#053 Build Through It: Yakov Filippenko on Startups, Setbacks, and Coming Back

Built For This Podcast, with Carly Pepin

June 8, 2026 by

Carly Pepin

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In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with entrepreneur, startup founder, and technology innovator Yakov Filippenko to explore the realities of building companies, navigating failure, and preparing for the future of work.

Yakov shares his entrepreneurial journey from product management at Yandex to co-founding SailPlay, a customer loyalty platform that expanded into 45 countries before being acquired. Along the way, he experienced many of the challenges that define startup life, including failed products, major pivots, fundraising pressures, acquisition negotiations, leadership struggles, and the unexpected experience of being fired from his own company after a failed acquisition process.

Rather than allowing those setbacks to define him, Yakov used them as catalysts for growth. His experiences led him into venture capital, deeper studies in psychology and group dynamics, and ultimately to the launch of Intch, an AI-powered platform connecting businesses with highly skilled part-time professionals and helping talent access flexible work opportunities.

Throughout the conversation, Carly and Yakov explore the evolving nature of leadership, hiring, company culture, startup decision-making, and the rapidly changing workforce. Yakov challenges traditional assumptions about employment, arguing that the future belongs to flexible work models where expertise is accessed on demand rather than tied to traditional full-time roles.

This episode is a powerful exploration of resilience, leadership, networks, and how entrepreneurs can position themselves to thrive in a world where work is being fundamentally redefined.

Key Themes:

Relationships Create Opportunities
Yakov explains that nearly every major breakthrough in his career came through relationships. Investors, co-founders, customers, advisors, and new ventures all emerged through trusted connections, reinforcing the importance of building and maintaining strong professional networks.
Great Leaders Hire People Smarter Than Themselves
One of Yakov's biggest lessons was realizing that trying to be the smartest person in the room can actually limit growth. Today, he intentionally hires experts who outperform him in their areas of specialization and empowers them to make decisions.
The Future of Work Is Becoming More Flexible
As AI, remote work, and specialized expertise continue reshaping the economy, Yakov believes businesses will increasingly rely on highly skilled professionals working in flexible arrangements rather than traditional employment structures.

About Yakov Filippenko:

Yakov Filippenko is a technology entrepreneur with more than a decade of experience building and scaling businesses internationally. Early in his career, he helped grow a major product at Yandex from 700,000 users to 1.2 million while expanding it into international markets.

He later co-founded SailPlay, a customer loyalty platform that scaled to 45 countries before being acquired by Retail Rocket in 2018.

Today, Yakov is the founder of Intch, an AI-powered platform connecting part-time professionals with flexible opportunities. Built around a proprietary matching algorithm, Intch is helping reshape how companies access talent and how professionals build careers in the evolving future of work. In 2024 alone, the platform grew from 65,000 to more than 500,000 active users.

Listen On

YouTube: https://youtu.be/wvzMGcXje_U

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/47nyGpfVYQJD8G0kJmEREo?si=c012ec078b2b41bc

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-future-of-work-is-part-time-yakov-fillipenko/id1835497020?i=1000771779082

Memorable Quotes:
“Everything is about people and communications."
“I'm actually trying to hire people that are smarter than me."

Yakov Filippenko