Adrien de Malherbe

I have opened six European markets from zero. Not managed existing pipelines in established markets -- opened them. First hire. First client. First revenue. The commercial infrastructure that follows. I have done this in France, Spain, UK, DACH, Nordics and Benelux, across four different companies, in roles from Managing Director to VP International Sales to founder-CEO.

That experience is what I bring to the US and international startups I work with now: not frameworks from a business school, not observations from a consulting engagement, but the specific commercial knowledge of someone who has sat in the seat and made it work.

The Kaisa years: learning to scale

I joined Kaisa as Managing Director France when the company had no French presence. I made the first hire, closed the first French client, and built the commercial team that took France from EUR 0 to EUR 3M ARR over three years. That experience of building from zero -- with no playbook, no brand recognition, and no support structure -- shaped everything I do commercially.

Over the following six years, I expanded my remit to VP Southern Europe, opening Spain, Italy and Benelux, and ultimately to VP International Sales, where I owned revenue across UK, DACH, Nordics and Southern Europe with a team of 15+. The business went from approximately EUR 1M to EUR 12M ARR during the period I ran the international commercial operation.

What I learned at Kaisa: how to sequence markets (the order matters as much as the execution), how to build commercial teams in markets where you are not present (the first hire is everything), and how to create revenue predictability across markets with different sales cycle lengths and buying cultures.

Allcolibri: the founder experience

In 2021, I founded Allcolibri, a B2B SaaS sustainability platform. I raised EUR 1M in financing (EUR 500k equity, EUR 500k debt), won enterprise clients including Decathlon, Mastercard and Foot Locker, and built the company to EUR 1M ARR.

The founder experience adds something that pure VP Sales experience cannot: the full-stack commercial decision-making of a CEO. Pricing. Product direction. Fundraising. Hiring. GTM. All of it simultaneously, all of it with direct accountability to the outcome. This is the experience that makes a CRO-level hire effective rather than just senior.

What I do now

I help US and international startups open and scale their European commercial operations, primarily from Barcelona. This means: designing the GTM strategy, defining the hiring sequence, advising on legal and operational setup, and in some cases operating as an interim or advisory commercial lead during the expansion.

I also work with companies looking for their first VP Sales Europe or GM Europe -- helping them define the right profile, design the hiring process, and structure the onboarding to maximise the probability of success.

I am available for VP Sales EMEA, CRO and GM Europe roles in addition to advisory and consulting engagements.

Languages and markets