EPISODE · Oct 25, 2023 · 55 MIN
Alex Shevelenko: Elevating Digital Document Experiences
from Scouting for Growth · host Sabine VdL
On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Alex Shevelenko, the CEO and Co-Founder of Relayto, who brings to the table a compelling narrative of how transforming mundane PDFs and presentations into interactive web experiences is not just an upgrade but a necessity. Today, we will weave through Alex's entrepreneurial voyage, his insights on leadership, the genesis and trajectory of Relayto, and a glance into the future of digital content experiences. Alex’s perspectives on our dialogue will bring both foresight and actionable intelligence on harnessing interactive content management platforms like Relayto. We unmask the potential of interactive AI-led content management platforms to reshape enterprise communication and how leaders can leverage this technology to foster better engagement in a world of digitalization. KEY TAKEAWAYS At my first job, an internship at Microsoft Office in 1997, I discovered that PDF was taking over PowerPoint and Word as the primary format customers wanted. The medium we’re advocating is consumer-centric. They start with the end recipient in mind and, in the process, make that vision a reality by using AI and no-code software. The more valuable the idea for progression, the worse it’s communicated. The more trivial ideas have a ton of clickbait ads that try to get you to buy stuff that you don’t need and solve problems you don’t really have. BEST MOMENTS ‘Entrepreneurship tends to call on you.’ ‘Fundamentally, it’s about the consumer of your content… what do they want to do? Increasingly, they want a conversation rather than be pummelled with information, they want to be engaged and make the interaction their own.’ ‘It’s a privilege and a joy to work on something you really believe in.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Alex Shevelenko is the CEO and Co-Founder of Relayto, a document experience platform that turns conventional PDFs and presentations into interactive web experiences. With over 20 years of experience in the technology industry, Alex has worn many hats across global organizations such as Microsoft, Salesforce, SAP SuccessFactors, and Oliver Wyman Consulting. His career reflects his passion for innovation and his innate ability to lead and inspire teams. Alex holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. He has also completed executive education at Harvard Business School. As a serial entrepreneur, Alex founded the management consulting firm Glocal Partners, where he advised international companies on growth strategies and innovation. This experience laid the foundation for his current venture, Relayto. Since co-founding Relayto in 2017, Alex has rapidly grown the company. Relayto has raised $500K in funding to date and hit $1.6M in revenue in 2022. Under Alex's leadership, Relayto transforms how enterprises communicate and engage with digital documents. When he's not building Relayto, Alex is an avid reader and movie buff. He also loves to travel the world, having been to over 29 countries across 6 continents. Alex brings a unique blend of leadership, innovation, and global perspective. ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at [email protected]
What this episode covers
What if the biggest barrier to enterprise progress wasn’t a lack of ideas—but how those ideas are communicated? In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden sits down with Alex Shevelenko, CEO and Co-Founder of Relayto, to explore why static PDFs and presentations are quietly holding organisations back—and why interactive, AI-led content experiences are becoming a strategic necessity, not a design upgrade. Alex’s perspective on digital content was shaped early. During an internship at Microsoft Office in the late 1990s, he noticed something that most leaders ignored at the time: customers increasingly wanted PDFs over PowerPoint and Word. Not because PDFs were better—but because they were easier to distribute. That shift set off a long-running tension between convenience and communication—one that Relayto now aims to resolve. At the heart of the conversation is a simple but uncomfortable truth: the more important the idea, the worse it’s often communicated. Trivial products are wrapped in clickbait and aggressive marketing, while genuinely transformational ideas are buried in static decks and dense documents. Alex argues that enterprises haven’t failed to innovate—they’ve failed to engage. Relayto flips the model by starting with the consumer of content, not the creator. Whether it’s a customer, partner, or internal stakeholder, modern audiences want interaction, not information overload. They want to explore, respond, and shape the conversation themselves. Using AI and no-code capabilities, Relayto enables teams to transform documents into living web experiences—measurable, adaptive, and designed for engagement. Leadership and entrepreneurship thread naturally through the episode. Alex reflects on how entrepreneurship isn’t always a choice—it’s something that calls you. Building Relayto has been about more than technology; it’s been about aligning belief with execution and giving teams the tools to communicate what actually matters. The discussion also looks forward. As digitalisation accelerates, enterprises can no longer rely on static formats to explain complex strategies, products, or transformations. Interactive content becomes a strategic lever—improving understanding, shortening decision cycles, and creating feedback loops that traditional documents simply can’t support. This episode is for enterprise leaders, innovation teams, and transformation executives who know their ideas are sound—but suspect their message isn’t landing. It’s for anyone grappling with engagement in a world saturated with information but starved of meaning. Because in a digital economy, progress doesn’t stall due to a lack of intelligence— it stalls when intelligence fails to connect. And that’s exactly what Scouting for Growth exists to challenge.
NOW PLAYING
Alex Shevelenko: Elevating Digital Document Experiences
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Mar 26, 2026 ·1m
Jan 2, 2026 ·47m
Dec 21, 2025 ·46m