took off, generating £50,000 in monthly recurring revenue in its first six weeks. Today, Stan brings in tens of millions annually. Dodonov’s long-term vision is to create a company that helps keep the world running decades from now.

Stan’s rapid growth highlights Dodonov’s ability to turn self-taught skills into a thriving business. The company’s success in AI-driven revenue generation marks a shift from his early career in engineering and consultancy. His focus now remains on scaling Stan for long-term impact.