Tech + AI Entrepreneur · Ex-Fashion CEO

Founder, CEO. I build products that work.

I ran operations, built products, and led companies. Now focused on AI entrepreneurship and helping companies scale.

Denis Anikin - Tech entrepreneur and former fashion CEO surrounded by floating tech devices representing focus in chaos
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About me

I spent a decade in fashion operations and leadership, eventually becoming CEO. I learned how to build systems that scale, lead teams through complexity, and ship under pressure.

The work taught me that most business problems are systems problems. Bad workflows kill good strategies. Great operators obsess over the unglamorous details—hiring, process design, decision velocity.

In 2025, I shifted focus entirely to tech and AI. I started building products, advising startups, and exploring what's possible when you combine operational discipline with emerging technology.

Today I'm building AI companies and working with founders who want to move faster without breaking things. I believe in small teams, clear systems, and shipping early. I've seen what works at scale and what doesn't.

If you're a builder of something real, I'd be happy to talk.

Current focus

Building AI Products

I'm currently focused on AI entrepreneurship—building products that solve real problems, not demo-ware. I care about adoption, retention, and business model fit, not just technical novelty.

Advising Operators

I work with founders and executives on operational systems, team design, and scaling strategy. Best fit: you're past product-market fit and need to professionalize without losing speed.

Systems Design

Whether it's hiring pipelines, decision frameworks, or org design, I help teams build systems that compound over time. Most companies under-invest here until it's too late.

How I think about building

1. Ship, then iterate

Perfect products don't ship. Good products improve after launch. Velocity beats perfection when you have feedback loops. The best companies I've seen move fast, learn publicly, and compound improvements weekly.

2. Systems > heroics

Hero culture is a red flag. If your business depends on people working weekends or "going the extra mile" constantly, you have a systems problem, not a people problem. Build leverage, not burnout.

3. Hire for slope, not Y-intercept

The best hires aren't the most credentialed—they're the fastest learners. Look for people who've done hard things with limited resources. Experience matters less than trajectory.

4. Small teams, high agency

Large teams move slow. Consensus culture kills speed. Keep teams small, give them real ownership, and let them make reversible decisions without approval chains. Trust scales better than process.

5. Solve the real problem

Most "strategy" discussions are really execution discussions in disguise. Before adding headcount or tools, ask: what's actually broken? Often the answer is clarity, not resources.

6. Operational discipline enables creative risk

The companies that innovate successfully have boring operations. Tight financial controls, clean reporting, reliable systems—these create room to take smart risks elsewhere.

7. Default to transparency

Information hoarding is a tax on your team. Share context, share numbers, share reasoning. People make better decisions when they understand the full picture. Secrecy should be exceptional, not default.

8. Build in public, learn in private

Share your work early and often. But take feedback selectively—not everyone's advice is relevant to your context. Strong opinions, loosely held. Update your priors when reality disagrees.

Let's connect

I'm always interested in connecting with builders, operators, and people working on hard problems.

Best topics to reach out about:

  • AI product development and go-to-market
  • Operational systems and scaling strategy
  • Fashion/retail operations and transformation
  • Early-stage startups looking for advising
  • Speaking opportunities on entrepreneurship or operations

Reach me at: