Bearhug Recruiting Is Your Secret Weapon For Unlocking Your Leadership Dream Team
We specialize in helping early and growth-stage frontier tech and B2B software companies navigate the scale-up journey from ~$1m to $50m+ through the acquisition of top-tier senior GTM leaders and C-suite executives.
We’re different from every other search firm out there in 3 specific ways:
#1: Unconventional Approach
Unlike most recruiters who recycle candidates from “their network” to cut corners, we take the time to truly listen and understand your needs. Then we source the exact people you need from scratch. We begin by turning Google into our candidate database. Then we review thousands of potential profiles in order to create an initial target list of 50 to 100. We then do deep research and score each person in order to prioritize speaking with the best 20 to 30 in order to deliver to you, the top 5-7 candidates who are qualified, interested, and available for you to interview and choose from. Invest just a single 2-hour block with us for onboarding and start interviewing highly qualified candidates in as little as 2-3 weeks.
#2: Zero Risk “Performance Partnership” Guarantee
We guarantee you’ll receive 3 interview-worthy candidates (or 1 you hire) within 30 days of search commencement, or we'll refund your 1st invoice (i.e. “the engagement fee”). Why "3" OR "1 you hire"? Because clients frequently review our candidate slate and get so excited about one candidate in particular, they'll double down on their favorite in an effort to save time, and will have us accelerate that one person through their internal interview loop (knowing if that one doesn’t work out, we'll have other viable backups ready to go). Additionally, our 2nd & 3rd invoices are also 100% contingent upon performance milestones as well – making our entire search service risk free. Historically, clients interview 3.7 candidates in order to make a hire, and successful placements are made on average within 50.7 days from search commencement to getting a signed offer letter (55% faster than the industry average). This is made possible by limiting the # of searches each partner takes on to 3 MAX, allowing us to give clients AND candidates the quality experience needed to convert the very best people.
#3: Fee Structure Fluidity
Our biggest competitive advantage is the fluidity of our fee structure. Instead of charging 33.3% of a new hire’s first year guaranteed cash comp, once we fully understand your search requirement, we’ll typically propose a flat fee agreement. This keeps incentives better aligned, instead of you only being shown the most expensive candidates. We can also unbundle our services and price each project based on doing ONLY the parts of the workflow you actually need, often saving you tens of thousands of dollars, without sacrificing speed or quality. This enables us to accommodate a wider array of clients with differing needs, internal capabilities, and budgets. And because we're boutique, we don't have the overhead OR sourcing restrictions of larger firms, allowing us to complete almost any search faster, at a higher quality, for a less money.
Bonus: We’ ll not only FISH FOR YOU, but we’ll also TEACH YOU HOW TO FISH. As a client, you’ll be empowered to learn Executive Recruiting best practices without any additional effort. You’ll become so much better at Executive Recruiting, you may not even need to work with us anymore. In fact, upon request, we’ll even gift you all the tools and systems we used to run your search AND show you how to adapt them to all your future search requirements. Why? We believe in the principle of being a go-giver, and the more good we do out in the market without any expectation of return, it’ll comes back 10 fold (and it has!).
Ready to Upgrade Your Leadership Team?
Book a free 30-minute exploratory conversation to dive deeper into the many ways we can create value and help you build a world-class management team. Click Here to Schedule Now 🚀
AN INTRODUCTION
Why Do Our Clients Pay Our Premium Fees?
At Bearhug, we are on a mission to propel visionary startups from the seed stage to Series C, ensuring they attract and retain the finest Go-To-Market (GTM) leaders who bring unparalleled insights, accelerating business growth from day one.
Our clients are passionate about addressing complex, technical challenges related to global sustainability, accelerated automation, and digital transformation of legacy industries. Our most exciting projects involve integrating machine intelligence into traditionally slow-moving, resource-intensive sectors.
Drawing from diverse scientific and technical backgrounds, our clients trust us to fill critical business roles with seasoned GTM leaders who excel in Marketing, Sales, Strategy, Operations, Human Capital, Product Management, and Finance. We are known for being 2-3 times faster than other firms, but our true value lies in our unconventional recruiting methods, allowing us to unearth the top 10% of passive talent that often eludes other recruiters.
In the world of startups, every team member must accomplish in a week what larger organizations achieve in a month. Finding these exceptional GTM talents is a challenge in itself. They are often deeply committed to their current roles, making it even more daunting to persuade them to embark on a new adventure.
Our track record tells a compelling story: Many candidates initially reject our offers, claiming they are not looking for a change.
Yet, approximately 45 days later, these very individuals submit their resignations and join our clients' teams.
Recruiting this caliber of talent requires a unique skill set to encourage them to explore new career possibilities and consider what you have to offer. That's where Bearhug excels.
If the future of your startup hinges on the selection of the right GTM leaders, leaving this pivotal task to chance is simply not an option. Partner with us, and rest assured that our specialized recruiting expertise will elevate your success.
Click Here to Review Our Recent Placements
“Give us your hardest, most complex senior-level GTM role to fill, and we’ll close it faster, with better talent, at the same or lesser cost of any other Executive Search firm out there – guaranteed.”
- Kraig Ward (Founder & Managing Director)
“It’s not even fair to compare Kraig and his team to other recruiters. They're not even on the same playing field. A very high bar has been set.”
Kourosh Zamanizadeh, COO @ Time By Ping
WHY WE PRIORITIZE EARLY & GROWTH STAGE STARTUPS
Our specialization lies in teaming up with companies that have dedicated time and effort to achieving, or are on the cusp of reaching, product/market fit and are now poised for rapid expansion. At this juncture, collaborating with Bearhug becomes a strategic advantage. Our extensive talent network seamlessly integrates and delivers immediate, tangible results.
Our typical client falls within the range of 20 to 120 employees, with annual revenue of ~1 to 10 million dollars. Having recently secured Seed to Series C funding and a mandate from the Board to execute rapid scaling, we thrive in this unique phase of a startup's growth cycle.
We take pride in our role as a dependable source of precisely matched talent, instrumental in helping our clients navigate the path to surpass the $50 million milestone and venture into even greater achievements. This is where our expertise truly shines.
WHY WE PRIMARILY FOCUS ON SENIOR GO-TO-MARKET (GTM) ROLES
When we observe several competing startups operating within the same market, often sharing similar attributes like size, funding, and team size, the key to market dominance becomes clear.
It's typically not the company with the best or most mature product that rises to the top; instead, it's the startup with the most effective GTM strategy that emerges victorious.
Our extensive experience, whether in the boardroom or as seasoned industry operators, has shown us the recurring patterns of success. Based on this valuable insight, we have crafted our entire practice around ensuring our clients secure the right GTM team members.
These professionals immediately become profit drivers from the moment they join the organization.
WHY OUR DEDICATION TO ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS MATTERS
In a world brimming with challenges, we, as a global community, have the opportunity to collaborate and address myriad issues. While some opt to invest their time and energy in developing the next social media sensation, a cutting-edge DeFi application, or paving the way for the Metaverse, our Bearhug team has made a different choice.
Our unwavering focus lies in wholeheartedly supporting the world's leading computer scientists and engineering teams. They are at the forefront of a digital transformation within the Enterprise realm, specifically within sectors such as Customer Experience Management, Digital Health, EdTech, Hospitality Tech, Human Capital Management, Infrastructure, Marketing Tech, Next-Gen Commerce, Payments, PropTech, Sales Tech, Supply Chain, and more.
We hold a deep appreciation for the Software as a Service (SaaS) business model and firmly believe that these solutions introduce a much-needed layer of intelligence and efficiency to industries that serve as the bedrock of our global economy.
The Business Case for Bearhug
Why do 40% of U.S. Companies Outsource their Recruiting…
Because they failed to fill the role on their own.
They’d prefer to focus on growing their business instead.
They do it to improve the quality of their hires by using a specialist.
They’ve done the math and realized they can dramatically reduce their cost per hire by doing so.
Consider the Following…
The #1 challenge for every startup on earth is hiring outside talent*
The demand for recruiters just surpassed that of software engineers for the first time in a decade*
1 out of every 2 new hires in the United States will churn within 18 months*
Of the 50% of new hires that are retained, greater than 2/3rds end up as average performers*
The true cost of a mis-hire is estimated at 5x to 15x a person’s annual salary (200K salary = 3m loss)*
Candidates lie on their résumé and in face to face interview 81% of the time*
So if 50% is the average hiring accuracy, why not just skip the interview, and flip a coin?*
https://hbr.org/2015/03/technology-can-save-onboarding-from-itself
https://hbr.org/2015/09/when-the-competition-is-trying-to-poach-your-top-employee
https://www.urbanbound.com/blog/onboarding-infographic-statistics
https://www.saastr.com/what-your-first-100-hires-will-look-like
http://www.aberdeen.com/research/9865/RR-twentyfirst-century-onboarding.aspx/content.aspx
https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-strategy/data-shows-soaring-demand-for-recruiters
“My experience working with Bearhug was absolutely worth every penny and every minute. I would do it again for any mission-critical role that we have. They delivered a truly A-level candidate that exceeded my expectations, even to the point where I am nervous if I can fulfill my role as a worthy manager. I now have a new standard for how I’ll recruit in order to match this experience for future hires.”
Robert Romano COO @Glidian
Recruiting Done Right is Hard.
Constant Recruiting Done Right Is Harder.
It’s hard to transition from founder-led everything, and pass the baton to more experienced leaders to scale-up your key functions.
It’s hard to fill urgent holes in your team from voluntary or involuntary departures.
It’s hard to work discreetly behind the scenes to replace leaders who you’ve outgrown.
Executive recruitment while important, is challenging as you don’t get to practice it often, because your need comes in sporadic volumes.
You can bet your investors are always asking themselves after each interaction with you….
“Do I still have confidence that this CEO can recruit and retain a world class management team?”
“And can they do it again? And again? At each growth stage?”
If You Fail,
It’s Just a Matter of Time Before You’ll Be Replaced.
We know all about the bad rap some recruiting agencies have earned for themselves.
That’s not us.
SETTING THE SCENE
It’s Monday Morning
You’re digging your way out of your email inbox and your phone rings. It’s a recruiter on the other end of the line:
“Hey there! I’ve run across a superstar who might be a great fit for your organization! Will you please sign my fee agreement so I can send you their resume?”
You hear them out, but you can’t help but roll your eyes. Very little, if any, research has been done beforehand to understand your company, your culture, or your needs.
They’re just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks hoping to earn a commission. But, you do need great people, so you clarify: “I’m NOT interested in that profile, but I could use a {insert alternate role here}.”
24 hours later and BOOM! Your inbox gets flooded with the same ol’ resumes from the same ol’ locations that HR already has exposure to and that you’ve already passed on.
We get it. Your annoyance is justified.
However, that’s the complete opposite of what you’ll get partnering with Bearhug.
“90% of executives think people leave their job for more money (it’s only 12%). The real reason people quit is that the role wasn’t a good fit for them in the first place due to a faulty hiring process.
The solution? Partner with Bearhug to hire only A-players. Be willing to pay them above market rate. Get the same result as if you'd hired multiple B players with less hassle, cost, and far better outcomes.)”
Kraig Ward, Founder & Managing Director
How Much Will This Service Cost?
That’s going to depend on you, your needs, and your preferences. Because what differentiates us is the fluidity of our fee structure.
Some of our clients hire us just to fill one individual mission critical role and want a fully managed search from A-Z.
Others want us to fill several roles at a time whether simultaneously or staggered over time (which impacts the price).
Others only need a half-search where we do the first 50% of the workflow and stop at the point of scheduling them to speak with 3-5 candidates.
And some clients ask us to come in and put their entire recruiting infrastructure in place.
We’re certainly NOT your cheapest option…
Proposals are structured on a case by case basis after gathering the requisite information:
1. Capacity: How much advance notice you give us (so we can slot you in alongside our other clients).
2. Role Complexity: Whether this is a new or established role, your expected KPI’s and 1-year outcomes.
3. Geography: Your location, the size of the available candidate pool, and willingness to fund a possible relo.
4. Brand: Your company’s reputation in the market and the marketability of the hiring manager.
5. Budget: Your ability to pay ^ market rate for the A-players you need (no Ferrari shopping w/Honda budget)
6. Urgency: How time sensitive the project is and how realistic you are with your search timeline.
7. Hiring Process: Our assessment of your hiring process and the # of steps and stakeholders involved.
8. Prior Effort: How muddy the water is from your prior unsuccessful attempts to fill the role.
9. Access: Whether we get 1:1 time with all members of the search committee & can participate in interviews.
10. Reporting: Whether you require project metrics, status calls, comp/board reports & pipeline visibility.
11. Ongoing Partnership: The likelihood we’ll be able to do additional work together in the next 1-2 quarters.
12. Networking: Your willingness to introduce us to other investors and CEOs within your network that we can help.
Step 1
30-MINUTE “EXPLORATORY” CONSULTATION
This intro call is designed to allow for all stakeholders on both sides to get their high-level questions answered.
The agenda from our side will revolve around (1) your top strategic priorities (2) high-level overview of the current state of the business (3) search status + the positive & negative attributes of the role you need help with (4) your interview process and (5) the expectations you have should we become your talent partner AND the expectations you’ll have from the candidates we’ll bring you.
At the end, we’ll both determine if additional time is warranted. If yes, we’ll schedule a second 1-hour call 1:1 with the hiring authority to go deeper on the specific requirements of your role.
Step 2
*1-HOUR “HIRING REALITY CHECK” CONSULTATION
This is a deep-dive 1:1 consultation between one of our Bearhug Recruiting Partners and your Hiring Authority. You can expect the following 3 outcomes:
(1) Alignment around the exact sourcing criteria needed to determine the realistic size of your target candidate pool and whether or not your expectations are likely to match reality. We’ll also provide guidance on adjustments you may need to consider making + we may even bring forward a handful of potential candidate benchmark profiles to debate.
(2) Search Blueprint [rough draft] that outlines each step/stage of our overlapping workflows, including a custom risk mitigation plan that takes into account the unique challenges we’ll be presented with by taking your opportunity to market at this particular time of year + exactly how we’ll vet candidates as being “QAI” (qualified, available, interested).
(3) Custom “Pitch” Assessment. We’ll discuss the most compelling aspects of your opportunity as well as the biggest hurdles we’re likely to encounter and how to position your opportunity out in the market in the most compelling way possible to attract the top 10% of the talent pool to want to come speak with you.
(*This call is required to facilitate the exchange of information needed to validate whether or not your search can be realistically set up for success. This also enables us to prepare a bespoke search proposal for you with pre-agreed upon terms and fee structure should we both decide to formally partner.)
Step 3
ONBOARDING
After we receive your signed-proposal, Onboarding begins with a formal intake call where together we’ll finalize all the details of our drafted search strategy, followed by a full week’s worth of effort on our side to put all the building blocks in order prior to officially kicking off the search and starting the clock.
During the first week of preparation (pre-launch), the Bearhug Team will leverage our proprietary algorithmic boolean search strategy that turns Google into our candidate database. We will source a talent pipeline for your project from scratch by reviewing somewhere between 3,000 to 10,000 target candidate profiles in order to narrow that list down to the best ~100 profiles that will get staged for our team to debate, after which the best ~50 profiles will get loaded to our collaboration software (i.e. “the portal”) for outreach.
All stakeholders are given access to the portal from the start of the search which offers complete visibility into our real-time activity metrics, candidate pipeline, and status updates as we work our way through the list working to bring forward the very best for you to interview.
Step 4
SEARCH KICK-OFF!
Now it’s your turn to meet these rockstar candidates! They will be so well informed and prepared to meet you that you’re likely to come out of the first meeting surprised at the depth and breadth of what you’ve been able to cover. These calls will prove to be some of the most enjoyable interviews you’ve conducted in your life.
Being that all sides will have been pre-closed ahead of time using hypothetical offers and acceptances, you can also expect the negotiation process AND the transition from their current job to your startup to be smooth as butter. No surprises!
We guarantee within 30 days of kick-off, you’ll get to meet 3 exceptional A-level candidates (or 1 you hire) within 30 days or we’ll refund your engagement fee.
We average 3.7 candidate submits to close a search with a successful placement, and you can expect an average senior level GTM search assignment to require about 45 days from kick-off to signed offer letter (+/- 15 days barring situations outside either of our control).
You’ll also receive weekly detailed progress reports and we’re always “on call” for your every need as it relates to each search project.
“I noticed that the dynamic range between what an average person could accomplish and what the best person could accomplish was 50 or 100 to 1. A small team of A-players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players.”
Steve Jobs
Client Eligibility Criteria
THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA MUST BE MET TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR CLIENT STATUS
Top 10%
Your company must be viewed by our network of industry peers as being in the top 10% of your designated market. We verify this through industry accepted documentation (not self-declaration).
Whatever it takes attitude
You must be so committed to securing the strongest GTM talent, that traditional HR protocol is secondary. Exceptional candidates often require exceptions to the rules.
Decision team participation from the start
Your decision team must participate in our initial intake session to gain an understanding of our Partnership Process. This will allow them to remain in sync with our candidate evaluation efforts, will save us all time, and will minimize surprises. Training and guidance is a core part of our value added service to you as our client.
Integrity
Your word and signed fee agreement must be your bond of integrity. The clients we serve will be of the character that we would feel comfortable inviting you into our home for dinner with our families.
What You Can Expect as a Client
1. Search Intake & Culture Audit.
The experience you’ll have during this stage, will be unlike any you’ve had before. Our in-depth inquiries into the position scope, departmental objectives, and culture fit are our secret sauce. The easiest part of running a search is matching technical skills with the job spec. The hardest part is matching a candidate’s soft skills to the correct style and flavor of your team in a way that’ll unlock and activate each candidate’s full capacity and creativity.
2. No “Traditional” Job Postings.
Engage with us only after you’ve tried everything you can think of to fill your critical GTM roles and have hit a dead end. That’s the point at which you’ll really value what we can do for you. We leverage over a dozen different sourcing strategies simultaneously to surface talent you’d not be able to find on your own. This type of promotional strategy takes many different forms. But one thing you can count on is that candidates will only learn that we are representing your company at the point after which they’ve already agreed to an interview with you. Sounds kinda unorthodox eh? And that’s because it is. Everything we do is non-traditional, and that’s why it works. When we present one of these unique individuals for you to interview, be prepared to deviate from past protocol and be ready to clear your calendar.
3. We don’t pitch jobs. We don’t bait candidates.
There’ll be no exposing you to tire-kicker candidates. Before we ever discuss a specific opportunity, candidates have fully divulged their future utopia and their full set of requirements. We are skilled matchmakers. We do NOT try and sell jobs to people. We dig deep and listen for alignment and core truths before anything else happens. Bored opportunists never make it past us. If we can’t find a legitimate career wound that will motivate a top-tier candidate, they will not be put forward.
4. Interview Preparation.
Important candidates require special attention. They are equally as bright as you are and will be turned off by the slightest hint of a “wing it” type interview. We’ll take no chances of you risking the candidate misjudging your company’s management style by being under-prepared. We’ll guide you every step of the way.
Our candidate assessments go beyond the typical résumé and biased reference checks you’re accustomed to. Our process includes preparing you for each phone or in-person interview in a way that’ll give you such an in-depth look at the candidate and such a clear picture of how, where, and why they align, that you’ll go into the interviews more confident and in control than you ever have before.
5. Honest, clear-cut debriefing.
No games. No playing both sides. We work for you, not the candidate. If the candidate has any “gaps”, you’ll know about them right from the start. And once we agree on staring to check references, you’ll even get recordings and/or transcriptions of our calls.
6. Negotiating.
If all parties do their job, meaning all sides have been pre-closed with hypothetical offers and acceptances, helping the candidate navigate their transitions to your company will be smooth as butter. If we feel an offer won’t be accepted, we will NOT let it be extended. And because we charge a flat-fee, we are always negotiating on YOUR behalf – NOT on behalf of the candidate in order to earn a bigger fee (like 99% of the other recruiters out there).
7. Trust.
To do our job well, you must give us your trust. We’ll do the same in return. Our effort will be long-lasting and will result in your company having an unfair advantage in the marketplace. Better talent equals greater innovation, efficiency, and productivity, which equals fewer headaches and more time for vacations. More time for vacations means more happiness. That’s the best form of a bearhug we can provide you. And we’ll prove it with each and every assignment we partner with you on.
Ready for your bearhug?
OUR OFFICE
X marks the spot
1985 Riviera Dr Ste 103 - 1156
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
United States
Let’s Talk
After you fill out the form to the right and click submit, you’ll receive an email from us within 1 business day so we can set up an exploratory call where we’ll then discuss:
Your strategic goals and objectives over the next 12-18 months.
The exact type of talent you need on your team in order to ensure you meet those goals and objectives.
Your internal timeline and how your hiring process is currently structured.
The expectations you have of your talent partner.
Thanks for stopping by, and we look forward to meeting you!