sendbird-purple

Building global sales beyond
the US

How SOLA supported Sendbird’s ambitious expansion plans

The challenge

Following Series B funding‭, ‬Sendbird wanted to aggressively grow non-US revenue‭, ‬starting in EMEA‭.‬ They needed to establish a presence and build a revenue engine outside of the domestic market without diverting local resources‭.‬

Sendbird wanted to focus on the UK and Continental Europe initially but didn’t have the expertise to set up operations and hire teams in those jurisdictions‭. ‬They needed to avoid the risk associated with launching in an unfamiliar territory‭.‬

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At a glance

Company: Sendbird

CEO‭:‬‭ ‬John S‭. ‬Kim

VP Sales‭: ‬Justin Smith

Founded‭:‬‭ ‬2013

HQ‭:‬‭ ‬California‭, ‬USA

Sector‭:‬‭ ‬SaaS‭ / ‬API‭ / ‬SDK‭ / ‬Chat

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SOLA entry

Date‭:‬‭ ‬March 2019

Stage‭:‬‭ ‬Series B

Headcount‭:‬‭ ‬Circa 100‭ ‬staff in the US

Plan‭:‬‭ ‬International expansion

Aim‭:‬‭ ‬Open and develop‭ ‬EMEA markets‭ ‬

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SOLA exit

Date‭: ‬October 2021

New hires‭:‬‭ ‬29

EV‭:‬‭ ‬From‭ $‬1‭ ‬billion‭+‬

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SOLA's approach

After initial discussions and diagnoses‭, ‬SOLA designed a detailed scope and project plan‭. ‬SOLA leaders visited Sendbird’s offices in the US for a deep dive into the company’s purpose‭, ‬mission‭, ‬vision and values as well as the key drivers for success‭.‬

From that work‭, ‬the SOLA team developed an employee value proposition to help them present Sendbird to prospective candidates‭. ‬And a strategic gameplan and timeline were agreed‭.‬

SOLAarc Incubator solution

SOLA deployed its SOLAarc‭ ‬Incubator‭ ‬solution‭,
‬creating a‭ ‬“virtual subsidiary”‭ ‬to support Sendbird’s EMEA expansion‭. ‬This included‭:‬

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Talent identification

SOLA drew on its deep sector knowledge‭, ‬executive search expertise‭, ‬and extensive candidate networks to identify‭, ‬entice and hire exceptional local talent‭, ‬incubated within a Virtual Subsidiary for Sendbird‭.‬
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Tailored employment lifecycle & infrastructure support

SOLAarc‭ ‬Incubator ‬provided Sendbird and the new hires with onboarding‭, ‬compliant employment contracts‭, ‬policies‭ ‬&‭ ‬processes‭, ‬fully managed payroll‭ ‬&‭ ‬expenses‭, ‬benefits management‭, ‬employer insurances‭, ‬background screening‭, ‬HR support‭, ‬employee performance management‭, ‬and off-boarding‭.‬
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Compliance with local employment laws & regulations

The Virtual Subsidiary was legally compliant across employment contracts‭, ‬management‭, ‬payroll‭, ‬taxation‭, ‬and benefits‭. ‬It removed candidate doubts about working for a US HQ business and positively appealed to key hires‭. ‬And it provided data‭ ‬&‭ ‬IP protection‭ ‬for Sendbird‭.‬
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Path to exit

SOLA worked closely with all Sendbird’s stakeholders to facilitate a seamless transfer of incubated employees into a true UK Sendbird subsidiary‭, ‬without loss of continuity‭ ‬of employment‭.

SOLA’s Approach

After initial discussions and diagnoses, SOLA designed a detailed scope and project plan.

SOLA leaders visited Sendbird's offices in the US for a deep dive into the company's purpose, mission, vision and values as well as the key drivers for success.

From that work, the SOLA team developed an employee value proposition to help them present Sendbird to prospective candidates. And a strategic gameplan and timeline were agreed.

SOLAarc IncubatorTM Solution

SOLA deployed its SOLAarc Incubator solution, creating a "virtual subsidiary" to support Sendbird’s EMEA expansion. This included:

1. Talent identification
SOLA drew on its deep sector knowledge, executive search expertise, and extensive candidate networks to identify, entice and hire exceptional local talent, incubated within a Virtual Subsidiary for Sendbird.
2. Tailored employment lifecycle & infrastructure support
Onboarding, compliant employment contracts, policies & processes, fully managed payroll & expenses, benefits management, employer insurances, background screening, HR support, employee performance management, and off-boarding.
3. Compliance with local employment laws and regulations
The Virtual Subsidiary was legally compliant across employment contracts, management taxation and benefits. It removed candidate doubts about working for a US HQ business and positively appealed to key hires. And it provided data & IP protection for Sendbird.
4. Path to exit
SOLA worked closely with all Sendbird’s stakeholders to facilitate a seamless transfer of incubated employees into a true UK Sendbird subsidiary, without loss of continuity of employment.

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Download a PDF copy and learn more about how SOLA helped to launch Sendbird's EMEA expansion.

The results

8 weeks

Identified and secured a Strategic Account Executive and a Sales Engineer‭ ‬“Batman‭ ‬&‭ ‬Robin”‭ ‬team that had worked together previously‭ ‬&‭ ‬were perfectly suited to SendBird‭. ‬Set up the employment and payroll landscape for the Virtual Subsidiary and onboarded the team of two‭.‬

16 weeks

Proof of concept achieved in UK with initial sales‭. ‬Growth continued‭, ‬scaling into Germany as well as further growth in the UK‭. ‬SOLA curated a further team of 5‭, ‬so 7‭ ‬employees now in place‭.‬

12 months

Doubled employee numbers to 14‭. ‬Steady growth continued‭. ‬Developed employee engagement‭ ‬&‭ ‬bespoke benefits packages‭, ‬policies and‭ ‬processes‭, ‬as well as further salary benchmarking‭.‬

24 months

Growth of 7‭ ‬more employees to 21‭ ‬across‭ ‬the UK‭ ‬&‭ ‬Germany‭. ‬Enhanced Parental Leave‭ ‬policy introduced‭.‬

30 months

Sendbird had successfully accessed and opened up the EMEA market and established a non-US revenue engine‭. ‬Customers reached 1,000+‭. ‬EV reached‭ $‬1B‭+. ‬

De-Incubated‭: ‬compliantly transferred Incubatees out of SOLA Virtual Subsidiary into Sendbird’s own UK subsidiary‭.‬

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"Over the past few years, we grew from less than 90 to 300+ staff and 1,000+ customers in 7+ countries with a $1Billion+ EV"

YK‭ (‬Yaekyum‭) Lee, Global Head of CX

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