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Linkup ST and InSoft.Partners Are Looking for Service Businesses to Partner With — Here's How to Pitch
Here's How to Pitch
Linkup ST and InSoft.Partners have launched a search for businesses to build the next generation of service companies together. We've already spoken with Vitalii Gorovyi about InSoft.Partners' philosophy on partnership, and with Andriy Sambir about the direction Linkup ST is heading. Here, we lay out exactly who they're looking for, what kinds of ideas they're open to, and what they bring to the table.
Extraordinary Changes as a Catalyst for Development: Why Gorovyi and Sambir Need Partners
"We're in the middle of a storm. Technological shifts and business model disruptions driven by AI, enormous geopolitical instability, and difficult times for the global economy — all of this is happening simultaneously. Almost every company must redefine itself. Yet we are convinced: these times are not only a threat. Every generation gets its moment to build something truly significant — Google and Facebook, for example, emerged precisely during periods of technological disruption like this. The market may be offering a similar opportunity right now — but capitalizing on it requires extraordinary effort, and extraordinary effort demands a paradigm-level response: if you want to go far, don't go it alone."
"We don't believe in the 'smartest person in the room' model. We believe in teamwork. That's what drives our appetite for finding partners — people who have their own ideas and groundwork, and who are ready to bring them to life and scale them with us. There's an important distinction between co-founding, where both sides start from scratch, and an amplifying partnership. We come with built infrastructure, contacts at various levels, and a deep understanding of international markets. The right partner is someone for whom this ecosystem will significantly accelerate the development of their idea — or their existing business."
Partner Profile and Red Flags: Who Should (and Should Not) Apply
Who can apply
Solo founders with an idea, or teams of up to 100–150 people
Stage
From a raw idea to an established business with niche expertise
Hard Skills
Deep niche knowledge in a specific, narrow area
Soft Skills
Integrity, flexibility, and the ability to take a hit
Business type
Service models: UX, Software Development, Digital Marketing; optionally — solution products that serve as a client entry point
"To be clear upfront: we are not a venture fund. We're looking for people who will work alongside us on a daily basis — not someone who wants capital and then quietly goes off to do their own thing on the sidelines. Equally, we have little interest in those who believe the old outsourcing market will inevitably come back if they just wait it out. And we're not looking for a salaried manager. We want a partner — a person or team who will run this marathon with us full-time."
There's no single checklist, but a few things matter most:
Niche expertise
We're not looking for generalists. We want people with genuine depth in something specific — strategic marketing, sales into a particular market, a specific technology stack.
Your own vision
You need to come with an idea and at least a rough sense of how to achieve it. We can work through the nuances together. We'll find the resources.
Resilience
An entrepreneur is someone who fell nine times and got up the tenth. This is not romanticism — if the first serious setback sends you into a knockout, it will be very difficult for us to work together.
Flexibility
The decisions we make tomorrow may dramatically change the business structure. How ready are you for that?
Shared values
Integrity is a baseline condition. If that doesn't matter to you, there is nothing more to discuss.
On the question of stage: we welcome both a solo founder with an idea and a formed team. An individual can come with a concept and niche expertise — and we'll be glad to immerse them in our system. With a team, we'll work out together what format of cooperation makes the most sense to successfully leverage the available opportunities and resources. But it's essential to understand: in the first phase, we are investors who will receive a stake; in the second, partners working side by side.
The Areas We're Most Interested In
Tentatively, we have identified three areas where a partnership is most likely to create real synergy:
Design
We're particularly interested in people or teams who understand design in a broader, more comprehensive sense — branding, strategic UX, or a deep focus on specific markets
Software Development
We have deep expertise in this space, so if someone has a vision for what it could look like reimagined — we're interested
Digital Marketing
Outbound, inbound, emerging channels, new approaches to lead generation. If you deeply understand how to promote a service business in 2026 and 2027 — we're very interested
That said, this list isn't closed. The right idea might be something we haven't considered yet — perhaps a solution product that opens a client relationship and creates the foundation for ongoing service work.
What Partners Get
The first thing — and the one that rarely gets mentioned — is support. A person with an innovative idea often feels alone with it, and at that stage, it matters enormously to find like-minded people who are just as 'slightly crazy'.For those making the jump from employment into their own business, this also means significantly reduced risk. We'll help you avoid the common mistakes — we've been through them more than once. But it's important to note: if you're not ready to work on your idea full-time alongside us, and instead plan to do it only evenings and weekends while spending the rest of your time doing something else — that's not an option for us.Beyond that, we offer our experience working across a large number of companies and markets, an accumulated network, a built team, existing infrastructure, and — of course — money. All of this we are prepared to put into our shared work
Submit your idea using the form at the link below.
You'll hear back within two weeks.
Application deadline: May 20, 2025.
How to Apply
