The RAG Podcast - Recruitment Agency Growth Podcast

From recruiter to CEO and majority shareholder, Matt Murphy’s journey at Levy Global is nothing short of remarkable. Now, with Rory McGowan joining from Opus as COO, the business is entering what they call "Levy 2.0" - a new chapter focused on scale, structure, and serious wealth creation. On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Matt and Rory, who now lead a 50-person business hea...

What does it take to bill over $1 million a year for seven years straight, while leading the highest-performing team in your company? On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Jay Wynter, SAP Practice Lead at Precision Sourcing in Australia. From a tough start in recruitment to becoming a standout performer, Jay has built an elite billing record and helped shape a team known for its...

What does growth really look like in 2025's recruitment market? For Dan Moussa, it means combining consulting skills, AI adoption and personal branding to move the industry forward. On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I'm joined by Dan Moussa, founder of Talesca, a specialist recruitment business in Australia. Dan’s story is one of consistent adaptation, leaning into the tools and strategie...

What does it take to go from running a cleaning business to founding a global recruitment firm? Leon Mitton shares how he launched Agnes Cole Consulting during COVID and is now using AI to drive scale and efficiency in a way few are even attempting. On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Leon Mitton, founder of Agnes Cole Consulting, a specialist SAP and S4 HANA recruitment firm...

What happens when scaling your recruitment business doesn’t bring success, but stress? Tom Warner opens up about the highs and lows of building GroTech and why going solo was the best decision he ever made. On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Tom Warner, founder of GroTech, a specialist go-to-market recruitment agency for SaaS businesses in the Nordics. Tom launched GrowTech d...

James Waissel set a modest goal of £125K in year 1 of launching his own agency. Instead,  he ended up billing over £300K in revenue in just seven months. On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by James Waissel, founder and CEO of Huntsman Consult, a construction and real estate recruitment business based in London. James started the business in June 2024, backed by a couple of...

What happens when you go all-in on a niche? Graham Cosgrave shares how MatchMedics transformed from a traditional agency into one of Ireland’s leading medical recruitment brands by focusing solely on doctors. On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I'm joined by Graham Cosgrave, Director at MatchMedics, a recruitment business specialising in placing doctors from across the globe into roles in I...

Starting a recruitment business at 25 with just three years of experience takes serious courage.  Haseena Mooncey did exactly that – and she’s built something special. On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I'm joined by Haseena Mooncey, co-founder of CHR Life Sciences, a modern boutique recruitment firm focused on niche roles across the UK, Ireland, and Europe. Haseena launched the busin...

From Albanian refugee to running a seven-figure recruitment firm by age 27.   On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I'm joined by Klajdi Bega, founder and CEO of Luminary Group, a life sciences headhunting firm operating across the UK, Europe, and the US.   Born in Albania and raised in North London, Klajdi’s story is one of grit, vision, and relentless drive. After starti...

What happens when you cold email Lord Sugar asking for investment? Tom Johnson did exactly that…and it worked! On this week's show, I am joined by Tom Johnson, founder of Hernshead Group, a recruitment business he launched six years ago with backing from Lord Alan Sugar after watching The Apprentice. In this episode, Tom shares the full story – from that bold email to building and scaling Hernshea...

What if recruitment agency growth didn’t mean adding headcount? Helen Yarrow has spent over 30 years in recruitment—and for most of it, she felt like she was falling short of the industry’s definition of success. Why? Because she never scaled a big team. Despite launching her business 14 years ago and building a strong reputation in the B2B events space, she carried a sense that staying solo meant...

Founders fall out. Niches get blurred. This is what no one tells you about before you launch your own recruitment agency On this week's show, I am joined by Tom Essex, co-founder of Kigyo Solutions, a recruitment business based in Amsterdam focused on logistics and renewable energy. Tom launched the business in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. What started as a niche SAP agency quickly...

Marc Cohen scaled his recruitment agency in the US and secured an 8 figure exit. On this week's RAG Podcast, I am joined by Marc, founder of ConSol Partners, who achieved something that 99.9% of recruitment founders will never do. Marc and his co-founder Graeme built their agency with an exit strategy in mind from day 1, navigating economic downturns, and predicting the success of future markets....

Here is a recruitment business that doesn’t rely on outbound sales Kyle Winterbottom has done things a little differently to the rest Kyle and I sat down for this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast to discuss how his business has evolved since he was last on the show in 2022. He’s built a global community of 1,500+ Chief Data Officers, driving all of his revenue through inbound relationships. ...

In 2022, Lloyd Gordon had just acquired Cognitive Group, bringing his team to over 100 people. Over the past 3 years, he has had the challenge of successfully integrating the two businesses. On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined for the fourth time by Lloyd, CEO of Focus Cloud Group, and this time we discussed: The challenges of merging two teams, cultures, and leadership styles....

Why 400 recruiters apply to work with Alex’s business every single week. On this week's show, I am joined by Alex Dick, founder of Alexander Lyons Solutions. Alex built a £1m legal recruitment desk for nearly a decade before a personal event led him to rethink everything. Now, he’s on a mission to scale with a revolutionary recruitment model – one that sits between the traditional agency and incub...

On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast with Harry Portch, founder of HM Staffing.   Harry’s journey is anything but ordinary. He started his business at just 20 years old – almost by accident – while playing FIFA!  Now, six years later, he’s built a leading sales and marketing recruitment agency, transitioned to a fully remote model, and became a LinkedIn Top Voice.   I...

The fastest-growing LinkedIn account I have ever seen in the recruitment industry! This week I sat down with Andrew MacAskill. From launching Executive Career Jump to becoming Chief Commercial Officer at Fraser Dove, Andrew has built a personal brand that’s led to over 105,000 LinkedIn followers, a published book, and global business success.  What we cover in this episode: How Andrew built h...

Introducing the Top 100 most influential recruiters on LinkedIn... This week, I am re-joined by Jordan Shlosberg, founder of Atlas , for an unmissable episode of The RAG Podcast. Since we last spoke in September, Atlas – the world’s first AI-powered CRM for recruiters – has skyrocketed to nearly £1M ARR in just 9 months!   But this episode isn’t just about AI: it’s about how recruiters can le...

Some recruitment founder stories end with an exit. This one starts with it falling apart. On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined by James Sanders James built PSR Solutions from his bedroom to: £65M turnover 200+ staff Multiple acquisitions 4 specialist brands Then came an unexpected call: £3M due. 7 days to pay. But some key lessons came from all of this and in this powerful episod...

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined by Hemish Ilangaratne, founder of RX Group, a specialist life sciences recruitment agency. In this candid episode, Hemish sheds light on his inspiring journey:  From 11 years at S3 Group (where he didn’t close a single deal in the last seven years) to launching RX Group in 2023. Exceeding his modest first-year goal of £150k and reaching n...

This story is unlike anything I have heard in over 300 episodes of The RAG Podcast. On this week’s episode, I speak with Nick Asbridge, founder of Asobbi, a UK-based AI-focused recruitment company.  Nick shares his incredible journey: From 15 years in recruitment to launching Asobbi in January 2023, achieving £1M+ in annual revenue in just two years. Why he worked less and felt less stressed...

This is exactly what I see happening in the recruitment industry in 2025… This week is a special solo episode of The RAG Podcast, where I reflect on the challenges and lessons from 2024 and share my predictions for 2025. In this episode, I’ll dive into: 📊 Why profit and quality are now prioritised over growth in recruitment. 🤖 How AI and LinkedIn are reshaping the way we recruit and build relati...

The man who’s helped me live alcohol-free for the past 12 months! On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I am joined by Keith Cronin, the founder of Alcohol Free Living. Keith has been my personal coach for the past year and supported me in quitting the booze for a better life. In this honest conversation, he shares his powerful journey from struggling with alcohol to living a purpose-driven,...

What does life look like on the first day after selling your business?  In this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast , I’m joined by Chris Peace , founder of Peace Recruitment, a specialist construction and engineering recruitment agency based in Scotland. Chris recently exited his business through a vendor-initiated management buyout (VIMBO) – a unique process that allows founders to sell their...