The client, the investors and the CTO.
Most search firms can show you a happy client. On this one, all three parties — the founder, the investor who made the introduction, and the CTO who took the job — went on record.
The situation
Harper needed a CTO, and it was the kind of appointment where getting it wrong would have been felt for years. Their investor, Solid Bond Capital, introduced us to the founders — which, for an investor, is never a neutral act. Recommending a search firm to a portfolio company spends your own credibility as much as theirs.
It was a long and thorough search, precisely because of the importance of the position. Everyone involved — founders, investor, candidates — stayed focused on the same thing: finding the right fit rather than a fast one.
Why it's worth reading
A search is a three-sided relationship, and most case studies only show you one side of it. The founder was initially reluctant to invest in direct search at all. The investor doesn't normally reach for a specialist sourcing agent. The CTO wasn't looking for a recruiter to be pushy at him.
All three came out of it saying the same thing, publicly and unprompted. That's the outcome.
Three perspectives on one search.
“We worked with Warren to support Harper in finding a rockstar CTO. It was a long and thorough search given the importance of this position but Warren delivered and some. I was initially reluctant to invest in direct search but given how integral this position is and how well it turned out for us, I wouldn’t think twice about this in the future.”
“With this being such a critical hire and with the market being the way it is, I was happy to introduce Warren to Harper’s founders. I’m happy it paid off and I’m looking forward to helping their new CTO settle into their new role.”
“Speaking from the other side — Warren is a genuine guy. It was clear he wasn’t looking for time-wasters and he wasn’t too pushy during the process. All of us were focussed on finding the right fit.”
Introducing a search firm to a portfolio company?
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