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Mikita Mikado is a IT entrepreneur of Belarusian origin, creator of PandaDoc unicorn.

Business

Mikado was born in Minsk in 1986, he studied at the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics in 2001–2006. At the age of 19, Mikado went to the United States on a Work&Travel programme. Along with half-time jobs, he tried himself in web-design and software development.

In 2011, Mikado returned to Belarus. Together with his partner Sergey Barysiuk, he created Quote Roller, a tool that automated sending and tracking of commercial offers. By 2013, the start-up had grown into PandaDoc, an e-document platform that lets its customers create, share and sign official documents online. PandaDoc was growing quickly and soon had more than 3000 clients.

In 2013, Mikado returned to San Francisco and managed to raise $5 mln investments to PandaDoc from such prominent investors as Kima Ventures, Altair Capital, and Fabrice Grinda. As of 2015, 16 employees worked in the Minsk office and 14 worked in San Francisco.

In 2017, PandaDoc attracted $15m in investment from Rembrandt Ventures Partners, as well as Microsoft Ventures, HubSpot, EBRD and Altos Ventures.

In 2020, Mikado starred in Yury Dud's documentary on Russian-speaking startupers of Silicon Valley. Along with other heroes of the film, Mikado ‘woke up famous’ after the release. The role made him famous among young Russians and turned him into a role model to those who dreamt of a career in IT.

In 2021, PandaDoc raised a new financing round at a $1 billion valuation.

Social activity

Immediately after the violent crackdown on the Belarusian protests of 9–13 August, Mikado joined the ‘Protect Belarus’ initiative and offered legal, educational and financial assistance to those former policemen who left their jobs in protest. Dozens of them successfully moved to work in the IT sector. The authorities responded with a strike against Mikado's company: four employees of the Minsk office were jailed in trumped-up cases. Three of them were released in several months, while product manager Victor Kuvshinov had spent more than 1 year in prison.

In 2022, Mikado invested into ‘Mesto’ start-up, a platform that helps IT workers, entrepreneurs, digital creators and companies relocate to Cyprus and Bali. ‘Mesto’ founded communities of those who have already relocated and offered them legal assistance, insurance, co-living accommodation, and helped with visas and bank accounts.

References

1. ^ Matzkevich, V. (2019-02-13). "10 молодых и успешных белорусов, известных по всему миру" [10 young and successful world-famous Belarusians] (in Russian). Office Life Media. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
2. "Молодо-"зелено". На чем зарабатывают молодые белорусские бизнесмены?" [Young and "green". What do young Belarusian businessmen earn from?] (in Russian). AIF.by. 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
3. ^ Levashkevich, E. (2021-09-27). "Микита Микадо: Сейчас невозможно привозить людей в Беларусь" [Mikita Mikado: It is now impossible to bring people to Belarus] (in Russian). Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
4. ^ "Mikita Mikado: Silicon valley entrepreneur, Belarusian activist". The Tribune. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
5. "092: Building a Software Company from Belarus – Mikita Mikado of PandaDoc". Millionaire Interviews. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
6. "Сергей Борисюк: "Самое главное в стартапах—фокус"" (in Russian). Хабр. 2015-05-14. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
7. Daryna Antoniuk (2021-09-24). "Belarusian startup that moved to Ukraine becomes self-declared 'unicorn' with $1 billion valuation". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
8. "Why Microsoft and HubSpot Invested in PandaDoc". CMSC. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
9. "Микита Микадо — об успехах и ошибках "настоящих белорусов" в Кремниевой долине" [Mikita Mikado on the successes and mistakes of "real Belarusians" in Silicon Valley] (in Russian). Dev.by. 2015-02-16. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
10. "Микита Микадо о Кремниевой долине, стартапах и двигателе Porsche под капотом "Запорожца" — видеоинтервью" [Mikita Mikado on Silicon Valley, start-ups and the Porsche engine under the bonnet of a Zaporozhets - video interview] (in Russian). Pro Business. 2018-01-18. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
11. Lunden, I. (2021-09-22). "PandaDoc, the e-document startup, now valued at $1B as it closes a big Series C". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
12. Deutscher, M. (2021-09-22). "Document startup PandaDoc announces Series C round at $1B valuation". Silicon Angle. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
13. Isachenko, A. (2020-09-15). "Протесты в Беларуси: глава PandaDoc Микита Микадо - об арестах своих сотрудников, исходе IT-сектора из страны и закрытии проекта помощи бывшим ОМОНовцам" [Protests in Belarus: PandaDoc head Mikita Mikado on the arrests of his employees, the exodus of the IT sector from the country and the closure of a project to help former riot police] (in Russian). BBC. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
14. "Belarusian authorities drop fraud case against IT company 'PandaDoc'". Meduza. 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
15. "Микита Микадо инвестировал в платформу для релокации айтишников на Кипр и Бали" [Mikita Mikado invests in a platform to relocate IT workers to Cyprus and Bali] (in Russian). Dev.by. 2022-04-21. Retrieved 2023-02-28.

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