“Who you're selling to matters as much as the number” — interview with Virgil Cioaca, the founder of FirstPromoter

How did FirstPromoter get started?

FirstPromoter was definitely not an overnight success. Before it, I'd spent more than ten years trying different things and many projects that went nowhere.

Around 2016–2017, while building some small tools for affiliate marketers, I noticed there wasn't a simple way to launch an affiliate program that worked seamlessly with subscription billing. Most tools were built for e-commerce, so managing commissions for recurring payments, upgrades, downgrades and cancellations required a lot of manual work.

That's what led me to start FirstPromoter. I spent about six months building the first version solo, and until 2020 I was still doing almost everything myself — development, support, product and a bit of marketing.

It grew very organically, with no outside funding and very little traditional sales or marketing. As the company grew, we deliberately kept the team small, which forced us to stay focused on the problems customers actually cared about and automate as much as possible.

Looking back, what are the most important things you learned building a company from zero?

Probably the biggest lesson is persistence. I had more than 20 failed projects before FirstPromoter and I learned a bit from each of them. You need to keep trying, while also being willing to admit when something isn't working.

I also learned that solving a narrow, painful problem can be much more powerful than starting with a huge vision. And especially early on, customers are often your best source of product strategy and word of mouth.

Finally, being bootstrapped and profitable gave us a lot of freedom. For FirstPromoter, that worked really well — we could make long-term decisions without pressure from outside investors or fundraising timelines.

What made you decide the time was right to explore an exit?

For some, the decision might seem counterintuitive — FirstPromoter was still growing and profitable, so why sell?

I felt we'd reached a stage where taking FirstPromoter to the next level required a different skill set. I was very comfortable building products and running a lean company, but scaling sales, marketing, partnerships and a much larger organization is different.

So the question became whether I was still the best person to lead that next phase. Because the business was healthy, I could explore an exit from a position of strength rather than necessity.

What was the exit process actually like? What would you do differently next time?

Much more intense than I expected. It was months of preparation, buyer conversations, due diligence, negotiations and legal work, while still running the company normally.

One important lesson was the value of having multiple interested buyers. We had several offers, and that competition improved both valuation and deal terms.

If I did it again, I'd prepare much earlier — cleaner documentation, fewer founder dependencies and better-organized processes. I'd basically run the company as if someone could diligence it tomorrow.

What happened post acquisition — leadership transition, team — did that meet your expectations?

Broadly, yes. One of my biggest concerns was what happened after the transaction, especially to the team and the product.

I stayed involved during the transition while responsibility gradually moved to the new leadership. Ieva Soblickaite has now taken over as CEO and has settled into the role really well. The existing team has continued, and the company has been adding people and investing more in both product and marketing.

What I appreciate is that the goal hasn't been to tear everything down and rebuild it. It's been more about preserving what worked and adding capabilities in areas where we were weaker.

We were glad to partner with you at SpringWater. For founders considering that route, what should they look for in an acquirer beyond the number?

The number obviously matters, but founders should look at the whole deal.

Who are the people you'll work with after closing? Do you trust them? What's their plan for the company and the existing team? Do they understand what made the business successful, or do they just want to apply a generic playbook?

That mattered a lot to me with SpringWater. I liked that the people behind it had actually built technology businesses themselves and were thinking long term.

So I wouldn't look only at who offers the highest price. Who you're selling to, how the deal is structured, and what happens to the company and the team afterward matter a lot too.

What's next — besides some well-deserved time off?

For the first time in a long time, I'm deliberately not forcing myself to immediately start another SaaS company.

I've become very interested in robotics and physical AI, and I'm spending a lot of time learning the space and following companies and new technologies.

I'll probably start something new at some point, but I'm not rushing into it. I'm also exploring angel investing and looking at opportunities to back interesting companies and founders. For now, I want to keep learning and see where I find a problem that feels worth building around.