Early-Stage
Startup Recruiting Services
(Seed stage startups with < 25 people)
1) Top of Funnel Talent (i.e. Quarter Search)
Overview: As an early-stage founder working to find product-market-fit with very real budget constraints, chances are you’re doing all the heavy lifting of sourcing and recruiting your own candidates purely as a cost-saving measure. However, by leveraging Bearhug’s 20+ years of recruitment marketing expertise, you’ll get stronger candidates scheduled directly to your calendar at a price you can afford + much better outcomes that’ll give you back your time.
With our Top of Funnel Talent offering, we bring together best practices from executive search, outbound sales prospecting, demand generation marketing, and strategic technology automation, to identify and recruit pre-approved profiles, and get candidates to book 1st interviews directly to your calendar. This service has the potential to save you 20+ hours per week (per role) and comes with an outcome based guarantee that’ll have you wishing you’d found this offer much sooner.
Outcome: You’ll get 5+ pre-approved candidates booked directly to your calendar within ≤ 14 days of search commencement, or we'll refund your engagement fee.
Investment: Starting at $5,500 per/month x3 (per role)* – No placement fees!
Review the “Top of Funnel Talent” 1-Pager [here]
*Note: All service contracts require prospective clients book a free 30-minute exploratory call to determine qualification and define the project scope, after which you’ll be provided with a custom proposal that’ll fit your exact needs.
2) Retained “Half-Search”
Overview: As an early-stage founder who’s unable (or unwilling) to allocate the budget for our full-service search offering, and you need more of the search workflow truncated for you, our Half-Search offering may be perfect for you. Our team can deliver the first 50% of the traditional full-service executive search workflow (arguably the hardest and most important part), while leaving the back-half of the workflow to you and your team to complete.
Everything is included up to the point of delivering you with a robust candidate slate and scheduling your chosen people for their first interview at roughly half of the typical full-service price. This type of structure works great if you’ve already got a proven internal recruiting workflow where all you need are enough of the right people going through your interview loop and you’re confident that you can close the right person to join your team.
Outcome: You’ll get a deeply vetted slate of 5+ qualified, interested, and available candidates containing at least 2 interview-worthy people (or 1 you hire) within ≤ 21 days of search commencement, or we'll refund your engagement fee.
Investment: Starting at $10,500 per/month x3 (per role)* – No placement fees!
Review the “Half-Search” 1-Pager [here]
*Note: All service contracts require prospective clients book a free 30-minute exploratory call to determine qualification and define the project scope, after which you’ll be provided with a custom proposal that’ll fit your exact needs.
Growth-Stage
Startup Recruiting Services
(Series A, B, or C funded startups with 25 to ~250 people)
3) “The Full Monty” Executive Search
Overview: This is our full-service executive search workflow for helping you hire senior GTM & C-level leaders. Most startup founders find it relatively straightforward to grow their team from 0 to ~25 people, which is about the time most hit the “hiring wall”. This is when most founders will need help bringing in outside leaders with the expertise to help them scale up a particular aspect of their GTM motion. This typically involves us helping you pull talent out of slightly larger, high-growth companies in your direct or adjacent market with the startup experience and functional mastery to repeat and improve upon what they’ve just done in their current company over the past 4-5 years, for your startup.
Full-service executive search engagements traditionally carry a fee of 33% of the hired candidates’ total first-year compensation. It’s a well known fact that most of the larger established executive search firms won’t care to take on search projects that carry a fee of less than ~$80,000 USD. If they do, it’ll usually involve delegating the work to their more junior team which elongates the process and the results can be hit or miss. Should you go this route, you’ll typically pay the first 1/3rd of the fee up front to kick things off, another 1/3rd of the fee 30 days later (or upon acceptance of their short-list), and the final 1/3rd of the fee at or around the 60 day mark, often regardless of whether they succeed in helping you make the placement. Additionally, some firms will charge additional expenses to cover things such as travel costs, software or database access fees, and administrative costs. However, this is NOT how Bearhug Recruiting does business.
Instead, in the majority of cases, we’ll provide you with a custom fixed-fee quote based on (1) the complexity of your requirement (2) your expectations and timeline, and (3) our availability to prioritize your search. Keep in mind, each Bearhug Recruiting partner will only take on 3 searches at any given time in order to guarantee each search gets the time and attention needed to successfully complete the project.
We’re also able to work faster AND produce the same if not better outcomes than our larger competitors at a lesser cost, because we keep our overhead low. Plus, the person selling you the service will always be the one executing the entirety of the workflow. Believe it or not, that little detail matters. A lot. Nothing will get lost in translation. The workflow is much faster. And the success rate of successfully completing projects goes from the industry average of 67% to 98%+. This more modern pricing and workflow structure ensures incentives are aligned from the start (so you’re not just seeing the most expensive candidates). It also guarantees you’ll get a better outcome, faster, at a much lower price point.
Outcome: You’ll get an A-Player signed onto your team within ~45 days (+/- 15).
Investment: Director to C-level search projects typically range from $60k to $120k*
Review “The Full Monty” Executive Search 1-Pager [here]
*Note: All service contracts require prospective clients book a free 30-minute exploratory call to determine qualification and define the project scope, after which you’ll be provided with a custom proposal that’ll fit your exact needs.
**Note: We are willing to pay you back in the form of a discount for (1) volume (i.e. 2+ role bundles) (2) equity via immediately vested options (3) long-term partnership commitments (i.e. multi-year agreements) (4) credits for referring us new clients, and/or (5) co-branded case studies or marketing collaborations.)
A La Carte Services
(GTM recruiting solutions customized for early & growth-stage startups)
Startup GTM Recruiting Services – Unbundled!
a) Drafting Your Search Blueprint & Scorecard System
Overview: Starting a search often presents two key challenges for companies: (1) aligning the team on the target candidate profile, and (2) establishing the ideal candidate sourcing and evaluation strategy. Overcoming these challenges is best achieved through drafting your Search Blueprint and developing your team’s hiring “Scorecard”. We deliver this service through a 2-part workshop-style series conducted over a 7-day period.
Outcome: You’ll get a fully board approved Search Blueprint and Scorecard for your most pressing executive requirement that you can duplicate and customize for every search project going forward.
Investment: Starting at $5,500 per/project*
*Note: All service contracts require prospective clients book a free 30-minute exploratory call to determine qualification and define the project scope, after which you’ll be provided with a custom proposal that’ll fit your exact needs.
b) Crafting Your Position Brief
Overview: Rethink the traditional job description. Posting one on your website or on LinkedIn or Indeed is akin to posting an ingredient list on a billboard (not compelling!). Instead of following the crowd, consider creating a piece of collateral that will truly inspire and get targeted passive A-player candidates to engage—those who are not actively looking for a job but would be interested if they were approached and pitched in this unique way. This approach automatically filters out less suitable candidates and attracts the right top talent uniquely qualified, interested, and available to achieve the first-year outcomes you’ve pre-established for each senior level role.
Outcome: You’ll get an extremely thorough and incredibly well written and compelling opportunity pitch that will attract the right-fit candidates (and repel the wrong-fit candidates) that you can duplicate and customize for every search project going forward.
Investment: Starting at $7,500 per/project*
*Note: All service contracts require prospective clients book a free 30-minute exploratory call to determine qualification and define the project scope, after which you’ll be provided with a custom proposal that’ll fit your exact needs.
c) Building Your Talent Pipeline
Overview: To ensure your Position Brief reaches the right audience, it's crucial to attract the right candidates. Let our sourcing team conduct a comprehensive market map of the competitive industry landscape, including direct and adjacent industries. This sourcing strategy, paired with our proprietary boolean algorithmic search methods using Google, enables us to create the perfect target candidate list for any vacancy, regardless of complexity or seniority.
Most search projects require that our team review several thousand potential profiles to build a list of ~100 that we then stage and debate internally, that results in a list of ~50 that we’ll present to you as our client. Some clients like to do their own review and will end up culling that list by another 10% to 20% prior to executing outreach. Other clients (those who value investing time to speak to more people) execute outreach to the entire batch. Historically 50 is the sweet spot where an email sequence can be sent to the list (no phone calls) to end up with between 5 and 10 candidates scheduling 1st interviews.
Outcome: You’ll get access to our “client portal” where you’ll have access to all our data (fully enriched profiles with all job history and verified contact data). You can then either run your search to this list from within our system OR you can export the talent pipeline to CSV file and upload it to your existing ATS or any other tool within your stack.
Investment: Starting at $10,500 per/project*
*Note: All service contracts require prospective clients book a free 30-minute exploratory call to determine qualification and define the project scope, after which you’ll be provided with a custom proposal that’ll fit your exact needs.
d) Designing Your Outreach Campaign & Tailoring Your Screening Funnel
Overview: Messaging for passive and active candidates differs significantly, as each group has distinct motivations. It's essential to tailor your approach for each group when reaching out via email or phone. Our team of copywriters specializes in crafting outreach campaigns that will resonate with your target candidate list, and will drive them to take action to want to come interview with you.
After capturing the interest of your targeted candidate list, our team can assist you in designing an efficient screening system. Rather than posting jobs and trying to sift through 600 inbound applicants hoping to find a needle in the haystack, let our team help you structure a different approach using a blend of both automated and manual steps that’ll significantly reduce the time you or your hiring managers spend on recruiting —by as much as 90%.
Outcome: You’ll be provided with a custom 3 touch email sequence, 2 touch LinkedIn outreach campaign, 2 touch text campaign, an introductory phone talk track, and each of the “gate assets” we’ll create that each of your candidates must pass through to get time on your calendar.
Investment: Starting at $5,500 per/project*
*Note: All service contracts require prospective clients book a free 30-minute exploratory call to determine qualification and define the project scope, after which you’ll be provided with a custom proposal that’ll fit your exact needs.
e) Doubling The Power Of Your Pitch
Overview: Once you are clear on exactly who you’re wanting to attract and hire, one of the easiest and simplest things you can do to promote your opportunity to the market is to have a credible 3rd party interview you about the role and require every applicant to listen to the interview as one of the filters in your funnel. This ensures you set the right tone AND will inspire the right people to take action, and the wrong people to opt themselves out of the process. This is one of the unique advantages of working with Bearhug. We’ve perfected this pitch process and get consistent rave reviews from both our clients and candidates about how much adding this simple step to their recruiting workflow helped accelerate the process for both sides and set everyone up for success.
Outcome: You’ll receive an edited recording of the interview pitch that you can insert at the start of your recruiting funnel along with the copy to ensure it’ll be framed properly for your target candidates.
Investment: Starting at $550 per/project*
*Note: All service contracts require prospective clients book a free 30-minute exploratory call to determine qualification and define the project scope, after which you’ll be provided with a custom proposal that’ll fit your exact needs.
f) Become a Featured Guest On “The Bearhug Experience” Podcast
Overview: While there are countless places you can go to have other people interview you to tell your founder story and get the word out about your innovative product, the long-form interview structure and approach we take with The Bearhug Experience podcast is truly one of a kind.
Everything from our preparation process, to how we facilitate the conversation, on through to how we edit the episode in post-production, and then promote it online is unlike any experience you’ll have on any other podcast. We aspire for you to see an ROI in one or more of the following ways:
Additional speaking opportunities and Media inquiries
New Deal Flow from unconventional sources
Accelerated Deal Flow through the increased bonding from telling your full story
An increase in the strength of your network resulting in more candidate inflow
Positive feedback from unexpected sources thanking you for your time and expertise
A meaningful artifact that documents your legacy up to this point in your career
Satisfaction knowing you’ll have inspired the next generation of Entrepreneurs by the work you’ve done, the lessons you can share, and the unique way in which you see the world.
Outcome: Once your episode is live, you’ll receive a summary of everywhere it’s published (24+ platforms and social media outlets), including a folder with links to the raw and edited files, and all the graphics, teaser copy, and workflow documents we used in the pre/post-production and promotional workflow.
Investment: Starting at $5,500 per/project*
*Note: All service contracts require prospective clients book a free 30-minute exploratory call to determine qualification and define the project scope, after which you’ll be provided with a custom proposal that’ll fit your exact needs.
g) Niche Research & List Generation
Overview: Is your marketing team in need of a targeted list to promote an upcoming event or drive inbound leads for sales? Are you gearing up for fundraising and seeking assistance in compiling a list of potential investment partners specific to your vertical and stage? If you require list-building services, we can likely provide a faster and more efficient solution than internal efforts.
Outcome: You’ll be provided with a fully researched and enriched target list (minimum of 100 profiles) loaded to our “client portal” that you can perform outreach to from within the system OR you can export to CSV and upload to any piece of tech within your stack.
Investment: Starting at $5,500 per/project*
*Note: All service contracts require prospective clients book a free 30-minute exploratory call to determine qualification and define the project scope, after which you’ll be provided with a custom proposal that’ll fit your exact needs.
h) Interim “Head of Talent”
Overview: In addition to our traditional search fee for each placement, Bearhug Recruiting offers an alternative solution. We can serve as your interim “Head of Talent” where we can handle some (or all) of your hiring needs, for a set monthly retainer. This can even involve helping to hire our replacement once you’re ready to bring someone in-house full time.
Outcome: Within an agreed upon timeline, we’ll achieve pre-agreed upon hiring quotas and quality benchmarks for whatever role(s) are needed across your organization.
Investment: Starting at $5,500 per/month with a minimum 6-month commitment*
*Note: All service contracts require prospective clients book a free 30-minute exploratory call to determine qualification and define the project scope, after which you’ll be provided with a custom proposal that’ll fit your exact needs.
i) Consulting & Speaking Engagements
Overview: Are you looking to enhance your team's hiring practices or optimize your outbound recruitment funnels? Planning a company or industry event and seeking an expert to speak on the topic of Executive Recruiting best practices or Strategic Network Development for increasing referrals for recruiting, sales, or fundraising?
Outcome: We guarantee to DELIVER on our promise of adding the exact strategic value you need to any audience you put us in front of. Or we’ll refund you. Plain and simple.
Investment: On-premise 1x1 consulting or training workshops start at $25,000 per day. Virtual workshops start at $7,500 per session. Private 1x1 executive consulting sessions (1-off or series) are priced on a per project basis.*
*Note: All service contracts require prospective clients book a free 30-minute exploratory call to determine qualification and define the project scope, after which you’ll be provided with a custom proposal that’ll fit your exact needs.
