Portrait No. 001
Vlada Bortnik
CEO & Co-founder
Marco Polo
After leaving Microsoft, my husband Michał and I were searching for what mattered most. We studied happiness research and kept coming back to one truth: relationships are the key to happiness. But even with all the different ways to stay in touch, it was still hard. As an immigrant who'd rebuilt belonging after leaving Ukraine, I understood what it meant to need genuine human connection. And as a new, working parent I experienced firsthand how hard it was to stay close to the people I loved. We started Marco Polo because we believed technology could help people feel close. And we believed we could do good and still do well. What makes us unique? We've put user well-being as a non-negotiable guardrail from day one, not a secondary metric to profit. With over 2.5 million five-star reviews and millions of monthly active users, we've shown that tech businesses can thrive by caring for the people they serve.
In her words
“We proved you can build a profitable social tech company without losing sight of your purpose, your people — or your heart.”
Chapter I
The toughest challenges you've faced as a founder.
The hardest part wasn't the nine iterations to find product-market fit, or even becoming profitable as a venture-backed company. It was learning to trust myself as CEO when I didn't fit the stereotype. I'm a woman, an immigrant, a mother. I lead with connection and feelings. Early on, I questioned whether that was enough—whether I was enough. The tech world kept showing me what CEOs were supposed to look like, and it wasn't me. But my husband convinced me otherwise. He gently challenged me to step into the CEO role and supported me as I wrestled with doubts. I've been CEO for the last seven years. We've achieved five consecutive years of revenue growth and been named \"Most Loved Place to Work\" two years in a row. I was named Most Loved CEO two years in a row. The real breakthrough? Realizing that my \"different\" approach wasn't a weakness—it was our competitive advantage. Leading with authenticity and care created the kind of company people actually want to work for and a product people trusted. We proved you can build a sustainable, profitable tech business and have a lot of fun along the way. Turns out, being myself was exactly enough.
Chapter II
Your vision.
We're living in an age of hyperconnection—yet people feel more alone than ever. Families drift. Friendships fade. Communities fragment. And the tech that promised to bring us closer often leaves us scrolling in silence. At Marco Polo, we're obsessed with repairing the social fabric—one real conversation at a time. Our purpose is to help people feel close. We believe relationships are the foundation of well-being. So we built a platform that helps people feel truly present with each other. Not through likes or loops, but through face, voice, and meaningful exchange. Depth over dopamine. And it's working. We're proving that technology can heal—and that inspired capitalism is possible. Where business models create impact, and doing good means doing well. The change we're enabling? A movement back towards relationships—where connection comes first again, and well-being is the measure of progress.
Chapter III
The impact you want to leave behind — for your industry, your community, and the women who come next.
Thirty years from now, I want people to look back and say: \"That's when we remembered the magic of technology—that it could help us feel close to ourselves and each other.\" I want a generation of founders embracing inspired capitalism, where maximizing profit and maximizing well-being are the same pursuit. And I want the loneliness epidemic behind us. The social fabric repaired. A world where real conversation matters again. Where we connect face to face, heart to heart. Where no one feels alone.