Today Grammarly turns 11! We can hardly believe how much has changed—and also how much has stayed the same.
Since our last anniversary, we’ve relaunched the Grammarly Editor with new writing dimensions, added a new office in Vancouver, rolled out our tone detector, and announced a new round of funding that will help us better support strong and consistent professional writing across teams. Those are only a few highlights—and just from over the past year. When we think back to the journey we’ve taken since our founding in 2009, we’re amazed at how the company has grown and transformed.
There’s also a lot that remains consistent. We’re still out to support people in their writing wherever they type. We’re still driven by our mission of improving lives by improving communication. And we’re still excited to work with thoughtful, collaborative team members who care about helping one another succeed. They truly make Grammarly what it is.
So on the occasion of our 11th anniversary, we thought we should hear from members of our team directly. We asked for people who joined Grammarly in each year of our history to talk about their memories and impressions—about who we’ve been and where we’re going.
The result is this countdown of Grammarly from our founding 11 years ago to the present—which our Data Science team has graciously allowed us to call 0 years ago—as told by long-time veterans and new faces alike.
Alex Shevchenko
Product Lead, Vancouver
Co-founded Grammarly in 2009
Since the beginning, I’ve been amazed by how Grammarly team members embrace change and periods of uncertainty—our team shows extraordinary adaptability and resilience. This was true when we shifted focus early on from making an education-technology product to building something for mass-market consumers. This was true when we changed our business model from subscription-only to freemium, then added an enterprise model to the mix. And it has been true when persevering through hardship—from revolution and war in Ukraine to now valiantly pushing through the COVID-19 pandemic. In all cases, Grammarlians have risen to every challenge.
Brad Hoover
CEO, San Francisco
Joined Grammarly in 2010
Of the many things I’ve learned at Grammarly, one I’d highlight is the importance of great communication, which starts with seeing others’ perspectives and adjusting your own accordingly. This unlocks creativity, problem-solving, and connection. I’m proud to be a part of a spectacular team that’s accomplished so much through world-class collaboration—which also makes me excited for our future!
Stas Kravets
Software Engineer, New York
Joined in 2011
I’ve always found Grammarly to be the rare opportunity where you get to develop something that’s very useful for millions of people while working with a great team.
We have been fortunate to have stable—but not too steep—growth, so we can always adapt in style. And here there’s not just room but a real need to learn, which is very beneficial for everyone in the company. Even greater opportunities lie ahead as we explore new ways to serve a new market of organizations and teams!
Galina Bratchik
Front-End Engineer, Kyiv
Joined in 2012
When I joined Grammarly, I was surprised to find such a sense of freedom and creativity. People truly care about the work they create here. Many things have changed over the years—but not this. I still see the same inspiration and passion in my colleagues’ work today as I did when I joined eight years ago.
Shanik Patel
Head of Growth Marketing, San Francisco
Joined in 2013
When I joined Grammarly, our SF office was made up of two small rooms in a coworking space. Three of us shared the tinier of the two rooms, which had two tables, three chairs, and four blank walls—we affectionately referred to it as the Marketing Dungeon. We attached a basketball hoop to the door so we could play HORSE or have slam dunk contests when we needed a break from devising new user acquisition strategies. Since then, our workspace has changed in a big way, as has pretty much everything: our product, our team, our user base.
But it’s what hasn’t changed that has kept me at Grammarly since 2013: the mission, the EAGER values of our team, the personal and professional growth opportunities, the ability to work on projects that have significant impact, and the conviction that we are building something truly great.
Vika Kolomiets
Recruitment Marketing Manager, Kyiv
Joined in 2014
A lot of things have changed over the years I’ve been with Grammarly: We’ve all grown professionally, launched new product features, opened new offices (and redesigned old ones), and brought lots of amazing ideas to life. But what has never changed is the atmosphere of the company and my excitement about working with all these talented people.
Grammarly is where I’ve had the freedom to be creative, where I сollaborate, and where I have fun—it’s part of my lifestyle! I’m incredibly happy and honored to work and be friends with so many wonderful folks who have so much in common but are all so unique.
Vitaliy Atrasevych
Computational Linguist, Kyiv
Joined in 2015
Every year I’ve been at Grammarly has been an evolution, so it feels like I’ve worked in several companies without leaving one. And yet the company’s friendly, positive culture hasn’t changed a bit.
My team’s primary focus is to develop new (and support existing) Grammarly suggestions. Working on improving communication for millions of people is already rewarding on its own. But when real Grammarly users start approaching you to say thank you, it is the most gratifying experience ever. It validates our work and encourages us to strive for more.
Tiffany Owyang
Workplace Experience Manager, San Francisco
Joined in 2016
I can still remember the co-working space we were in when I joined. We didn’t have a door on our side of the suite, so people could just walk in. When we wanted to eat together we sat around a ping pong table in a shared communal room. They were humbling times. It’s been wonderful seeing the company mature since then with such thought and care.
What’s been impressive to me is how much we’ve stayed the same in our values. At a company level, our policies have grown to empathize more with our team members. It’s not always easy but it’s the right thing to do. I’m really excited for our growth in the years to come—not just in numbers and square footage but in how the product we’re building can help bridge the gaps between people to help them understand one another.
Claudia Leacock
Analytical Linguist, New York
Joined in 2017
How quickly our analytical linguist team has grown since I started at Grammarly in 2017. Over the past three years the experience has been amazing. We have a wonderful team of analytical linguists now led by Courtney Napoles, our language data manager, and all the members of the team do such incredible work. We’re even in the process of hiring more to join. I’m very excited to see all the ways we will expand the possibilities of what we can do over the years to come.
Andriy Derevyanko
Engineering Manager, Kyiv
Joined in 2018
Without any doubt, the unique opportunity I’ve found at Grammarly is in applying my management skills to have a big impact. I’ve gone from managing a single team back in the beginning of 2018 to now overseeing six different functions with company-wide deliverables. Building or scaling the security, cloud infrastructure, and compliance functions has given me the chance to learn more about all of them. And I’ve found that I enjoy working in a cross-functional context—I feel like my contributions help the functions collaborate more effectively.
Kayla Broughton
IT Support Engineer, San Francisco
Joined in 2019
My most memorable experience at Grammarly so far was getting the Vancouver office wired up. It was wild to see the space come together, and I definitely underestimated the time it would take to set up just five conference rooms. There were a few delays that were out of my control, so I ended up having to set up and finish five rooms in less than 36 hours. But it all got done, and it was really rewarding to walk away from a finished product.
Mia Carrasco
Business Recruiter, San Francisco
Joined in 2020
I chose to kick off the new decade by joining the Grammarly Recruiting team. I’d been relying on Grammarly for years and I could not pass up the opportunity. I made the transition from a large company to a small but mighty org—and found that it has energized me tremendously!
The task I came here to tackle is to build out Grammarly’s Sales team in North America. Grammarly is entering its next massive growth phase right now fueled by our B2B product, Grammarly Business. When I reach out to candidates, I get to hear about all the ways Grammarly has touched people’s lives—the company has a lot of mega-fans!
It’s an exciting chance to grow something new within an established organization with incredible leaders. I am beyond excited to be part of it!
