A fintech headquartered in Canary Wharf, founded by two Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs after moving their operations from Madrid, was in the middle of negotiating a Series A round with British and American venture capital funds. Days before signing, a former employee who had been let go months earlier posted baseless accusations of alleged accounting irregularities at the company on LinkedIn and on a specialized fintech forum.
The post was picked up by a digital outlet covering London startups, and within 48 hours the company's name was associated with the word "irregularities" in the top search results. One of the funds participating in the round paused its due diligence and requested written clarification, putting the deal's closing on the agreed timeline at risk.
Our team gathered and organized the company's audited financial records to refute the accusations in a verifiable way, contacted the outlet that had published the story directly with documentary evidence that led to an update including the company's side of the story, and handled discreet communication with the former employee through legal channels, which resulted in the original posts being taken down.
Within three weeks, the negative coverage had been corrected or removed and search results once again showed neutral content about the company. The funding round closed on schedule, with the fund that had paused its participation rejoining the deal after reviewing the documentation provided.
21 daysTo the former employee's public retraction
4Specialized outlets with corrected or updated coverage
100%Of the funding round closed as planned
