This month, Chicago-based — a digital product design and development firm — celebrated the anniversary of its acquisition by
So, what’s the big deal? It’s not like acquihires — particularly in the Valley — are exactly uncommon. Slowing down in popularity, perhaps, but for many of the biggest players (think Salesforce, Facebook, Dropbox), aqcuihiring full engineering teams still seems to have become a central tenet of their hiring strategies. As such, anniversaries like these are a dime a dozen.
So-called soft landings (that’s startup fluff for talent-only acquisitions) certainly have their critics. They’ve been called “corrosive” to employees, founders, and VCs. Some say they're bad for culture; others, bad for the ecosystem at large. Pando’s Sarah Lacy even once called them the “Millennial equivalent” of a kindergartner’s participation trophy.
But with 277 percent growth in annual revenue, new office space opening up in River North, and a hiring rate that’s increasing rather than flatlining, Creatix's post-acquisition acquihire journey is an example of an acquisition done right.
“Aqcuihires are almost an exit to some people, but for me, it was just the beginning,” said David Jelinek, CEO of Creatix. “My strategy when looking at the opportunity with the relationship with GoHealth was that it wasn’t an exit — it was an entry.”
Unlike some companies that tend to stagnate post-acquisition, Jelinek said Creatix has continued to take on new business and grow. That faculty, he said, is engendered by the fact that the company has also been able to continue operating as a standalone, independent brand.
Creatix works with companies from startups to large enterprises on what it called a “napkin to launch” trajectory, partnering with business to build out and execute against a product's branding, tech, design, and development — in addition to serving all of GoHealth’s tech needs.
It's a unique partnership, but one that seems to be yielding benefits for both companies involved.
“We look forward to continuing our partnership with Creatix to find new ways to add value for customers and drive positive change in our industry,” GoHealth CEO Brandon Cruz commented in a blog post commemorating the acquisition's anniversary.
Creatix today has a four-person local team and another 40 in Bratislava and Warsaw. Despite their sale to GoHealth, Jelinek anticipates continued growth.
“I’m expecting the same type of growth over the next two years,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it would be equally as explosive as the last 12 (months), but we’re going to definitely keep the momentum going.”
Image via Creatix.
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