BisectHosting Co-Founder on Bootstrapping and Resisting Private Equity

Independent game server provider BisectHosting has rebuffed recurring buyout offers from private equity suitors, opting to remain entirely self-funded after 15 years in operation, co-founder and chief executive Max Podkidkin detailed in an interview with Naavik.

The hosting firm, which now manages infrastructure across more than 140 countries for hundreds of thousands of customers, began after a Minecraft server Podkidkin managed suffered a three-day outage. Podkidkin funded the venture's initial hardware using a personal credit card and teamed up with co-founder Andrew, whom he met within his online gaming circle.

Speaking with Naavik host Kalie Moore, Podkidkin outlined the lean operational methods that defined the company's early phase. The founders collaborated exclusively over text for two years before their first in-person meeting, utilizing their geographic split between the United States and the United Kingdom to provide round-the-clock coverage while Podkidkin answered support tickets from a concealed laptop during factory shifts.

BisectHosting has since expanded to a headcount of nearly 100 without raising outside capital. Podkidkin noted that establishing relationships with game studios often requires joining studio Discord channels to pre-test server files before release, emphasizing that player modding and user-generated content remain essential for sustaining live-service player bases over multi-year spans.

The company has also rolled out internal artificial intelligence tools, introducing an automated panel assistant named Biko. Podkidkin told Naavik that the deployment drove a double-digit percentage reduction in support ticket volume without resulting in any staff layoffs.

The durability of independent server providers highlights the steady demand for backend game operations. As interactive entertainment leans more heavily into long-tail community management and persistent worlds, reliable hosting infrastructure has become an attractive recurring revenue target for financial buyers looking beyond the hit-driven volatility of standard game publishing.