Anton Melnyk

Anton Sergiyovych Melnyk (Ukrainian: Антон Сергійович Мельник) is a Ukrainian computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of Runfaces[1] (Vtalkie) a mobile messaging application which was one of the first video messaging startups and competed[2] with Sean Parkers startup called Airtime.com.

Anton Melnyk
Born (1988-03-10) March 10, 1988
Kyiv, Ukraine
EducationNational University of Food Technologies Kyiv College of Electronic Devices
OccupationInternet entrepreneur, political activist

Life and career

Melnyk was born and raised in Kyiv, where he graduated from Kyiv College of Electronic Devices. He later graduated from National University of Food Technologies in 2010 with a degree in computer science. In 2008, he became a part of Bigmir.net, before becoming a product manager at Liga.net and Digital Ventures. In October 2011, Melnyk launched Runfaces, a video social networking service.

While Airtime engineers are still hacking, 33-year-old Alex Krizhevich and 24-year-old Anton Melnyk from Ukraine built and already launched a video-based social discovery platform called Runfaces in October 2011. Runfaces went viral, reaching 280,000 unique visitors in its first month, mainly in the US.[3]

Runfaces was the one of the first startups which used live video at social networking. It is helps delving into virtual world boasting video connection between members, and a platform that allows people to find each other based on common interests.

Facebook’s communication platform is text and photo-heavy, with relatively undeveloped video-connection options. Melnyk and Krizhevich feel that video connection is already the next wave in social and that Runfaces is doing it right.[4]

In March 2012, the name Runfaces.com was changed to Vtalkie.com, and the startup changed its positioning towards social messaging.[5]

Political activities

In 2015 he was a candidate for deputy of Kyiv City Council. A member[6] of the political party Self Reliance from 2016.

In April 2015, Melnyk announced his backing of a nonprofit initiative[7] called Akademia Koduvannya (Ukrainian: Академія Кодування) which aims to provide opportunities for children aged 9 to 11 to developing coding skills. Children create their own computer games and websites, learning how to use technology creatively.

References
  1. Crook, Jordan. "A Stroll Down Startup Alley: Bras, Coffee, And Lots Of Photo/Video Sharing". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  2. Contributor. "Video Social Network Runfaces Takes On Sean Parker's Airtime". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  3. Contributor. "Video Social Network Runfaces Takes On Sean Parker's Airtime". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  4. Strauss, Karsten. "Runfaces: A Video-Fueled Startup in the Social Game". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  5. Strauss, Karsten. "Video Message Mania". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  6. "Ми живемо в європейській країні, тому цінності у нас повинні бути європейськими, - Мельник". ipress.ua. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
  7. "Волонтеры совместно с Kyiv Smart City хотят запустить бесплатные IT-факультативы во всех школах Киева - AIN.UA". ain.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-02-11.
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