FE International, Inc., the global market leader in mid-market technology mergers and acquisitions (M&A), announces the acquisition of Retriever by Lever Technology.

According to McKinsey, 58% of Americans have the opportunity to work from home at least one day per week. After COVID-19 turned remote work from an option into a requirement, organizations around the world have permanently embraced flexible work environments. That shift presents a unique challenge for returning devices like laptops and monitors when an employee exits the company or needs a device upgrade or repair. Retriever co-founders and former Dropbox engineers Annie Kramer and Alex Sydell developed an automated platform, enabling a seamless, hassle-free device return process and saving organizations valuable time and resources.

“When Alex and I left startup jobs during the pandemic, we both had trouble returning laptops to our former employers,” Kramer said. “We realized that many companies, small and large, were facing a similar problem, so we decided to help improve the process. What started as two people printing labels and packing boxes quickly turned into a scalable enterprise SaaS and logistics business that has completely transformed how companies manage remote device returns. Now it’s as simple as typing in an address from anywhere across the U.S.”

Retriever’s custom-built software platform handles all of the logistics, shipping, and tracking for an employee device return. Remote employees receive an easy-to-pack padded box with a prepaid return label, instructions, and reminders along the way, and companies gain access to a powerful dashboard and API to easily track, manage, and collaborate on device returns.

Despite being a bootstrapped two-person team, Retriever has been profitable since its launch in 2021, with a 21% compounded monthly growth rate (CMGR) leading up to the acquisition. In that time, Retriever has amassed thousands of customers across a variety of industries, including tech, telecom, consumer goods, law, finance, accounting and health care. Tens of thousands of devices have been returned from every U.S. state using Retriever.

“Witnessing Retriever’s growth is remarkable enough, but when you see that their customer list includes logos like CrossFit, Lime, Lowe’s, Foursquare and Thrive Market, it became obvious that this is a service that can dominate the market,” said Craig Swill, founder and CEO of Lever Technology. “Annie and Alex have witnessed significant growth with only a team of two — the decision to acquire their company and put a full team at the helm to scale Retriever to new heights was an easy one.”

Unfortunately, the economic downturn has led to substantial layoffs across industries and made return services all the more vital. Employees don’t want to jump through hoops to send devices back to their employers during these difficult situations. Simplifying the device return process can help IT, HR and operations teams and their employees avoid significant headaches.

FE International served as the sole sell-side M&A advisor on the acquisition.

“Retriever expertly identified a significant pain point facing companies of all sizes and jumped into action to create an easy-to-use solution. Lever Technology is the perfect fit to help grow the Retriever team and take its product to the next level,” said Thomas Smale, CEO of FE International.

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