Case study
Case Study: Winning a €1M+ Schibsted Enterprise Deal
How a major enterprise deal was opened, progressed, and won, and why it mattered beyond the revenue number.
Proof
€12M ARR
Scaled SaaS revenue across UK, DACH, Nordics & Southern Europe as VP International Sales
€1M ARR
Founded Allcolibri from zero, secured €1M financing (€500k equity, €500k debt)
15+
Built and led a team of 15+ across UK, DACH, Nordics and Southern Europe
€1M+
Personally drove strategic deals including a €1M+ contract with Schibsted
Operator perspective
Who this is for
US and European B2B SaaS companies building repeatable revenue in Europe.
Common mistake
Treating Europe like one market instead of a sequence of different markets, buying patterns and hiring constraints.
What I would do
Pick the wedge market, define the first commercial hire, tighten the ICP, and build a six-month operating cadence before scaling breadth.
Who should talk to Adrien now
Recruiters
Best fit for searches around VP Sales Europe, CRO Europe SaaS, GM Europe, and operator-led commercial buildout roles.
Founders
Best fit for US and European SaaS founders opening Europe, fixing a weak first-market motion, or hiring the first senior revenue leader.
Investors
Useful when a portfolio company needs a Europe GTM operator, a market-entry plan, or a senior commercial hire with real execution history.
Why it mattered
Why this deal mattered more than the ARR number
A €1M+ enterprise contract matters financially, but its real value is strategic. At the time, winning a deal of that size proved that the company could sell credibly to a top-tier customer with meaningful procurement, legal, stakeholder, and implementation complexity.
This kind of deal changes future conversations. It gives the company a stronger proof point for subsequent enterprise accounts and forces the internal organisation to mature.
Commercial work
What had to happen to win it
Large enterprise deals are rarely won by enthusiasm alone. The work is usually a combination of understanding the real business problem, navigating multiple stakeholders, keeping the opportunity moving over a long cycle, and aligning internal resources without letting momentum die.
The Schibsted deal is useful because it demonstrates that enterprise revenue in Europe is not only about network or logo collection. It is about structured execution over time.
Takeaway
What founders and recruiters should take from it
For founders, the takeaway is that enterprise credibility must be built before the logo appears. For recruiters, the takeaway is that one serious strategic deal often reveals more about an operator than ten smaller transactional wins.
The important question is never just whether someone closed a large number. It is whether they understand the mechanics that made the large number possible.
Related
FAQ
Why focus on one deal?
Because one strategic deal can reveal the quality of enterprise execution better than generic quota claims.
Is this relevant to SaaS companies below enterprise scale?
Yes, because it shows what commercial maturity looks like before and during upmarket moves.
What skill does this case study prove best?
Long-cycle enterprise execution with real stakeholder complexity.
Best fit
Recruiters
Use this site if you are hiring a VP Sales Europe, CRO, GM Europe or interim revenue operator for a B2B SaaS company.
Founders
Use this site if you are opening Europe, hiring your first senior sales leader, or need a sharper GTM motion by country.
Investors
Use this site if a portfolio company needs Europe market entry, sales leadership, or a faster path from €1M to €10M ARR.
Work with Adrien
Need someone who has actually built this before?
Talk to Adrien about your Europe GTM plan, VP Sales Europe hire, CRO search, or market-entry mandate.