Why We Are No Longer Just a Marketplace and Are Spinning Off SaaS

Honesty is the most valuable currency in venture capital. We recently received a "no" from an investment fund, and it was the most useful "no" in the history of our project.

We are building Iconicompany as a platform with a powerful AI engine. We have AI agents, automated scoring, and complex matching algorithms. We always considered ourselves a product-based IT startup. We approached investors with enthusiasm, showing them our technology and metrics.

The response from Brainbox.VC was direct and sobering:

“At present, your project is a technologically advanced but classic outstaffing agency... Your statement that 'all revenue comes from outstaffing' is key... This technology serves as a tool to optimize your operations rather than functioning as a standalone product.”

What is the Problem with the "Hybrid Model"?

We fell into a classic founder's trap. We tried to sit on two chairs at once:

1. Service Business (Outstaffing): We sell the hands and minds of developers. This generates Cash Flow here and now. It is reliable, but it is not a venture story (low valuation multiple).
2. Product Business (SaaS): We are building complex software that allows us to find these people faster and more accurately. This requires R&D and burns cash, but promises exponential growth (SaaS multiples).

For an investor, this is a "mixed signal." They don't understand what they are investing in: scalable software or an agency whose success depends on the number of recruiters hired and the margin from reselling hours.

As long as our technology works only inside our agency, it is merely "internal automation." It makes us an efficient agency, but it doesn't make us a SaaS company.

The Solution: Divide and Conquer

We have made a strategic decision. To move forward and build a "unicorn," we are legally and operationally separating our directions.

1. Service Company (ICNC) This is our proving ground.

• What it does: Classic outstaffing, team assembly, working with enterprise clients.
• Role of AI: Here, our AI agents work "in the field." They undergo a baptism of fire, learn from real cases, and optimize margins.
• Goal: Profit, service quality, client loyalty.

2. Product Company (Iconicompany) This is our venture asset.

• What it does: Development and sale of licenses/subscriptions for our platform to other market players.
• Product: We are packaging our technology (AI scoring, auto-matching, HR processes) into a boxed solution (SaaS).
• Clients: Other outstaffing agencies, corporate HR departments, recruitment agencies. We are no longer competitors; we are the suppliers of shovels during a gold rush.
• Goal: ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue), capturing software market share.

What Does This Change for Our Clients?

For current outstaffing clients — nothing, except for improved quality. You will continue to receive the best specialists selected by our AI.

For the market, a new product is emerging. If you want to build your own "Uber for hiring" or automate internal recruitment, we will soon give you the keys to our technology.

Final Thoughts

We are grateful to our partners at Brainbox.VC for their directness. Sometimes, to see the forest, you need to step back from the trees. We are stopping the masquerade of an agency pretending to be a startup and are starting to build a real SaaS, which has its first and most demanding client — our own service unit.

Stay tuned for updates. We now have two paths, and both lead up.