Founder Chats - Vadim Dedov

In this episode of Code Story, host Noah interviews Vadim Dedov, CEO of Catchers, a workforce platform built to solve the operational chaos of managing gig workers at scale. Vadim shares how his early life experiences—losing his father young and taking responsibility for his family—shaped his proactive, team-oriented leadership style. The founding pain point emerged from running an HR agency with no tech, relying on Excel spreadsheets that became unmanageable as the business grew. This led to building Catchers internally as a solution, eventually evolving into a product focused on the worker, not HR departments. The platform enables instant shift booking, document uploads, and automated compliance, reducing time-to-work from days to minutes. Vadim discusses key decisions, including pivoting from a risky facial recognition check-in system due to new biometric regulations, and prioritizing core architecture over feature bloat. He emphasizes the importance of team culture, shared values, and building a strong foundation before scaling. Looking ahead, he sees AI and automation as powerful tools for streamlining operations, but stresses starting with clear structure and fundamentals. The episode concludes with reflections on resilience, reliability, and the importance of solving real operational problems with thoughtful design. Key takeaways include: (1) Solve real operational pain points before building a product; (2) Prioritize core functionality and architecture over feature overload; (3) Build teams based on mindset and values, not just resumes; (4) Be ready to pivot when regulations or technology shift; (5) Use AI and automation to reduce repetitive work, not replace human judgment; (6) Start with structure—clear priorities and a solid backbone—before scaling; (7) A .tech domain signals tech focus and clarity to investors and customers; (8) Reliability under pressure is a hallmark of a well-built system.