Shipshape.vc and Place. Join Forces in a New Partnership to Support Scaling Founders

Shipshape.vc, the free investor search platform and member of FinTech Wales, and Place, experts in strategic talent acquisition, have joined forces in a new partnership designed to better support startup founders as they scale.

The collaboration, which launches with a focus on the South Wales tech ecosystem, aims to address a blind spot too often overlooked by early-stage companies: people strategy.

While financial modelling, pitch decks, and go-to-market plans tend to dominate the startup playbook, many founders find themselves under-equipped when it comes to building high-performing teams. The Place–Shipshape partnership seeks to change that by combining deep experience in talent acquisition with rich investor intelligence.

“The partnership between Place and Shipshape.vc is a statement of intent that we are here to support startups. It’s great to be joining forces with another Welsh founded business which shares a passion for supporting entrepreneurs, founders and early stage start ups on their journey to success. We’re excited to grow both locally and internationally, and support others along the way too. We’re delighted to be working with Kieran and the Place team to empower emerging tech companies globally with the knowledge on human capital they will need to succeed. It’s fantastic that this initiative brings together two Welsh companies to do so.” — Daniel Sawko, Founder of Shipshape.vc

Sawko has built a powerful platform that helps founders surface relevant national and international investors, with tens of thousands already indexed and accessible. The platform has become a trusted resource for founders raising capital and now, through this partnership with Place and its founder Kieran O’Connor, it’s expanding that support into strategic hiring.

As a first step, the partnership has launched the Strategic Founders Hiring Guide, a free and practical resource to help startup leaders align their people strategy with fundraising milestones.