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45 minutes for the presentation, followed by 15 minutes for Q&A.
Serge B. (PandaDoc co-founder & CTO): vision + architecture, involved earlyGuy P. (LiveNotary founder, notary): compliance, sales, marketingMe: roadmap, prioritization, and full product ownership after Guy’s departureR&D team: designer, EM, 1–4 engineering squads over time
creating notary sessionsrunning video sessions with identity verification and document signingmaintaining a secure digital journal with all artifacts (recordings, documents, and audit trails)
Adoption: 300+ monthly business customersRevenue: $3M ARR, $750 ARPAThe only incubation to advance from Incubation → Transformation → Core (out of 10+ bets like Forms, Rooms, CLM, Real Estate, etc.)
Start fresh: Killing LiveNotary let us leverage PandaDoc’s strengths (editor, templates, API) despite some limitations.Simple pricing: Flat fee per session ($10 in-house, $25 on-demand) vs. (per document, stamp, and signer).UX/UI first: Built one of the most intuitive platforms on the market, knowing most notaries aren’t tech-savvy.Mobile-first: Over 50% of signers join via phone. Surprise: some connect with notaries while driving, resulting in session terminations.From PoC to scale: Started scrappy, then rebuilt after traction and first big deals.Estate planning focus: from small clients → $2.2M enterprise deal Efficiency: Used notaries as witnesses instead of maintaining a separate pool.API & Embedded: Built a robust API and won over customers frustrated with competitors’ weak offerings.Florida notaries + biometrics: Hired only Florida-commissioned notaries to replace KBA with biometrics – unlocking international signer use cases competitors couldn’t handle.
First live session had no mute or video-offOn-Demand launched in under a quarter, no notification systemSupported even small ARR customers if growth potential was there (e.g., prenup service expanding rapidly)Built observability + automations early in faster the feedback loop – shortening the feedback cycle
We first envisioned PandaDoc as a multi-product suite (PandaDoc, PandaNotary). Over time, we pivoted—integrating Notary into seamless workflows inside PandaDoc.We thought BYON and On-Demand were separate use cases, but customers often need both: in-house notaries for most sessions, On-Demand for peaks and after-hours.
A city of contrasts: Beautiful historic neighborhoods stand beside aging Soviet blocks and scattered new developments.Car-dominated: Car ownership has outpaced road capacity → traffic jams & lost time.Transit backbone, weak links: Metro reliable but limited in reach; surface transport (buses/trams) is outdated & poorly integrated.Green but uneven: Kyiv has parks and riverbanks, but access, quality, and maintenance differ sharply by district.Resilient yet fragile: city adapted to the war, but critical systems (energy, heating, water) remain vulnerable to attacks.
Decentralized energy grids: Solar, wind, and storage powering neighborhoods independently, with critical systems moved undergroundModern water & heating: Distributed, upgraded networks that keep homes safe and livable during disruptionsExpanded shelters: Adaptive, well-equipped, embedded into schools, malls, transit hubs50%+ of energy from local generation99% uptime for utilities (electricity, water, heating)80% of residents <15 min from shelter
Metro expansion: Double coverage – Kyiv has 52 stations, while Berlin with 3.7M people has 175Autonomous buses: Always-on, demand-driven, seamlessly connecting districts beyond metro reachWalk & cycle first: Car-free downtown and safe bike lanes – transforming the heart of Kyiv into a vibrant pedestrian hubAverage commute ↓ 40%80% residents within 10 min walk of metro/bus stop50%+ of trips non-car
Energy-efficient homes: Replace unsafe Soviet blocks with energy-efficient buildings that cut costs and reduce dependence on fragile energy systems.Mixed-use neighborhoods: Daily needs (shops, schools, clinics) within walking distance.Community-centered design: Public spaces, courtyards, and green zones that foster community and improve quality of life.70% of unsafe blocks replaced by 2035New housing 40% more energy efficient90% of new developments include mixed-use infrastructure
Parks & plazas: Replace asphalt with lively spaces for culture, play, and community.Urban forests: Plant urban trees to cut pollution, fight heat, and restore biodiversity.Riverside promenades: Open the Dnipro’s banks for people, making the river a frequent destination.99% residents within 10 min walk of a parkUrban tree cover ↑ to 30% (vs ~18%)75% of Dnipro embankments public
Kyiv population ↑ to 3.5M+, 20% returnees from diasporaTop-5 livability ranking in Eastern EuropeResident “quality of life” satisfaction ↑ YoY
War reality: Kyiv needs massive shelter capacity – requiring multibillion-dollar investment in reinforced shelters with air filtration and medical facilities.Peace problem: In peacetime, unused shelters risk becoming dead infrastructure draining budgets.Trade-off: Design shelters as multi-use – malls, venues, storage, or data centers. Revenue in peace, protection in war.
Vision: Car-free downtown creates beautiful pedestrian spaces – cleaner air, safer streets, vibrant cultural life.Reality: Pushing 500K+ cars to city edges creates massive traffic collapse at borders – traffic jams, pollution, and disruption.Trade-off: Phased transition – pilot car-free weekends, expand metro first, then scale district by district.
Vision: Always-on, demand-driven buses cut costs, boost coverage, and integrate with metro.Reality: Automation displaces thousands of drivers and staff currently employed in Kyiv’s public transport system – creating unemployment and social pushback.Trade-off: Gradual rollout with retraining – redeploy workers into fleet maintenance, safety, AI ops. Efficiency with social stability.
Vision: Energy-efficient, high-density housing lowers infrastructure costs.Reality: High efficiency often drives up costs — making new homes accessible only to high-income groups, while working families get pushed to the suburbs, deepening segregation.Trade-off: 30% affordable units per project, financed via cross-subsidization + land value capture.
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Grammarly – PM Exercise Presentation
Candidate:
@Igor Stefanyuk
Format:
Background Overview (5 min)
Project Deep Dive (20 min)
How It Started
During COVID, most U.S. states legalized Remote Online Notarization (RON), creating a brand-new category of platforms.
PandaDoc, originally built for sales teams, had already expanded into broader workflows. Naturally, customers started asking: “Can we notarize inside PandaDoc too?”
In March 2021, a 2-person startup. The product couldn’t scale, so we shut it down and rebuilt from the ground up at PandaDoc – blending Guy’s notary background (one of the LiveNotary founders) and the PandaDoc product team’s expertise, with me driving product from day one.
Team
Documentation in Coda
From Zero to One
We started in August 2021 and, just six months later, in March 2022 launched our first RON product. Built for organizations with in-house notaries – especially legal firms and independent notaries – the MVP delivered three core capabilities:
Notary session
Notary Journal
The first release was scrappy – uploads worked only through PandaDoc, there was no scheduling, no mute or video-off option, and it was limited to just a few states. But it worked. It generated real usage and, more importantly, gave us the opportunity to learn while building.
In those early months, I spent hours every day in FullStory, closely watching how users interacted with the product and where they struggled – so much that engineering jokingly nicknamed me the “FullStory Manager.”
2022 – screenshot of the Miro board with feedback from early customers
In December 2022, we launched On-Demand, giving PandaDoc’s 60,000 customers the ability to connect with a notary in minutes.
That release was scrappy too – more proof-of-concept than polished product. We built it in under a quarter, with major technical shortcuts and no real notification system (notaries literally had to sit and watch the screen for requests). Still, it unlocked our first deals, with Guy himself handling every session as the only notary, before we began onboarding others to grow the supply side.
Connect with a notary experience
Connect with a notary experience
Slack channel for notaries to pick up requests
Amplitude: Transaction usage
Outcomes
Key Decisions
2022 – Sergey sold a boat and completed the notarization for it on his phone Friday evening
On-Demand Moves
2025 – Renewal of estate planning customer
What Helped Us Succeed
Ship Fast
Customer Obsession
Slack channel PandaDoc <> First
Maximize Visibility
Slack channel with terminated sessions
Learning
Simplify, don’t complicate
Initial navigation
Sketch of the unified notary experience (future vision)
Exercise Prompt (20 min)
Framing the Problem
Kyiv is a historic capital with 1,500+ years of history and over 3 million people, but daily life is constrained by long-standing quality-of-life challenges, intensified by war, which reshapes the city and creates new hardships.
Kyiv 2025 – Today’s Reality
The goal is not just to rebuild the past, but to create a globally competitive city built around people, not vehicles – where AI powers mobility, infrastructure, and public services; a high share of land is preserved for nature; and people’s wellbeing is prioritized above traffic and concrete. This is the city that will attract investment, talent, and its returning diaspora.
What I’d Change (and Why)
🛡️ Resilient Infrastructure
The Change
Kyiv rebuilt with decentralized energy, modern utilities, and expanded shelters – a city designed to function under any stress.
Why It Matters
War exposed how fragile centralized systems are. Resilient infrastructure ensures Kyiv stays powered and protected – no matter the next crisis, whether war or climate.
How Success Looks
🚇 Mobility Revolution
The Change
Kyiv as a 15-minute city: expanded metro, autonomous surface transport, and a walk- & cycle-first approach.
Why It Matters
Residents waste 2 hours daily on inefficient transport. Smart transport system gives back time, cuts stress, and lifts quality of life.
How Success Looks
🏙️ Modern Housing
The Change
Replace unsafe Soviet blocks with energy-efficient, mixed-use neighborhoods that foster community life.
Why It Matters
Much of Kyiv’s housing stock is outdated, unsafe, and inefficient. Modern housing means safe homes and vibrant neighborhoods.
How Success Looks
🌳 Public & Green Spaces
The Change
Turn asphalt and parking lots into parks, plazas, and riverside promenades – putting nature back at the heart of Kyiv.
Why It Matters
Too much concrete, too little green. More trees and open spaces mean cleaner air, cooler summers, and a healthier, more beautiful city.
How Success Looks
What Else I’d Measure
Hard Tradeoffs
Shelter Investment Dilemma
Cars vs. People
Autonomous Buses: Efficiency vs. Employment
Housing Efficiency vs. Affordability
Q&A section (15 min)
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