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I’ve spent 20 years helping founders build teams.
I’ve placed 400+ people into founding teams—from co-founders to first employees to senior leadership.
And here’s what I learned:
The best hires aren’t always the ones with the most impressive CVs.
The best hires are the ones who have chemistry with the founder and the team.
That insight – chemistry over credentials – is why I started HFBAC.
MY STORY: HOW I GOT HERE
I didn’t start out in hiring. I started in media.
Before diving into recruitment, I spent years behind the mic.
I started with voice-overs at Capital FM before moving into production for their daily news show called ‘The Way It Is’, eventually landing as a Sports Radio Broadcaster for BBC GLR and BBC Three Counties.
I even covered the legendary Stevenage Borough FA Cup run against Newcastle for the BBC World Service!
That experience taught me the value of the underdog story, grit, and finding the compelling narrative…
Skills I now use to uncover the right talent for your company.
Whilst starting out in recruitment helping corporates like Orange, SAP, Microsoft, HP and Intel, I knew there was a better way to hire people – human beings – that could be less transactional.
I moved to start my own company when I became a mum and helped hundreds of founders launch and scale their businesses.
What I noticed:
The founders who succeeded weren’t the ones with the best ideas or the most funding.
They were the ones who built great teams.
But most founders struggled with hiring.
They made the same mistakes:
- Hiring people who looked great on paper but didn’t fit their culture
- Giving equity to co-founders they’d known for 3 weeks
- Skipping chemistry testing and hoping it would “just work out”
The result?
70% of startups fail because of team conflict, not bad products.
I realised:
Founders don’t need more job boards. They need a better way to hire.
So I built it.
WHAT IS HFBAC?
HFBAC stands for Hiring For and Building Awesome Companies.
It’s pronounced Half-back.
We’re not a traditional recruiter.
We don’t just send you CVs and hope one sticks.
We use a methodology called Chemistry First which means we match founders with co-founders, first employees, and senior leaders based on:
1. Values alignment (Do you want to build the same company?)
2. Work style compatibility (Do you work well together under pressure?)
3. Stage fit (Are they the right type of leader for your stage—builder, scaler, or optimiser?)
Skills matter.
But chemistry matters more.
Because if you hire someone with all the right skills but terrible chemistry, they won’t last 12 months.
THE MISTAKE I SEE FOUNDERS MAKE
Here’s the pattern I’ve seen 400+ times:
Scenario 1: The Co-Founder Disaster
Solo founder meets someone at an event. They have 2-3 coffee chats. They like each other. They have complementary skills.
They shake hands and become co-founders.
Six months later, they realise:
- They want to build completely different companies (one wants to bootstrap, the other wants VC funding)
- They have incompatible work styles (one is decisive, the other needs endless discussion)
- They can’t resolve conflict (one avoids confrontation, the other is aggressive)
Now they’re stuck.
One person owns 40% equity.
Unwinding costs £5K-£10K in legal fees.
The startup loses 6 months of momentum.
The mistake?
They never tested chemistry. They assumed ‘we like each other’ meant ‘we’ll work well together.’
Scenario 2: The First Hire Failure
Bootstrapped founder needs their first employee.
They post on LinkedIn, get 100+ applications, and hire someone who seems competent.
Three months later, they realise:
- The hire doesn’t take initiative (waits to be told what to do)
- They’re not startup-ready (expect structure, clear processes, 9-5 hours)
- They don’t fit the culture (founder is scrappy and moves fast; hire moves slowly and needs certainty)
Now the founder is stuck managing someone who isn’t working out. They wait another 3 months hoping it’ll improve.
It doesn’t.
The mistake?
They hired for skills only.
They didn’t test for chemistry, culture fit, or startup readiness.
Scenario 3: The Leadership Hire Mismatch
Growing company hires a CTO from Google. Impressive CV. Strong technical skills.
Six months later, the CTO isn’t working out:
- They’re too corporate (want endless process, formal meetings, documentation)
- They’re not hands-on enough (expect a team of 20, but the company only has 5 engineers)
- They don’t fit the stage (they’re an optimiser trying to optimize a system that doesn’t exist yet)
The mistake?
They hired for pedigree (Google! Big company! Impressive!).
They didn’t test for stage fit, leadership style, or startup compatibility.
WHY CHEMISTRY MATTERS MORE THAN CREDENTIALS
I’ve seen founders with ‘terrible’ CVs hire great teams.
And I’ve seen founders with perfect CVs hire terrible teams.
The difference? Chemistry.
Here’s why chemistry matters:
1. Startups are stressful. You’ll face rejection, failure, tight deadlines, and conflict. If you don’t have chemistry with your team, stress will tear you apart.
2. Skills can be learned. Chemistry can’t. You can teach someone to code, market, or sell. You can’t teach someone to match your values, work style, or communication preferences.
3. Culture is built from Day 1. Your first 5 hires define your company culture. If you hire for skills only, you’ll end up with a team of talented people who don’t work well together.
4. The cost of a bad hire is enormous. A bad co-founder costs you 6-12 months and £5K-£10K in legal fees. A bad first hire costs you 3-6 months and opportunity cost. A bad leadership hire costs you £50K-£100K+ in salary, severance, and team disruption.
THE CHEMISTRY FIRST METHODOLOGY
Here’s how we do hiring differently at HFBAC:
STEP 1: VALUES ALIGNMENT
Before we look at CVs, we test values:
- Do you want to build the same type of company? (Bootstrap vs. VC, lifestyle vs. unicorn)
- Do you have similar risk tolerance? (All-in vs. need safety net)
- Do you have aligned exit intentions? (Build forever vs. exit in 5 years)
If values don’t align, it doesn’t matter how good their skills are.
STEP 2: WORK STYLE COMPATIBILITY
We test how you work together:
- Communication style (async vs. sync, direct vs. diplomatic)
- Decision-making speed (fast and iterative vs. slow and thorough)
- Feedback receptiveness (can they give and receive feedback constructively?)
- Energy match (do you energise or drain each other?)
We don’t just talk about compatibility. We test it with real projects.
STEP 3: STAGE FIT
We match candidates to your stage:
Builder (0→20 employees): Comfortable with chaos, hands-on, scrappy
Scaler (20→100 employees): Takes what’s working and scales it, adds process without killing speed
Optimiser (100+ employees): Optimises systems, manages large teams, adds structure
Most hiring failures happen because you hire the wrong stage. You hire an optimiser when you need a builder.
STEP 4: STRESS TESTING
We simulate high-pressure scenarios:
- Investor rejection
- Customer churn
- Co-founder disagreement
We watch how candidates respond:
- Do they blame or take ownership?
- Do they panic or stay calm?
- Do they avoid conflict or address it directly?
Stress reveals who people really are.
WHAT MAKES HFBAC DIFFERENT
We’re not a traditional recruiter.
Traditional recruiters:
- Match based on CVs (skills-first)
- Present 3-5 candidates and hope one works
- Get paid when you hire (not when the hire succeeds)
- Cost £15K-£50K for senior hires
We’re Chemistry-First matching.
HFBAC:
- Matches based on values, work style, and stage fit (chemistry-first)
- Pre-tests chemistry before introductions
- Success-focused (not just placement-focused)
- 1/3 the cost of traditional recruiters (£5K-£12K for co-founder/senior leadership matching)
- 12 Month Free Replacement Guarantee
WHO WE WORK WITH
We work with three types of founders:
1. Solo Founders Looking for Co-Founders
You’re building solo and need a partner. You’ve tried matching platforms but wasted months. You want chemistry-tested introductions, not another stack of CVs.
2. Bootstrapped Startups (2-15 Employees)
You’re making your first 1-5 hires. You can’t afford to get it wrong. You need someone startup-ready who fits your culture and can wear multiple hats.
3. Growing Companies (15-50+ Employees)
You’re hiring senior leadership – CTOs, VPs, heads of departments. You’re also hiring new headcount as you have a stable team and are growing. You need someone who can scale with you and fits your stage (not too corporate).
MY MISSION
After 20 years and 400+ placements, here’s what I believe:
Great teams are built on chemistry, not credentials.
You can have all the right skills and still fail if the chemistry isn’t there.
My mission is to help founders:
- Find co-founders who actually work well together (not just look good on paper)
- Make their first hires without expensive mistakes
- Build senior leadership teams that fit their stage and culture
I want to help you avoid the 70% failure rate caused by team conflict.
HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER
1. Free Resources
Download free toolkits and guides:
• Co-Founder Compatibility Toolkit (for solo founders)
• Hiring on a Shoestring Book (for bootstrapped startups)
• Senior Leadership and New Head Count Hiring (for growing companies)
2. Chemistry-First Matching
If you’re ready to find the right co-founder, first hire, or senior leader, we’ll match you using our Chemistry-First methodology.
Cost: £5K-£12K (depending on seniority/complexity)
Timeline: 4-6 weeks to find candidates
Success rate: 75-85%
Learn more about Chemistry-First matching
WHAT’S NEXT?
Explore the blog to learn more about:
• What is Chemistry First Hiring? (Read this next)
• [How to Test Co-Founder Chemistry]
• [How to Make Your First Hire]
• [How to Hire Senior Leadership]
Happy to have a call – let’s talk through your specific situation.
I’m here to help you build a great team.
Let’s do this.
Helen
