The story of Anton
Learning adaptability between Belarus and Germany
Anton was born in Belarus soon after the Soviet Union collapsed. His parents had studied in Germany, and they arranged for him to spend recurring summers there with family friends and attend local school. Each visit required him to reenter a social group and recover a language he had not used consistently, which built adaptability across two very different cultures and educational systems.
Belarus gave him a strong mathematical foundation, while Germany exposed him to a more open and creative classroom environment. His parents encouraged broad experimentation rather than forcing one path, so he tried chess, tennis, kickboxing, film, and other interests. In his early teens, that freedom led him to film school and a role in an educational television series in Belarus.
Acting burnout, a difficult job search, and rapid experiments
National television gave Anton his first meaningful income, but the waiting and repetition of production quickly made acting feel unsustainable. He kept the larger ambition of directing and creating, then pursued business and technology in the United States. Admission to Harvard Business School did not remove ordinary career friction. He applied to about 200 jobs before securing a product management role at Duolingo.
There he saw a company run roughly 400 product experiments at the same time, with different users receiving slightly different versions. The lesson was practical: strong products emerge from a large number of tested hypotheses, and simple changes can outperform elaborate ones. That operating discipline became more useful to him than relying on a single grand vision.
Turning better sleep into a game with Sleepagotchi
Anton now applies product experimentation and game design to Sleepagotchi. Users receive a daily score based on when they went to bed, when they woke, and how long they slept, then earn chances at characters, resources, and longer-term digital rewards. The company combines a sleep application with social growth mechanics, a Telegram mini app, and a friendly character system designed to make health behavior feel welcoming.
Sleepagotchi can integrate with devices such as Fitbit, Apple Watch, and Oura, but it does not require one. For users without wearables, phone activity acts as a practical proxy for sleep. Anton focuses on behaviors people can control, and he differentiates the product through its blend of game development, viral social features, and financial incentives.