Олег Онопрієнко Історії 30 June 2026, 09:00

“Age shouldn’t be a reason to give up on ideas.” How a 14-year-old IT guy launched an EdTech startup with his own money while still in school

While most teenagers are just looking for their calling, 14-year-old Stas Kozosvyst designs server architecture, implements AI solutions based on Gemini, and develops his own content encryption technology. The guy began his IT journey at the age of 7, and today he manages the development of the EdTec ecosystem of Avmira, has over 30 international certificates, and helps other teenagers launch their first startups for free.

We asked Stas about how his platform works, how the project is financed, and how he manages to combine business management with school lessons.

Between school and servers

Stas's path began with childhood curiosity. As Stas told dev.ua, at the age of seven he became a student at IT Step Academy, where he received the foundation on which he builds complex systems today. The first language was Python, which opened the door to the world of algorithms. However, his true passion woke up later, when the guy discovered the possibilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning, realizing that code can be something more than just a set of commands.

Stas admits that ideas for new Avmira features often come during his studies, when he sees gaps in the availability of knowledge. From Python, he gradually moved on to web development and creating complete digital products. For him, it's not just "sitting at the computer," but a way of expressing himself and finding answers to complex questions. Even preparing for exams is perceived through the prism of logic, which he developed thanks to programming.

“I try to divide my time between learning, projects, and self-development. Most new ideas for Avmira and other products are born during constant learning. For example, after learning a new technology or tool, I often immediately find a way to apply it in Avmira or other projects of my own,” the young developer shared.

For Stas, mathematics is not just a subject on a school certificate. He is convinced that it should remain mandatory at NMT, as it develops analytical skills necessary in any business. At the same time, the boy dreams of a more flexible education system.

“The education system should give students more opportunities for in-depth study of precisely those subjects that match their interests and future goals,” Stas shared his vision of education.

IT education and certification at Google and AWS

Stas has over 30 international certificates in his portfolio, but he doesn’t treat them as trophies. As Stas told dev.ua, for him it’s primarily a way to structure his own knowledge. Among his favorites is Google AI Professional, which helped him understand the architecture of modern artificial intelligence. However, in communication with adult partners, these “pieces of paper” play a different role — they become a bridge of trust, confirming that behind a young age lies serious theoretical training.

AWS Partner programs, in particular in generative AI, occupy a special place. They provide an understanding of how large corporations implement technologies into real business. Stas understands that in the IT world, a reputation is built over a long period of time, and certification from world leaders is a good start for a 14-year-old boy. However, he warns his peers against “collecting” certificates without real practice.

A certificate alone does not make a person a specialist. Practical experience, own projects, and work results remain the most important.

Stas is sure that the main indicator of competence is what you were able to create and launch. That is why he spends hours on the independent development of Avmira architecture and does not wait for someone to come and do it for him. Each completed course is immediately converted into lines of code on his servers. For him, theory without practice is a dead weight that only takes time.

This approach allows him to speak the same language with professionals. Stas doesn’t just know the terms, he understands how they work “under the hood.” His strategy is simple: study, try, implement. This allows Avmira to constantly update itself, staying on the cutting edge of technological trends, despite minimal resources.

“Certifications help confirm knowledge and increase trust from partners, but the main indicator of competence is always what you have actually created and implemented,” Stas noted in the conversation.

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How Avmira works

The technical part of Avmira is Stas's completely independent work. He tried to build the system as independent as possible. Currently, the infrastructure is based on two servers: one for the web platform, the other for internal services based on Supabase. The choice of stack (React, TypeScript, Python) was dictated by the need to quickly scale and easily integrate artificial intelligence tools.

Security is another priority. Stas uses Cloudflare to protect against external threats and optimize traffic. He even developed his own content delivery system, which encrypts training data packets so that only an authorized device can open them. It’s a complex engineering solution that usually requires an entire team, but the 14-year-old developer took it upon himself.

"For security reasons, I cannot disclose all the technical details, but its principle is to form and transmit encrypted data packets that can be decrypted and displayed only by an authorized client device. This allows for increased control over content distribution and provides an additional level of protection for educational materials," Stas said.

He writes most of the backend and frontend code himself, although he does bring in partners for specific tasks. Stas configures the servers and deploys the infrastructure himself, which gives him full control over the product. This allows him to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy and quickly respond to technical errors, which he tracks using analytics services.

Such autonomy also has a downside - great responsibility. However, Stas is not afraid of mistakes, considering them the best teachers. For him, every bug is an opportunity to learn something new about how large systems work.

I do a significant part of the development myself, from designing the architecture and writing the code to configuring servers, security, and deploying the infrastructure.

From education to career

One of the most important stages for Avmira was cooperation with the TheJob platform. As Stas told dev.ua, this partnership arose from the desire to give students a real result. TheJob is a relatively new Ukrainian job search service focused specifically on IT specialists , which helps candidates find vacancies that best match their stack. The integration of these two services creates a logical path: a person studies on Avmira and immediately sees current offers on TheJob.

This is not just a link exchange, but a deep interaction. TheJob users, in turn, get the opportunity to “upgrade” their skills through Avmira courses if they lack the qualifications for a particular vacancy. For Stas, this is a way to make education practical and justified.

"As part of the partnership, we have agreed on mutual integration of services. After completing training on Avmira, users will be able to use the "Find a Vacancy" function, which will help them move from training to finding real employment opportunities. At the same time, TheJob users will have access to the "Improve Qualifications" function, which will allow them to find relevant courses and educational programs on the Avmira platform," Stas said.

A new job search aggregator site has been launched in Ukraine, focused on IT specialists. TheJob is free and collects vacancies directly from companies

Stas solves financial issues like an adult. The platform remains free, because he is convinced that money should not be an obstacle for talented people. The guy pays for all servers and software from his own savings, which he earned from freelancing and custom software development. This is a conscious investment in the future, which will later pay off through paid certifications and affiliate programs for companies.

Legally, the project is still at the stage of registering copyrights and trademarks. Stas understands the limitations of his age, but this does not prevent him from building a brand that is already known in the Ukrainian IT community. His goal is to create a transparent and honest system where everyone has a chance to succeed.

"Avmira will have several sources of funding. Among them: paid certifications after completing training, paid retakes of exams, subscriptions to additional features and services, partner solutions for companies and organizations, as well as voluntary donations from users who want to support the development of the project," the young IT professional explained the principle of monetizing his product.

Artificial Intelligence and Creative Experiments

As Stas told dev.ua, the platform will soon feature an Avmi AI assistant based on Google's Gemini. It will help students understand complex topics and even conduct preliminary project checks. In addition, AI will generate unique exam questions to make the certification system as objective and secure from cheating as possible.

"One of the areas of development is the use of AI in the certification and exam system. We plan to implement functions for generating individual unique questions for each user, which will significantly reduce the risks of spreading ready-made answers and make the assessment more honest and objective," the guy shared.

Technology also helps the project team itself. Thanks to automation, Stas can devote more time to the quality of the content itself. This is how his literary experiment was born — the book “Shadow of the Soul,” written in just a week. It is a story about a boy’s inner journey during the war, where AI helped with the structure, translation, and visual design.

"'Shadow of the Soul' appeared in a rather unusual way. At that time, I was working on the development of Avmira Books (at that time still SXSCLI Books) and realized that to launch the library we needed at least one book. Then a simple thought arose: if we need a book, why not create it ourselves?", - the developer explained the idea of creating the book.

The book received over 10,000 views in its first month, which was a surprise even for the author. It intertwines themes of fear, silence, and the search for meaning amid the sounds of sirens — something every Ukrainian feels today. Stas emphasizes that AI was only a tool, and all the key creative decisions and emotional content remained with humans.

“We viewed AI not as an author, but as a tool that allows us to work faster on a project and test new approaches to content creation,” Stas noted.

This experience showed that technology can enhance creativity, not replace it. Despite the book’s success, Stas has no plans to return to writing books, except for technical literature, such as “Python For Teens,” to help other teenagers enter the profession faster. For him, each such project is a test of a new hypothesis or technological solution.

Advice to peers

His advice to teenagers is simple - don't wait for the "perfect moment" and big money. He himself started with small steps and a bunch of mistakes, which ultimately gave more experience than any theory.

"It often seems that launching a project requires a lot of money, a team, or many years of experience, but in practice, most successful projects start with a small idea and the first attempt to implement it," the developer advised.

The developer is convinced that age is no excuse for giving up on creating your own product. Instead of thinking too much, he suggests making the first, albeit imperfect, prototypes. In addition, the guy urges not to be afraid to ask for advice from more experienced colleagues.

“I believe that age should not be a reason to give up on your ideas. If you have a desire to create your own product, you should start at least with the simplest prototype. Even if the first version is far from ideal, it will give you much more experience than years of thinking about what could have been done one day. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help or ask questions. I know very well how difficult it can be to start, especially when there are few people around who can point you in the right direction,” Stas said.

It is precisely because of the lack of such support at the start that he now mentors other teenagers who want to launch their own digital projects for free. As the young Ati guy told dev.ua, he has already helped at least four guys. One example is Vexiaro, a service for optimizing AI prompts, which is preparing for release.

"For me, the biggest reward is not money, but the opportunity to gain experience working on real projects and see the results of my help. Each new project allows me to learn something new, gain practice, and better understand the needs of other developers and founders," Stas explained his motivation.

The guy's plans for the future are ambitious - in five years, he will turn Avmira into an international ecosystem. It will include the Technologies (software), Education (courses), and Research (market research) divisions. The project is being developed from the very beginning as multilingual in order to go beyond Ukraine and compete in the global EdTech market.

Stas' main rule is not to compare your beginning with the final results of others. Any large-scale project begins with a few lines of code, and perseverance after the first failures will definitely lead to a result that will be the best incentive to move on.

Every great product was once just an idea or a few lines of code. If you start today and don't give up after the first difficulties, the result can exceed all expectations. You will see what you have created and it will be your impetus!

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