Kirill Goryunov

Kirill Goryunov is a technology entrepreneur, investor, and classical musician. He is best known as the founder and CEO of HumanIPO, as well as a pioneer and early promoter of the concept of investing directly in people.

In the early days of his career, he spent time between music and technology, earning degrees in both fields, and eventually transitioning from a classical musician (operatic baritone) to a technology entrepreneur.

In early 2019, Goryunov proposed the concept of investing in people directly, which eventually became the basis for creating HumanIPO.

Career in music
Goryunov made his operatic stage debut in 2014 in the title role in Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin at The Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. In the same year, he performed as Robert in Iolanta, and participated in the premiere of Benjamin Britten's opera Death in Venice with Ian Bostridge and under conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky. His first international appearance was in 2014 at the Mirjam Helin Singing Competition, where he was the only male singer representing his home country. The following year, he performed at the Royal Opera House and Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre.

After graduating from the Moscow Conservatory under the guidance of former Bolshoi Theatre soloist Prof. Vladislav Piavko and Prof. Anatoly Loshak, Goryunov has been trained by and worked with leading artists and conductors such as Plácido Domingo, Vladimir Chernov, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Ian Bostridge, Vladimir Baykov, Franz Grundheber, Galina Pisarenko, Irina Gavrilovici and others.

Goryunov holds multiple international awards and honours, and is a fellow of the Sergey Lemeshev Foundation.

Career in technology
Goryunov began his tech career in 2011 as a software engineer. After working at several startups, he spent a few years at Google leading experimental projects, including the people graph and new hiring programs.

Investing in people directly
He launched HumanIPO in 2020 as the first marketplace for buying, selling, and redeeming shares in creators. Each share is redeemable and represents time with a specific creator. Buyers can hold, sell, or redeem shares to collaborate with the creator. HumanIPO is now used by creators, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, YouTube creators, writers, musicians, and professional athletes.

Reaction in media
After the release of an article by Wired magazine about HumanIPO, active debates emerged in the tech community about whether it represents a revolutionary way to invest in individuals or a new form of indentured servitude. The website received mixed reviews on its Product Hunt page. Some of the reactions were about assigning values to people and potential disparities related to the algorithm suggesting a starting share price.

In August 2021, soccer icon Pelé announced his launch on HumanIPO, which led to another wave of debates about the concept and this model.