Your First Commercial Hire Changes Everything. Let's Get It Right.

GTM, marketing and sales hiring for bootstrapped, founder-led businesses. Chemistry First. Flat fees. No percentages.

The hire most founders get wrong

Your first salesperson. Your first marketer. Your first commercial lead.

These are the hires that unlock your next stage of growth – or cost you six to twelve months of runway when they don’t work out.

Most founders make this hire based on an impressive CV and a good interview. Then wonder why the person is struggling at month four.

HFBAC specialises in getting this right

Chemistry First methodology. We find candidates who can sell the way your business needs to be sold – and who fit the way your team actually works.

Flat fees. No percentage of salary. No surprises.

From a single project-based hire to an embedded Fractional Talent Partner – we work the way you need us to.

Sales and Business Development

Your first BDM. Your first account executive. Your first sales director. Whether you’re handing off founder-led sales or building a commercial function from scratch – we find people who can close in your world.

Marketing and Growth

Your first marketer. Your head of content. Your growth lead. We find people who thrive in build mode – not just scale mode – and who connect their work directly to your pipeline.

GTM Strategy and Partnerships

Your first GTM lead. Your partnerships person. Your RevOps hire. The commercial roles that sit between product and revenue – we understand what good looks like and how to test for it.

Chemistry Over Credentials - Even More Important in Commercial Roles

Most founders hire their first salesperson based on who they liked in the interview. That’s not Chemistry First. That’s chemistry by accident.

Chemistry First hiring for commercial roles means understanding how your existing customers buy, what your sales conversations actually sound like, and finding someone whose natural working style fits that reality – before they start, not after month four.

— Helen Wingrove-Sanders, Founder – HFBAC

How We Make Your First Commercial Hire

Project-Based Hiring

Bootstrapped Team

One critical hire, done properly

You need one excellent commercial hire and you want it done well. We run the full search, manage the process, and deliver a shortlist you’re confident in – at a flat fee, not a percentage of salary.

Founders making their first or second commercial hire. Deal size from £5,500.

From £5,500 per role

Fractional Talent Partner

Embedded hiring expertise without the full-time cost

You’re building a commercial team and need ongoing support – strategy, search, chemistry testing and integration – without paying for a full-time Head of Talent. We embed into your business and build with you.

Growing companies making multiple commercial hires in the next 12 months.

From £2,000/month

What Founders Say

“Helen understood immediately that we weren’t just looking for someone with the right skills on paper. She found us someone who genuinely understood our world and hit the ground running. The Chemistry First approach made all the difference.”

New Book: Hire Ready - Launching 15 April

The first in The Bootstrapped Founder’s Hiring Trilogy. Written for founders making their first hire – covers everything from deciding if you’re ready to onboarding someone brilliant. Paperback and ebook. £16.99.

Ready to Make Your First Commercial Hire with Confidence?

Book a Hiring Health Check. 60 minutes. £300 + VAT. A straight answer on what you need, what it should cost, and whether you’re ready.

No generic advice. No corporate framework. 27 years of doing this with bootstrapped founders, applied to your business.