Strategic Partnership Spotlight: SwissPine Tech

It’s been a year since qashqade and SwissPine Tech first joined forces - two companies aligned not only by shared goals in innovation, but by a belief in the power of global collaboration. What began as a strategic decision to bolster product development with world-class DevOps talent has evolved into a true partnership: One that has helped accelerate qashqade’s roadmap while giving SwissPine Tech the opportunity to support a fast-scaling fintech with a mission rooted in trust and transparency. In this conversation, we sit down with Mario Feliciano, Founder and CEO of SwissPine Tech, and Gregor Kreuzer, qashqade’s Chief Product Officer and Co-founder, to reflect on the journey so far and what’s next for the partnership.

Mario, what inspired you to found SwissPine Tech, and how did your connection with qashqade come about?

Having spent a significant part of my life connected deeply with both the Philippines and Switzerland—through my military service in the Philippines and later working across global IT and digital transformation roles, including at Novartis—I saw firsthand the incredible potential to unite these two worlds. I’ve always had a deep-seated love for my homeland and an equal admiration for Switzerland’s culture and innovation environment. This personal journey, combined with two decades of strategic experience across government and corporate sectors, inspired me to create SwissPine Tech in early 2024. My vision was clear: to empower Swiss SMEs and startups with top-tier IT, AI, blockchain, and BPO services sourced from the Philippines—leveraging the exceptional talent there, while simultaneously creating meaningful career opportunities back home.

As a newly launched development agency, one of our early goals was to partner with Swiss-based tech companies that could benefit from scalable, quality-driven DevOps and software development capabilities. In July 2024, we established a partnership with qashqade—a Swiss fintech scale‑up focused on private‑markets CFO tools. As a Microsoft Azure partner, qashqade was looking for top‑tier DevOps talent to accelerate their roadmap and fortify their global platform. We were able to quickly source the expertise they needed from our Filipino talent pool, aligning perfectly with their distributed, high-standards model. That match in timing, shared values around quality and efficiency, and our ability to deliver were what made the collaboration click.

Gregor, what challenges or needs were you looking to solve when you began exploring external development partnerships?

We were reaching a point in our growth where it became clear that our internal team wouldn’t be able to keep up with everything we had planned on the product side. We searched locally and even near-shore, but options of finding the right talent were limited. What we needed wasn’t just more hands on deck, it was a true partner. Someone who understood what we were trying to build and could help us scale the right way.

Another big factor was coverage. Having a team working in a different time zone meant we could keep things moving almost around the clock, which really made a difference.

Overall it was less about outsourcing for us and more about building the right kind of working relationship.

What made this partnership the right fit for both organizations?

Gregor: Trust was absolutely key. I knew Mario personally, and I trust his judgment and capabilities. He’s someone who tells it like it is: no fluff, no overselling. That made all the difference. More importantly, our incentives are aligned. Both organizations care about doing great work, growing sustainably, and supporting people along the way. That alignment is what’s made this more than a transactional relationship.

Mario: The partnership between SwissPine Tech and qashqade was an ideal match for both organizations because it aligned strategic objectives on multiple fronts. Establishing trust and following SwissPine Tech's values of Honor, Efficiency, Attitude, Leadership, and Communication- proved to assure qashqade that we will deliver their needs.

This collaboration became a mutually reinforcing engine—qashqade accelerated its technical expansion with trusted resources, and SwissPine Tech gained a flagship partnership illustrating the effectiveness of its model: bridging innovation, talent, and value across markets.

Gregor - what specific outcomes or improvements have you seen since partnering with SwissPine?

Partnering with SwissPine has given us something crucial: the ability to grow in a controlled and sustainable way. We now have access to a dependable pool of talent that we can tap into when needed, which gives us real flexibility. That kind of support makes it easier to plan ahead, manage costs, and expand our team with confidence as our needs evolve.

What kinds of developers or experts did SwissPine provide, and how were they tailored to qashqade’s needs, Mario?

SwissPine Tech set out to empower Swiss SMEs and startups through access to Filipino specialists in DevOps and software development—matching exactly qashqade’s requirements.

Mario, how do you maintain alignment and collaboration across time zones and cultural differences?

Since both organizations operate with distributed, agile teams. SwissPine Tech’s Swiss HQ and Philippine delivery model meshed seamlessly with qashqade’s own global, remote-first approach. This made communication despite the timezone difference amenable for collaboration.  

How has this partnership changed your approach to building or scaling the product team, Gregor?

The partnership with SwissPine hasn’t required us to rethink our overall approach, but it’s added real strength to how we operate. We now have access to a well-managed pool of developers we can rely on. Even though they’re off-site, the collaboration runs smoothly. What’s particularly valuable is the ability to scale when needed and to replace resources quickly if someone moves on. That flexibility and responsiveness give us more confidence as we continue to grow and build.

How is qashqade leveraging this partnership as part of its longer-term roadmap and innovation goals?

Knowing we’ve got access to a pool of excellent developers when we need it makes a huge difference. It gives us the confidence to plan bigger and be more ambitious without constantly worrying about hiring slowing us down.

It takes a lot of the guesswork out of roadmap planning. We can actually focus on building what we want and need to build, not just what’s possible with the team we happen to have at the moment. That kind of flexibility really opens the door to more innovation and long-term thinking.

What excites you most about what’s next in this partnership, Mario and Gregor?

Gregor: Stability and growth - those are the two big ones. We’ve created a setup that works well, and now it’s about continuing to evolve it together. Whether it's scaling faster, tackling more complex features, or entering new markets, I’m confident SwissPine will be right there with us.

Mario: What excites me most is the opportunity to move beyond just delivering technical services—to becoming a true innovation partner for qashqade. From day one, the collaboration has been built on trust, agility, and shared standards of excellence. Now, as we look ahead, we’re exploring how our teams can contribute even more strategically.

Personally, it’s deeply fulfilling to see talent from the Philippines playing a direct role in strengthening a world-class Swiss fintech platform. It’s proof that with the right structure and mindset, global collaboration doesn’t just work—it thrives. The future of this partnership is about scale, innovation, and continued impact for both our teams and the clients qashqade serves around the world.

As both companies look ahead, the partnership between qashqade and SwissPine Tech stands as a clear example of what’s possible when shared values meet complementary strengths. It’s not just about speed or scale. It’s about building with intention, investing in people, and creating technology that delivers real value.