Quality Hiring For Growing Companies
Chemistry First hiring for companies with 15-35+ people—whether you’re hiring your first dedicated engineer, a specialized role you’ve never filled before, or building out senior leadership.
Built For Companies Growing Fast
This is for you if
- You're at 15-35+ people and hiring for growth
- You're Series A/B or bootstrapped with product-market fit
- You need to hire roles you've never hired before (first engineer, first designer, first data analyst)
- You need senior leadership who can build teams and scale (CTO, CMO, COO, VP-level)
- You've tried hiring and been burned (wrong fit, wrong chemistry, bad onboarding)
- You want Chemistry First hiring for critical growth roles
Not for you if
- You're under 15 people (see Bootstrapped Hiring instead)
- You just need high-volume hiring (10+ roles per month)
- You want cheap recruiting (quality hiring requires deep work)
How We Help Growing Companies
Growing companies face a unique hiring challenge:
You’re past the “scrappy startup” phase where anyone wears any hat.
But you’re not yet at the “mature company” phase where you have recruiters and HR teams.
You need quality hires for critical roles—fast.
Roles like:
- Your first dedicated engineer (not a freelancer-turned-employee)
- Specialized positions you've never hired before (data scientist, UX designer, product manager)
- Senior leadership who can build and scale teams (CTO, CMO, VP Sales)
Chemistry matters more than ever at this stage.
A mis-hire doesn't just slow you down—it breaks team dynamics, derails projects, and costs 6-12 months of momentum.
We use Chemistry First methodology to help you hire the right people for critical growth roles.
SERVICE 1: CRITICAL GROWTH ROLES
Price: £10,000 – £15,000
Who This Is
- First dedicated engineer (moving beyond contractors)
- First product manager or designer
- Specialized technical roles (data scientist, DevOps, security engineer)
- First department heads (Head of Customer Success, Head of Product)
What We Do
- Find candidates who fit your stage (growing company, not startup or corporate)
- Test for self-sufficiency and cultural fit (they'll be defining the role)
- Assess chemistry with existing team (critical when adding specialized skills)
- Support through offer negotiation and onboarding
Best For
Growing companies (15-35 people) hiring roles they’ve never hired before or need to get exactly right
SERVICE 2: GTM LEADERSHIP
Price: £12,000 – £20,000
Who This Is
- Head of Sales / VP Sales
- Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) / VP Marketing
- VP Customer Success / Head of Revenue Operations
What We Do
- Find leaders who can scale teams from 5 to 50+ (not just manage)
- Test for GTM strategy thinking (not just execution)
- Assess chemistry with existing leadership team
- Support through offer negotiation and first 90 days
Best For
Series A/B companies scaling revenue teams and need someone who can build, not just do
SERVICE 3: TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP
Price: £15,000 – £25,000
Who This Is
- Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
- VP Engineering / Head of Engineering
- Head of Product / VP Product
What We Do
- Find technical leaders who can architect for scale (not just ship features)
- Test for technical depth AND leadership capability
- Assess chemistry with founders and existing tech team
- Ensure alignment on technical vision and strategy
Best For
Post-product-market-fit companies who need to professionalize engineering and build for 10X growth
SERVICE 4: COMPLETE TEAM BUILDING
Price: £25,000 – £75,000
Who This Is
Multiple critical hires or full leadership team assembly
What We Do
- Strategic assessment of your current team and growth hiring needs
- Systematic approach to filling 3-5+ critical roles over 6-12 months
- Team chemistry optimization (ensuring new hires work well together)
- Onboarding and integration support for first 6 months
Best For
Series A/B companies scaling rapidly and need to make multiple critical hires with confidence
The Chemistry First Process (For Senior Leadership)
STEP 1: FOUNDATION (Growth Hiring Assessment)
What Happens
We don’t just write a job description and start searching.
We assess your team and growth context:
- What roles are slowing your growth right now?
- What's working well in your current team? What's breaking?
- Is this a role you've hired before, or is it new for you?
- What's your team culture, and who complements it?
- What stage is your company at, and what kind of person fits that stage?
- What does success look like in 30/60/90 days for this hire?
Outcome:
Strategic hiring brief (skills + chemistry + growth context)
Timeline:
2-3 hours of discovery (broken into multiple conversations)
STEP 2: SEARCH (3-8 Weeks)
What Happens
Critical growth hires require different sourcing strategies:
For specialized/technical roles (engineers, designers, product)
- GitHub, Dribbble, Behance portfolios
- Technical communities and Slack groups
- Open-source contributors
- Conference speakers and workshop leaders
For leadership roles
- Executive network outreach (20+ years of relationships)
- Passive candidate sourcing (people considering a move)
- Competitive intelligence (who's built great teams in your space?)
- Investor/VC portfolio referrals
Our approach
We’re finding people who:
- Fit your stage (not too junior, not too corporate)
- Have done similar roles at similar-sized companies
- Match your culture and working style
- Are open to your opportunity (even if not actively looking)
Outcome:
3-5 exceptional candidates (not 20 mediocre ones)
Timeline:
3-4 weeks for specialized roles, 6-8 weeks for senior leadership
Our Difference:
We’re not sending you every engineer on LinkedIn. We’re sending you the 3-5 people we’d hire ourselves.
STEP 3: CHEMISTRY (3-4 Weeks)
What Happens
Senior hires can make or break your company. We test rigorously:
Initial Assessment
- Screening conversations (we handle this)
- Leadership assessment (strategic thinking, team-building capability)
- Reference checks with people they've actually worked with (not HR)
- Conference speakers and workshop leaders
Founder Interviews
- We prep you with the right questions (beyond "tell me about yourself")
- We observe chemistry between you and candidate
- We facilitate difficult conversations (compensation, equity, expectations)
Team Fit
- Candidate meets your existing leadership team
- We assess group dynamics (do they naturally collaborate?)
- We check for complementary skills AND communication styles
Outcome:
1-2 finalists who have the skills, experience, AND chemistry
STEP 4: INTEGRATION (First 6 Months)
What Happens
Most recruiters disappear after the offer is signed. We don't.
We support
Months 1-2 (Onboarding)
- 30/60/90-day plan development
- Integration with existing team
- Founder-leader chemistry check-ins
Months 3-4 (Early Wins)
- Progress against goals
- Team dynamics assessment
- Course-correcting if needed
Months 5-6 (Scale Prep)
- Long-term strategy alignment
- Leadership team optimization
- Transition to independent execution
Outcome:
A senior leader who’s thriving 6 months in (and set up to scale for years)
Our Guarantee:
If the hire doesn’t work out in the first 6 months, we’ll redo the search at 50% cost.
Critical Hires Are Different
When you’re a 3-person startup, everyone does everything. Chemistry happens naturally because you work together 12 hours a day.
When you’re 15-35 people? Chemistry is harder.
You’re hiring people to own entire functions. They’re not just joining a team—they’re often defining the team.
And the stakes are higher
A bad hire at 3 people? You recover in 6 weeks.
A bad hire at 20 people? You lose 6-12 months of momentum, break team morale, and derail projects.
A bad hire at 20 people? You lose 6-12 months of momentum, break team morale, and derail projects.
Here’s what most growing companies get wrong:
They hire for impressive credentials without testing for chemistry.
Example 1: The “perfect” engineer
- Built products at Google
- Stanford CS degree
- 10+ years experience
Joins your 20-person company and:
- Needs detailed specs (you work with ambiguity)
- Expects code reviews and process (you ship fast and iterate)
- Works in silos (you need collaboration)
On paper? Perfect.
In reality? Disaster.
Example 2: The “experienced” product manager
- Led product at Facebook
- Shipped features used by millions
- Knows all the frameworks (RICE, Jobs-to-be-Done, etc.)
Joins your company and:
- Expects a 10-person team (you have 2 engineers)
- Wants data analysts and researchers (you have neither)
- Needs quarterly planning cycles (you pivot monthly)
On paper? Incredible.
In reality? Terrible fit.
Chemistry First for growth hiring means:
- Testing for stage fit (startup → scaleup experience, not corporate)
- Assessing working style compatibility (scrappy vs. polished, autonomy vs. structure)
- Evaluating decision-making alignment (speed vs. perfection, data-driven vs. intuition)
- Checking communication chemistry (over-communicator vs. brief updates, async vs. sync)
- Ensuring cultural values match (work-life balance, ambition, team-first mentality)
The result?
Critical hires who don’t just fill a role—they elevate your entire team and accelerate growth.
What Clients Say
Common Questions
Q: What's the typical timeline for growth hires?
A: 3-4 weeks for specialized individual contributor roles (engineers, designers, product managers). 6-8 weeks for leadership roles. 8-12 weeks for C-suite positions.
Q: Do you work with remote/distributed teams?
A: Yes! We’ve helped companies hire across UK, EU, and globally for remote and hybrid teams.
Q: What's your success rate?
A: 90%+ of our placements are still with the company 12+ months later. (Industry average is ~60-70%.)
Q: How do you charge for multiple roles (Complete Team Building)?
A: Custom pricing based on scope. Typically £25K-£75K for 3-5 critical roles over 6-12 months with volume discounts.
Q: Do you offer payment plans?
A: Yes. Milestone-based: 33% upfront, 33% at finalist stage, 34% upon successful hire.
Q: What if the hire doesn't work out?
A: If the hire leaves or is terminated in the first 6 months, we’ll redo the search at 50% cost (or free if it’s a chemistry mismatch we missed).
Q: How is this different from traditional recruiters?
A: Traditional recruiters charge 20-30% of first-year salary and send CVs. We charge flat fees, test for chemistry, support onboarding, and guarantee the hire.
Q: Do you handle very specialized roles (AI/ML engineers, blockchain developers)?
A: Yes. If it’s a critical growth hire and chemistry matters, we can help. We’ve placed specialized technical roles across fintech, deeptech, and emerging tech companies.
Ready To Make Your Next Critical Hire?
Book a free 45-minute strategy call and let’s talk about your team, growth plans, and who you actually need to scale.
No pressure. No sales pitch. Just a strategic conversation.
No pressure. No sales pitch. Just a strategic conversation.