Clients typically see their first vetted candidates within 10 days of search launch. That said, early submissions are part of the market canvassing process. We're building a complete picture of the available talent before we jointly agree on a shortlist, which usually happens around week four. From there, most of our engagements close within 60 to 90 days. The variables that affect timeline are almost always on the interview side: scheduling, internal alignment, additional rounds. We'll give you an honest estimate on the intake call based on your specific criteria and process.

Retained search involves a financial commitment from the client that allows the firm to perform a robust, meticulous search process, canvassing the full market and giving you absolute confidence that your hiring decision is being made from all available options. Contingent search is a no-win, no-fee arrangement with no commitment on either side. Retained is the right model for strategically important, mission-critical roles where you need a firm that is fully invested in the outcome. Contingent arrangements can work for straightforward, easy-to-fill roles where speed and volume matter more than depth.

Executive search fees are typically calculated as a percentage of the placed candidate's first-year total compensation. Industry standards tend to land between 25% and 33%, depending on the firm, the model, and the seniority of the role. Retained searches are usually structured in installments; contingent searches are paid in full on placement. We'll walk you through our fee structure on the first call. What we will tell you is we don't compete on being the cheapest option, and we don't apologize for it. The cost of a bad hire or failed search at the VP or CRO level dwarfs the difference in search fees.

PE operating partners and platform teams use executive search firms to accelerate GTM talent delivery across their portfolio, particularly at post-acquisition inflection points where speed matters and internal recruiting capacity is thin. VC platform teams operate similarly, often with even leaner internal resources, where urgency is tied to fundraising cycles and growth milestones. The best firms bring domain expertise that internal HR doesn't have: they know the market, the comp data, the candidate pool, and the nuances of what works at different stages. We work directly with sponsors and their operating teams to run searches at the portfolio level, and we understand the context that comes with a sponsor-backed mandate, including board timelines, investment thesis, and value creation plans. That operating context fluency is something a generalist recruiter won't have.

The profile that works in a PE-backed environment is different from what works at a large public company or a pre-product startup. You need someone with experience driving efficient growth in a resource-constrained environment, someone who doesn't need infrastructure to be in place before they can move. They should be comfortable with board-level visibility, fluent in the metrics that matter to sponsors (ARR, NRR, pipeline coverage, quota attainment), and capable of ramping quickly without a long runway. Cultural fit matters too: PE-backed environments are high-accountability and resource-conscious. Candidates who've come from bloated enterprise orgs often struggle with the pace and the ownership expectations. We've placed enough GTM leaders in these environments to know the difference, and we filter for it early.

Cross-border US expansion hiring is one of our core specializations. We've placed US GTM leaders for companies expanding from the UK, France, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, and beyond. The challenges are real and underestimated: compensation calibration (US OTE structures differ significantly from European norms), finding candidates with genuine US market experience, and navigating the cultural dynamics of a European HQ managing an American sales team. We also help with ICP translation, because the buyer you're targeting in the US may not be the same profile as in your home market, and your first US sales leader needs to understand that. Getting this hire wrong is expensive. We've done it enough times to know what the profile actually looks like.

Our focus is go-to-market leadership and execution for B2B software companies. At the leadership level, that includes CRO, CMO, VP of Sales, VP of Marketing, VP of Customer Success, VP of Alliances and Partnerships, and Head of Sales Development. For PE and VC investors, we work at the platform level across portfolio companies, not just on individual mandates. We also run team build-outs, structured engagements where we're filling multiple roles simultaneously as part of a deliberate GTM scaling motion, including Account Executives, Sales Engineers, and Customer Success Managers. If you're not sure whether your open role fits, get in touch and we'll tell you honestly.

The main difference is domain depth. We work exclusively in B2B software GTM, which means we know the market, the candidate pool, the comp benchmarks, and the red flags, not from a database, but from years of active sourcing and placement in this specific space. When we submit a candidate, they've been screened against your specific search criteria, interviewed by someone who understands the role, and assessed for fit with your stage, motion, and buyer profile. Where possible, we run back-channel references before submission rather than waiting until offer stage. What you won't get from us is volume for the sake of looking busy. Our mandate completion rate is 92% because we don't send candidates we don't believe in.

We stand behind our placements with a guarantee period. If a placed candidate leaves or is let go within that window, we run a replacement search at no additional fee. The specifics are spelled out in the agreement before we start. Beyond the formal guarantee, our incentive is always to get it right the first time. Our repeat client rate is 88%, which means the work holds up. A replacement search costs us time and resources, so we are motivated to place people who stick.

Our primary focus is companies with commercial traction, typically Series A and beyond for VC-backed businesses, or PE-backed companies post-acquisition. We're at our best when there's a product in market, a customer base to reference, and enough organizational stability for a senior hire to land and succeed. Pre-revenue or idea-stage companies are generally not a fit for what we do, because the GTM hire profile is different and the candidate pool we access is usually looking for a different environment. If you're at that stage and not sure, we're happy to have a quick conversation. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you and point you in the right direction.