About Us

so·journ (so′jûrn') visit, vacation, rest, stop

soft·ware (sôft′wâr') The programs, routines, and symbolic languages that control the functioning of computer hardware and direct its operation.

softjourn (sôft′jûrn') To provide offshore outsourced Professional Services to develop the programs, routines, and symbolic languages that clients require worldwide.

Softjourn, Inc. is an international custom software engineering and IT outsourcing company headquartered in Silicon Valley, California. The company has software development and operations centers in Ukraine since 2005 and Poland since 2015. Some of the areas it specializes in are financial, ticketing and media industries.

History

Softjourn Inc. was founded in 2000 by Americans Jeff Kreuser and Emmy Gengler, the current CEO, in Silicon Valley. A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Gengler had spent a more than a decade working in the former Soviet Union, including several years as the President and CEO of a systems integration firm in Kyiv, Ukraine, and as treasurer of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.

Initially, the company worked with a network of software development partners situated in different parts of Ukraine. Each partner company had a different area of expertise and concentration, either technical or business applications, such as healthcare and financial services. By 2005, Gengler and Kreuser decided it was time to collaborate more permanently with two new partners, Serhiy Fitsak and Bohdan Mykhailovych, both of whom were working with a Ukrainian software house providing banking solutions. That year, Softjourn opened its own office in Ivano-Frankivsk, where Fitsak and Mykhailovych were located.

By 2013, Softjourn had 50 in-house programmers and a total staff of 77. As of the end of 2016, the company has grown to over 150 employees. Its main software development team is located at its Ivano-Frankivsk office. In 2015, Softjourn opened a branch office in Wroclaw, Poland.

Over the years, Softjourn developed particular expertise in a number of areas, including ticketing and payment systems.

Corporate development

Taking cues from its American partners, Softjourn began to develop a more open culture in its European offices, introducing such practices as corporate retreats and performance incentives. Its most recent project has been a blockchain-based in-house crypto-currency called SJ Coins that works as a contract-based loyalty program offering staff rewards outside the company itself. 

Since 2013, Softjourn has also offered internships to IT students looking to gain some experience prior to graduation. So far more than 100 Ukrainian software developers have gone through internships ranging from 2 to 4 months at the Ivano-Frankivsk location. 

Community Initiatives

In 2014, the city of Ivano-Frankivsk launched a program called ‘Teple misto’, meaning ‘Warm City,’ whose goal was to support initiatives from the community, especially environmental and educational ones.  Softjourn immediately became one of the general partners of this initiative, which has led to a new visual identity for the city, a project to develop cycling as a form of transport, and a ‘Warm IT’ initiative. Softjourn currently coordinates the Warm IT project, which has now set up an IT cluster in the city.

Partnerships, awards and recognition:

2001 – Joined Women’s Technology Cluster (now Astia) ; opened office in San Francisco.

2001 – Joined the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine. 

2003 – Publication, EJISDC (The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries), “Ukraine and its Success Criteria for the Software Exports Industry.” 

2005 – Opened Ivano-Frankivsk R&D Center.

2009 – Signed partnership with Right-Hand Partners (RHP), which connects start-ups with potential investors. 

2011 – Named among Top 10 service providers in Eastern Europe by IAOP. 

2012 – Named Microsoft Silver Partner.

2013 – Named among Best 5 Rising Stars in Media & Entertainment by IAOP.  

2014 – Named among Best 5 Rising Stars in Media & Entertainment by IAOP.

2014 – Named among Best 20 Companies in Services by IAOP.

2015 – Named to the 2015 Global Outsourcing 100 list. 

2015 – Co-founded regional IT-cluster in Ivano-Frankivsk.

2016 – Listed in Inc 5000. 

2016 – Named to the 2016 Global Outsourcing 100 list. 

2017 – Named Microsoft Gold Partner.

2017 – Signed partnership with Monax Industries

2017 – Joins the Xamarin Partner Program

2017 –  Named to the 2017 Global Outsourcing 100 list. 

The most important members of our organization - our clients

Our mission is to make global software development work! Communication! It’s what our customers love about us. It’s what you will love about working with us. You won’t have to have to tell us what to do every step of the way; our technical expertise, communication processes, and experience make us your partner rather than just coders.

Your offshore experience will go in comfort and professionalism with Softjourn because it’s our ultimate goal. We eliminate some of the common difficulties associated with offshore including how to manage and communicate with the team.

Your success is our Success!

Contact Softjourn for more information: sales@softjourn.com.

If you want to arrange a meeting, interview or talk to a company representative - Contact our PR team at pr@softjourn.com or call us at: