Chemistry Matters More Than Credentials
How a BBC commentator learned the secret to building winning teams. It’s turned into a 20+-year career helping founders, business owners, and entrepreneurs get their hiring – and, therefore, their teams – right.
Hi, I’m Helen Sanders.
I founded HFBAC (Hiring For and Building Awesome Companies) to solve the #1 reason startups fail: getting the founding team – and hiring in general – wrong.
This is how I got here.
It Started In A (Cold) Commentary Box
Between 1994 and 1998, I was a radio broadcaster and BBC sports commentator. In fact, I was the first female football commentator in the UK in 1997.
My job wasn’t just to report on injuries, analyse tactics or recite player stats.
It was to watch teams and tell stories about what was happening on the pitch.
And here’s what I noticed:
The teams that won weren’t always the ones with the most individually talented players.
They were the ones where people just ‘clicked’.
One player would move, another would instinctively know where to be.
They challenged each other without ego getting in the way. They complemented each other’s weaknesses.
It was chemistry, not credentials, that separated winners from losers.
That insight changed everything.
The Pattern Repeated In Business
After leaving the BBC, I read the news on GWR Radio in Bristol for a while before I fell into recruitment.
And I saw the exact same pattern in startups.
The companies that succeeded weren’t the ones that recruited the people with the most impressive CVs.
They were the ones who found co-founders and team members with incredible chemistry who made each other better.
Yet most founders, business owners and entrepreneurs were hiring the same way everyone else does:
- Filter for years of experience
- Prioritise big-name companies on CVs
- Choose whoever has the most impressive credentials
- Hire the person who interviews the best
- Hope the "chemistry thing" works out
Then, 18 months later, they’re having a ‘business divorce’ because they never tested for fit. For the chemistry.
I knew there had to be a better way.
Turning Observation Into Methodology
Over 20+ years, I developed what I now call the Chemistry First methodology:
A systematic 4-phase approach (ALIGN) that helps founders find people who don’t just have the right skills—they have the right ‘fit’.
It’s not about ignoring credentials.
It’s about testing for chemistry alongside competence.
Because great companies are built by people with awesome chemistry, not just impressive CVs.
20+ Years
Founding team hiring and building experience
400+ Founders
Helped via BIPC workshops since 2018
8 Workshops
Delivered for Virgin Start Up
British Library Business & IP Centre (BIPC)
Since 2018, I’ve delivered workshops helping 400+ founders navigate hiring, team building, co-founder hiring and founding team dynamics. These workshops cover everything from finding co-founders to hiring techies for non-technical people as well as scaling leadership teams.
“Helen delivered an exceptional presentation. It was informative, engaging & gave all the participants a really refreshing and different perspective on hiring. Helen was very professional & friendly, making sure that everyone had an opportunity to ask questions.”
— BIPC Workshop Participant, 2021
Virgin Start Up
I’ve delivered 8 workshops for London-based, founder-led companies across multiple industry sectors – helping founders think strategically about team building from day one.
— Jennifer Ekwem, Virgin Start Up Programme
From TalentJet To HFBAC
Why HFBAC?
But we’re not.
We don’t care about impressive CVs. We care about chemistry.
We don’t work with everyone.
We work with founders, business owners and entrepreneurs who understand that 70% of startups fail due to team issues – and want to be in the 30% that get it right.
HFBAC = Hiring For and Building Awesome Companies.
- That's what we do. That's who we are.
- Solo founders looking for co-founders.
- Bootstrapped teams hiring for growth.
- Growing companies building senior leadership.
- Entreprenuerial teams who know traditional recruiters are not always on their side.
Chemistry First methodology.
Every hire.
Every stage.
Work With Helen and the HFBAC team
Whether you’re searching for a co-founder, hiring your first team member, adding brand new headcount this year and next, or building out your C-suite for the first time – let’s talk about how Chemistry First can help.