As the head of language-learning platform Preply, Kirill Bigai has been heavily focused on team expansion in recent months. He revealed to Themoneytimes that recruitment now takes up between 50% and 60% of his weekly schedule.
Bigai, who co-founded the company back in 2012, noted that Preply is experiencing rapid growth and is actively adding leadership talent. With over 800 staff members and a valuation of $1.2 billion as of January, the startup currently lists 118 open positions across departments — including advanced engineering roles centered on architecture and agent development, alongside AI research opportunities.
For Bigai, hiring remains a core responsibility of executive leadership, prompting him to continuously refine his approach to interviews. He emphasized having a personalized strategy filled with targeted questions designed to uncover deeper insights about applicants.
Running away — or running toward something?
One of the first things Bigai explores is the candidate’s motivation for leaving their current job. While many candidates come prepared with rehearsed answers, Bigai uses follow-up questions to dig beneath surface-level responses. In a subsequent email, he explained: “Do they take ownership of their choices, or do they point fingers at their manager, the organization, or external conditions?” This helps him determine whether people are fleeing from challenges or moving toward new possibilities.
At Preply, there’s a preference for individuals who express drive and personal goals instead of dwelling on past setbacks. Bigai believes it’s better for both sides to discover misalignment early in the process than after an offer has been accepted.
Additionally, Bigai often inquires about a candidate’s dynamic with their former supervisor — exploring how they collaborated and what strengths their ex-manager would highlight.
Based on the specific position being filled, he follows up with behavioral interview prompts structured around the STAR method — Situation, Task, Action, Result — to evaluate real-world performance.
The qualities they seek
Bigai explained that hiring decisions at Preply align closely with its 10 foundational values, grouped under three main pillars: ambition, boldness, and teamwork.
According to the company’s official site, ambition involves striving to make a global impact while maintaining enthusiasm for the work itself. The idea behind Preply was sparked by Bigai’s personal journey learning English, and today the platform connects more than 150,000 tutors fluent in over 90 languages.
Boldness, on the other hand, reflects the ability to execute swiftly — prioritizing effectively, focusing on details, and meeting deadlines without hesitation. Teamwork, meanwhile, focuses on fostering mutual respect and pushing peers to uphold high standards.
However, once a choice is finalized, team members are expected to embrace a mindset of continuous improvement and practice the principle of “disagree and commit” — a leadership concept popularized by Jeff Bezos that encourages full support for decisions, even if one initially disagreed with them.
“We aim to foster an open culture where everyone feels empowered to challenge one another constructively,” Bigai concluded.