In the fourth of a series about non-tech founders securing venture funding, Crunchbase News interviews Craft CEO Ilya Levtov. A Julliard-trained cellist and Stanford Business School graduate, Levtov launched Craft, a San Francisco-based supply chain intelligence software company, despite never writing a single line of code. Over 12 years, Craft now works with 35 federal agencies and generates double-digit millions in annual recurring revenue.

Levtov’s journey began with a family emigration from the Soviet Union and a career in music before pivoting to business. He gained early experience at Goldman Sachs and Spot Runner before moving into venture capital at Venrock and operating roles at Crunchyroll and Deutsche Telekom. His startup idea originated from profiling companies for distribution partnerships.

Unlike technical founders who code on nights and weekends, Levtov relied on freelance developers, which significantly slowed initial product development. He emphasizes that non-technical founders face a fundamentally longer path to launch, yet his experience challenges the Silicon Valley preference for technical founders as a simplistic view. Despite these hurdles, Levtov secured $42 million in funding, proving that a non-technical background need not be a barrier to building a successful, venture-backed enterprise.