Intch

How I Built A Professional Networking App To 500K Users

save

About
Business

Yakov Filippenko

Founder, Intch

$1M

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

Intch

intch.org

from Wilmington

started January 2021

$1,000,000

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

Discover what tools recommends to grow your business!

Discover what books Yakov recommends to grow your business!

Want more updates on Intch? Check out these stories:

Who are you and what business did you start?

I’m Yakov Filippenko, a tech entrepreneur with 10+ years of experience in building and scaling startups. My journey started at Yandex, where I led a team that grew our product’s user base from 500K to 1.2M and expanded it internationally. After that, I was a CTO at an EduTech startup, Lingualeo. There, my key project was leading our launch into our first international market: Brazil. After that, I co-founded SailPlay, scaling it to 45 countries before it was acquired in 2018.

In 2021, I launched Intch, the first AI-powered platform that connects part-time professionals with businesses through networking and feedback-driven matches. We’re redefining the Future of Work for small businesses by offering them access to verified professionals available for part-time positions. These are tailored to top professionals, and allow SMBs to access talent at 1/3 of the cost. This year, Intch has grown from 65K to 500K active users, helping thousands of businesses and professionals thrive in the $126 billion flexible work market.

Our business stands out because of our hyper-focused approach to growth, driven by strategic part-time hiring and rapid hypothesis testing. When funding was tight, we shifted to validating ideas in 1-2 weeks, quickly abandoning underperforming tactics and doubling down on those with immediate, tangible results. This agile strategy allowed us to optimize resources and achieve 70x growth in just 10 months.

What sets us apart is how we deeply listen to user needs and pivot accordingly. Initially a general networking platform, we noticed users gravitating toward specific goals like hiring and sales. By rapidly testing ad sprints on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, we validated which features users were willing to pay for and focused exclusively on delivering those. This data-driven adaptability made us highly effective at addressing real problems, not just assumptions.

The game-changer was our strategic use of part-time hiring through our own platform. We brought in experts for niche tasks, like B2C Instagram acquisition, instead of relying on generalists, allowing us to scale smarter and faster. By combining the right talent with precise problem-solving, we created a business that’s both lean and impactful, delivering real value where it matters most.

Currently, our monthly revenue is approximately $1 million.

How do you come up with the idea for Intch?

The idea for Intch came during a time of massive change in the job market. After COVID, WFH untethered people from offices. Many moved to new places or even countries, realizing they didn’t need to live near expensive urban centers just for work. As an expat in the U.S., I felt this shift personally when I was trying to hire people for my projects. It wasn’t easy, and most of the time, I was relying on old classmates or distant connections to find the right people.

My image

At the same time, the job market was undergoing a major transformation. By December 2023, 22 million Americans were already switching to part-time work, the highest mobility levels in two decades. Big companies were making headlines with layoffs, and the old model of endless hiring and company loyalty was fading fast. At the same time, SMBs were feeling the pressure even more. They couldn’t afford to hire large full-time teams, so they started turning to part-time superprofessionals to fill the gaps efficiently.

Seeing these trends, I realized there was a huge opportunity to connect professionals and businesses in a way that fit the new reality of work. That’s how Intch was born. Our platform makes these connections simple, smart, and effective for everyone involved.

My image

How did you build the initial version of Intch?

We started building Intch by looking at how people network and what they need most from it. Offline networking works because it’s built on trust and fun (think about how every great event has a party!). But online platforms? They often miss the mark when it comes to creating that same vibe of trust and enjoyment. We also found that people network for three main reasons: finding clients, hiring talent, or expanding their circle. Expats stood out as the most active networkers, likely because they need extra support when adapting to new environments. To build trust, we made verification a key feature, requiring users to confirm their identity with small payments. This helped us create a high-quality, trustworthy community.

The first version of Intch was a web platform launched during the pandemic, when people wanted to connect with like-minded peers while staying at home. But as the world moved on, priorities shifted. Networking became more about solving specific problems, like finding the right talent or closing a deal. We realized a mobile app would better fit with users’ busy lives, so we focused on making the platform easy to use and goal-oriented.

Our biggest breakthrough was the matching algorithm. Instead of just helping people find who they already know, we designed it to suggest who they should meet next based on their current goals. It looks at users’ current experience and future interests to make smart, meaningful connections. This approach turned networking into a tool that drives real results, helping people and businesses achieve their goals in today’s fast-changing work environment.

How did you launch Intch and get initial traction?

We launched Intch in a very hands-on, scrappy way. With a small team of 4, we built the first version of the product in just 3 months and immediately rolled it out. We started by sharing it within our personal networks, leveraging connections like Igor Ryabenkiy and inviting people from Clubhouse to try it out. With a bit of PR and word-of-mouth, we grew to 4,000 early adopters, mostly through warm recommendations. At first, it was just us and our peers using the platform, and at some point, we realized: it’s live, we’ve launched!

My image

The next turning point came when Tasha Konkina joined the team. Her input helped us focus more sharply in a specific direction: connecting top professionals with part-time work opportunities. That clarity shifted us away from a broad scope to a more targeted approach. We doubled down on performance marketing, which drove significant growth, and continued refining the product based on user feedback.

Now, we’re scaling even further by breaking our platform into specialized features to serve different needs. What started as a simple networking experiment has evolved into a full-fledged platform helping professionals and businesses navigate the future of work.

What was the growth strategy for Intch and how did you scale?

Our growth has been directly tied to strategic part-time hiring and an agile approach when testing hypotheses. When funding became tight, we had to make the most of our limited resources. We shifted to hyper-focused hypothesis testing, making sure we didn’t spend more than 1-2 weeks on validation. This allowed us to quickly abandon low-performing tactics and double down on strategies that showed immediate, tangible results.

My image

What were the biggest lessons learned from building Intch?

In the past, founders focused on investor-friendly metrics like user growth, but today, the priority has shifted to revenue and long-term sustainability. In a rapidly evolving market, it’s even more crucial than ever before to understand your users' needs and adapt swiftly. To stay competitive, be ready to test ideas quickly, hire on demand, and stay flexible. The current shift in hiring is similar to the rise of cloud computing — it’s empowering startups to become more agile, and this trend is only accelerating.

Based on my experience, I often advise startups in ways that might differ from YC's advice to keep everything in-house. I recommend hiring part-time experts with a proven track record in your specific field. This approach helps you avoid wasting time wondering if a strategy is failing or if the issue is market fit. Experts bring the knowledge you need immediately, saving you valuable time and resources.

My image

Discover Similar Business Ideas Like Intch

	Idea	Revenue	Traffic	Revenue Per Visitor	Starting Costs
Resume Boost AI	resume writing service	$1K monthly	— monthly	— per visitor	— to start
Movo	human resources consu...	$2M monthly	— monthly	— per visitor	— to start
Hirize	online resume builder...	$14K monthly	— monthly	— per visitor	— to start
Oyster HR	recruiting business	$8.33M monthly	— monthly	— per visitor	— to start
MATCHR	hr solution business	$70K monthly	— monthly	— per visitor	— to start