Recruitment Mentors Podcast

In this episode, I sit down with Jason and Jev, co-founders of Alexander Barnes, to unpack how they turned two £25K bank loans into a seven-figure, 100% owned fintech search firm, and the moment early on when they nearly gave away 51% of the business to a PE-backed model before choosing a different path entirely. We dive into the brutal first three months chasing any deal they could get, the shift...

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In this episode, I sit down with Sam and Ulli, co-founders of Brand Partners, a two-person Munich-focused recruitment business they built from £20K in savings while navigating a non-compete, a second child, and the blurred lines of working with your partner every day. From Ulli taking an interim TA role to keep the lights on, to hitting £298K in revenue with just £2K a month in overheads, this epi...

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In this episode, I sit down with Patrick Reynolds, founder of Nord Search, who walked away from leading a nine-person team to build a half-million-pound recruitment business entirely on his own terms. Two young kids, a pregnant wife, and a deliberate decision to stop optimising for someone else's version of success. We cover the niche strategy that shrunk his entire target market to 300-400 compan...

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In this episode, I sit down with Jack Hayes, founder of H&P, one of the fastest-growing legal executive search firms in the world. Jack launched the business after just two years in recruitment, with no management experience and no existing database, and has spent six and a half years figuring out how to build something truly world-class. We cover the hybrid exec model that sets H&P apart,...

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In this episode, I sit down with Stew Wallace, founder of Construct, a specialist contract recruitment business operating across Europe. Stew takes us through the full founder journey, from launching with £10K and a lifestyle-business mindset to navigating three years of hiring mistakes, a back-office crisis, and £250K in uncollected invoices, before building the infrastructure to scale to £45K in...

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In this episode, I sit down with Dean Kelly, a 30-year recruitment veteran, serial business builder, and mentor to some of the most ambitious founders in the industry. Dean has built and sold multiple businesses, scaled teams to 100+ people, and now works with a select group of founders through Kellstar, helping them build recruitment firms that are resilient, repeatable, and built to last. Connec...

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In this episode, I sit down with Luke McCluskey, Founder and CEO of Circle Recruitment, to unpack how he built a £100K weekly GP contract business from just £2,000 in the bank, a toddler at home, and maintenance to pay. We cover the full journey across eight years and four distinct chapters of growth, the frameworks Luke uses to run a high-performance contract sales floor, and the strategic moves...

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In this episode, I sit down with Ashley Lawrence, founder and CEO of Trinnovo Group, to unpack one of the most raw and honest rebuilds you'll hear in recruitment. In 2022, Ash had built a £20M fee business across three brands with a £35M PE offer on the table one week from close, the deal collapsed. What followed was a complete reset. Ash stepped back in as CEO, sold BioTalent, rebuilt the leaders...

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In this special live episode, recorded at RMP Live London, I sit down with three founders at completely different stages of the journey. Ricky Burns (Pulse Recruit, 18 months in, £1.1M EBIT year one) Dan Cox (Edison Smart, five years in, pushing £9M NFI) Mike Bott (LHI Group, 300 people, £47M GP). We cover the real challenges, the hard calls, and the strategies each of them are betting on right no...

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In this episode, I sit down with Zach Creighton, founder of Hemans Talent, a financial services search firm he built from zero in Dallas. Texas. Zach spent a decade in recruitment, scaling the Selby Jennings Dallas desk to nearly 40 people, before walking away with 30 direct reports to go it alone, self-funded, with no brand behind him. We cover how he hit $1M in year one and backed it up with ano...

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In this episode, I sit down with Joe Jani and John-Joe Walker, Founder & CEO and Chief Commercial Officer of Metric Search, the perm-only recruitment business that went from a New York startup to a $100M valuation in just six years across two private equity deals. We cover the micro-niche strategy and grad-led blueprint that made Metric PE-backable, what actually happens inside a PE roadshow,...

Sponsors - Claim your exclusive savings from our partners with the links below: Sourcewhale - Check Out Sourcewhale & Claim Your Exclusive Offer Here. Atlas - Check Out Atlas & Claim Your Exclusive Offer Here Raise - Check Out Raise & Claim Your Exclusive Offer Here. ------------------------- Extra Stuff: Learn more about our online skills development platform Hector here: https://bit....

Sponsors - Claim your exclusive savings from our partners with the links below: Sourcewhale - Check Out Sourcewhale & Claim Your Exclusive Offer Here. Atlas - Check Out Atlas & Claim Your Exclusive Offer Here Raise - Check Out Raise & Claim Your Exclusive Offer Here. ------------------------- Extra Stuff: Learn more about our online skills development platform Hector here: https://bit....

Grab your tickets here, we're officially halfway to being sold out: https://live-rmp-london-2026.eventbrite.co.uk I look forward to seeing a bunch of you on the 29th 👊🏻

In this episode, I sit down with Viki Dowthwaite, Commercial Director at Trinnovo Group, to break down one of the most underutilised roles in recruitment and why the best recruiters in the world will always leave money on the table without someone like her in their corner. Viki built Trust in Soda's contract desk from 2 people to 15, hitting £70K weekly GP and now she's the person Trinnovo's consu...