The Sale of Firstbird: Overcoming Deadlock by Hiring an Investment Bank

Putting Employees at the Heart of Hiring

Long before the term “talent technology” became a buzzword, we launched Firstbird in Vienna with three simple beliefs: that great teams are built by the people who know your company best, that employees can be your most powerful recruiters, and that a modern platform could make referrals seamless and rewarding. Over the next eight years, we transformed employee referrals from a paper-based bonus scheme into a global SaaS platform. Firstbird had become Europe’s leading referral solution, trusted by more than 1,000 companies—including Deloitte, Generali, and Metro—which filled as many as half their open roles through employee recommendations.

The Long Road and a Stalemate

It was not uncommon for us to receive unsolicited inbound M&A interest. However, when Radancy, a global talent technology leader, approached us with a vision to integrate Firstbird’s referral engine into their unified platform, we decided to engage without an advisor or a wider M&A process. We dove into bilateral negotiations on our own, convinced that we understood one another’s goals well enough to reach a swift agreement. But as the months wore on, we found ourselves inching forward one step, then being pulled back two. Despite multiple rounds of discussions, a binding agreement remained out of reach. We realized that despite the clear strategic fit, we had lost the structure and momentum needed to get a deal over the line.

Calling in Venero: Restoring Focus and Forward Motion

Faced with this impasse, we knew it was time to bring in reinforcements. Engaging Venero Capital Advisors was our turning point. They arrived not with a generic playbook, but with a structured plan to take the reins of our stalled negotiation.

What made this challenge especially complex was that both Radancy and we had already spent nearly a year immersed in discussions. Emotions were running high, and trust, while deep, had begun to fray under the weight of unresolved details. Venero handled this delicately yet decisively. They carefully reset certain expectations on both sides, while nurturing those building blocks that were conducive to an agreement. Meanwhile, their steady leadership and relentless focus helped us align incentives among multiple stakeholders and navigate even the most contentious topics. This placed us on a roadmap for progress by prioritizing and addressing the most fundamental blocker issues.