Fearless made the first acquisition in company history Thursday with a deal to purchase a Denver organizational development firm as part of an ongoing effort to expand beyond software.
Unison Solutions will become part of the Baltimore software firm's new Fearless Guides division, which helps organizations reform their internal structure to better integrate new technology into a business or government agency. Fearless raised a $17 million round of debt financing in August from Truist Bank and the Maryland Small Business Development Authority to expand through acquisitions of firms like Unison. As part of the deal, Unison founder Will Seamans will take over as president of the Fearless Guides division and all 21 Unison employees will join the Fearless team.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Fearless first heard of Unison through the Denver firm's work with Maryland nonprofit Threads and other organizations, said Fearless CEO Delali Dzirasa. The software company then hired Unison to oversee its strategic planning process around five years ago. Dzirasa said he was struck by how instead of creating a book-length plan, Unison built an easy-to-remember slide deck that executives immediately understood and could incorporate into the company. The success of the strategic plan led to the two companies working together on other projects ranging from Unison helping Fearless onboard new executives to the two firms working together on federal government contracts.
Fearless Guides will try to help companies integrate new software into their daily work to take full advantage of the Baltimore company’s products. Many times when a technology fails, the software works well, but organizations do not know how to use it, Seamans said. People in different departments may not agree on how a software program should be used or staff are not trained on how to use the product correctly.
“Particularly in government, people have had to work with these archaic systems for so long that they’ve figured out a way to make it work, but they don't understand why it works,” Seamans said. “So when they're offered a new option, it's like a huge cultural shift.”
Part of Seamans' job at Fearless will be to help companies weather that cultural shift as new software comes online. Seamans said Unison also specializes in helping startups maintain their unique culture and consistent standards as they experience rapid growth. As part of Fearless Guides, the company will use that expertise to help startups involved with Fearless's Hutch incubator grow and get products to market.
The push into a new type of product is an outgrowth of Fearless’s massive expansion over the past few years. The company recently won a $35 million contract with the CDC and is eyeing a push toward more international clients.
“It’s a mindset shift that we’re making," Dzirasa said. "When we think about digital transformation, it has to be more than just a tech solution or [sales as a service] product. There are other elements [that need to be there] to ensure the product is sustainable and the change that we want to see actually happens.”
