# Dmitrii Pistolyako

> Dmitrii Pistolyako is the co-founder and CEO of LinguaTrip, a San Francisco-based booking platform for language courses and study-abroad programs that has served more than 100,000 students from over 100 countries. A math-and-economics graduate from Saint Petersburg, he turned a free study-abroad consulting side hustle into a venture-backed company, surviving more than 50 investor rejections before becoming the only Russian startup in his 500 Startups batch. He also leads Fluent.Express and shares his playbook for building a company in the US through his Russian-language YouTube channel and online courses.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at LinguaTrip
- **Organizations:** LinguaTrip, Fluent.Express, MP Education LLC, 500 Startups (alumnus)
- **From:** Russia
- **Nationality:** Russian
- **Education:** Specialist degree, Mathematical Methods in Economics, Saint Petersburg State University, Accelerator program, 500 Startups, Continuing / business courses (entrepreneurship, international expansion), Stanford University
- **Known for:** Co-founded and scaled LinguaTrip to serve 100,000+ clients from more than 100 countries., Got LinguaTrip into 500 Startups (roughly 3% acceptance rate) as the only Russian company in the batch., Secured a $100,000 seed investment from 500 Startups.

## Career timeline

- **2007-2012** — Studied Mathematical Methods in Economics at Saint Petersburg State University, where he met co-founder Marina Mogilko.
- **2013** — Co-founded LinguaTrip, turning free study-abroad consulting into a booking platform - an 'Expedia for language travel.'
- **2015** — After 50+ investor rejections, LinguaTrip was accepted into 500 Startups - the only Russian company in the batch - and received a $100,000 investment.
- **2015-present** — Relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area; serves as Co-Founder & CEO of LinguaTrip.
- **2017-2020** — Took business and entrepreneurship courses at Stanford.
- **present** — Also co-founded and leads Fluent.Express, an instant proofreading service reviewed by native speakers; teaches online courses on building a US business and pitching investors.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and scaled LinguaTrip to serve 100,000+ clients from more than 100 countries.
- Got LinguaTrip into 500 Startups (roughly 3% acceptance rate) as the only Russian company in the batch.
- Secured a $100,000 seed investment from 500 Startups.
- Built a marketplace of 2,500+ courses across 600 schools in 20 countries with an 80% client retention rate and a $0 booking fee.
- Co-founded Fluent.Express, a native-speaker proofreading service.

## Latest updates

- **2024-01** — Continues as Co-Founder & CEO of LinguaTrip and leads Fluent.Express; shares startup and US-business lessons via his YouTube channel and online courses.

## Links

- Website: https://linguatrip.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dmitrii-pistolyako
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@pistolyako
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/linguatrip

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/dmitrii-pistolyako
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-24