Navigate through the case study sections
In 2009, Ivan Montik launched Softswiss as a small outsourcing firm targeting German, Austrian, and Swiss clients. Services included website builds, SEO, and ad campaigns. A turning point came when a client asked for auction software. After a payment dispute, Montik kept the code rights and repackaged it. Orders flooded in and the team realized a repeatable product offered far more upside than one-off projects.
Long before Softswiss, Montik sold champagne door-to-door while still in school, launched a web studio during his university years, and co-owned a car wash chain. Each side venture taught him forecasting, team building, and how to exit when partnerships split. A stint as a bank credit manager sharpened his analytics skills and contacts list.
Seeing the revenue potential in gaming software, Montik led a pivot. In 2012, Softswiss launched its first online casino platform on a revenue-share model. The focus moved from client services to building a full gaming engine that managed users, transactions, and reports. Initial platforms included a handful of slots and core user-management features.
Reliance on third parties slowed innovation. When a German acquirer refused to support Ethereum, Softswiss built CoinsPaid, a crypto processor handling billions in volume. Affilka, the affiliate tool, was next. Over time they launched a game aggregator with 185 providers, a jackpot service, and a payments hub called FinteqHub. Each service runs independently but connects via APIs.
Early investors once tried to seize Softswiss by hiring staff and copying the code. Montik and a loyal partner regrouped, reclaimed control, and made all key development in-house. This reinforced a “keep core tech close” culture, ensuring no future partner can stall your roadmap.
Today, Softswiss deploys over 2,000 staff—500 of them developers—to support 800 brands. The game aggregator alone turns over €10 billion a month. With margins reported as high as 80%, the holding reinvests heavily into new tools and regional expansion in Africa, Asia, and North America.
Montik has turned down six- and seven-figure offers, believing the ecosystem’s value will eclipse $1 billion. The company remains privately held. Ongoing R&D focuses on blockchain gaming, mobile wallet integrations, and turnkey betting setups for new markets.
Subscribe to access the tools and technologies used in this case study.
Subscribe NowSubscribe to access the step-by-step replication guide for this case study.
Subscribe NowShare your success story with our community of entrepreneurs.
Discover other inspiring business success stories
Rob Wood, founder of TopEndSports.com, turned a passion for sports science into an authority site drawing over 1.4 milli...
TopEndSports
After outgrowing its in-house platform, quip replatformed to Shopify Plus with Avex, migrating data in four months, inte...
quip
When Kieran MacRae noticed his services page ranking on page 7 for one keyword but page 2 for another, he made six quick...
Podcast Marketing Puzzle