Young Russian Founder Sells 2% of His Future Like It's Subway Tokens
KEY POINTS
- •Kirill Avery, a self-taught coder from St. Petersburg, dropped out at 16 after a job at VK and viral success.
- •At 21, Kirill raised $500K by selling 2% of his future earnings via a holding company and a SAFE agreement.
- •His projects include the livestream shopping app Lalabox and the AI identity startup Alien, run from Silicon Valley.
Meet Kirill Avery, the 24-year-old coder-turned-entrepreneur from St. Petersburg who, at age 21, sold 2% of his future earnings over 15 years for a modest $500K. Instead of just one startup, investors got a carnival pass to his future ventures through his holding company Kirill Co. This former VK engineer-turned-Forbes 30 Under 30 did a quick getaway to Silicon Valley with an O-1 visa, survived Y Combinator, and launched apps named Lalabox and Alien. His business plan? Fund today’s coffee by mortgaging tomorrow’s ambivalence, with zero guardrails except his own crippling fear of not becoming a billionaire by 24.
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Who knew selling 2% of your future like it's Pokémon cards was Silicon Valley’s newest hustle? Next up: budgeting regrets by quarterly earnings.
When your retirement plan is basically ‘I hope Kirill’s companies don’t flounder,’ turns out being a human ATM has its risks.
Only in tech can you borrow from your future self, then remind investors you might go on vacation using their money. Budgeting brilliance.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 1/14/2026 | Author: Joshua Nelken-Zitser
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