Parlaying expertise, talent, and commitment into measurable business outcomes since 2000.
See how an initiative of young IT professionals transformed into a global custom software development company with engineering hubs across three continents.
History milestones
Founding and early years
Founded in 2000 by Alexey Spas and Diethard Sohn, the company originated in Stuttgart, Germany.
Initially, the start-up focused solely on custom web development of high-loads. In its early years, *instinctools secured a deal with its first client from the Fortune 500 list — Mercedes-Benz Group AG (former Daimler). Crafting a web-based user support system for one of the leading global automotive companies became a turning point for a five-year-old start-up.
Growth and diversification
Over the next fifteen years, *instinctools expanded its services to include mobile app development, enterprise automation, legacy software modernization, cloud computing, and more. This shift enabled the company to attract mid-sized companies and large enterprises and bring other big-name clients, such as Helvar, Nostrum, CANet, and Fujitsu, among others.
2015 became a tipping point in the company’s history. Instinctools outgrew the boundaries of a strictly outsourcing software development company and presented DITAworks Webtop, their first enterprise-grade SaaS product for technical documentation management. This product helped *instinctools win two top-level clients — SAP and DEIF.
Educational initiatives
At the same time, witnessing the emerging global talent shortage in the software development industry, *instinctools launched several educational projects to share their hands-on knowledge with young specialists. The company established a Growth academy for promising students in IT-related disciplines, organized offline coding competitions, and delivered lectures for adult professionals in Hrodna, Belarus, where one of the development centers was located. In 2021, the company began hosting online conferences “Tech Times”, discussing technological trends with industry leaders from all over the world.
International expansion
The years 2010–2020 were fruitful in many ways. New offices were opened in Minsk, Belarus, Moscow, Russia, and Warsaw, Poland. Instinctools also kept expanding their partnership network and signed agreements with Google Cloud, OVHcloud, and Odoo. From 2021, *instinctools operates as a trusted Microsoft Partner.
Team: from 7 to 400+
Instinctools brings together proactive, business-like, and determined doers who shape the company’s DNA as an international software product development and consulting company. Starting with a team of seven, *instinctools has grown to over 400+ employees across ten countries. Key team members:
- Alexey Spas, CEO
- Gunthilde Sohn, Managing Director, DACH
- Chad West, Managing Director, USA
- Alexey Astakhov, VP of Engineering
- Tatsiana Astakhava, CFO
Along with the increasing number of tech and business talents on board, the company’s expertise area and hands-on experience in working with various industries also kept expanding. To date, *instinctools provides services over a broad technology stack, including Java, Python, Javascript, React, Angular, Microsoft Azure, Power BI, Odoo, HubSpot, AWS, and more, delivering robust technological solutions for businesses across many industries:
- Healthcare
- Fintech
- Ecommerce
- Manufacturing
- Logistics
- Automotive
- Energy
- Entertainment and media
- Education and e-learning
- Technology
- Ad-tech
- Cryptocurrency
Offices
In the middle of 2024, *instinctools had two headquarters on both sides of the Atlantic: in Stuttgart, Germany, and Potomac, MD, USA. The main development hub is located now in Warsaw, Poland. The company has growing development centers in LATAM, Kazakhstan, and India. The offices in Belarus and Russia operated in the 2010th, were closed. To date, the company provides seamless collaboration to customers across the globe and operates within 20+ time zones.
Awards
Instinctools regularly receives awards on the B2B review platforms, such as Clutch, Manifest, TechBehemoths, SelectedFirms, etc. The company’s expertise has been recognized in a number of categories, including but not limited to the following ones:
- Top Custom Software Development Company
- Top Web Development Company
- Top Mobile App Development Company
- Top Ecommerce Development Company
