The Recruitment Founders Podcast

Rather than treating retained search as an exclusive or high-end specialism, the discussion challenges the myths around it and makes the case that for the right recruiter, retained is simply a better, more professional way of working. The episode covers how to position it with clients, why contingency has a limited shelf life in an AI-driven market, and what recruiters should honestly ask themselv...

In this episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Lindsay Hartland and Greg Elton unpack the hard lessons they wish they’d understood earlier when starting and scaling their own recruitment businesses. Drawing on their own founder journeys, plus what they’ve seen through Recruitment Founders Club, they explore why good recruiters don’t usually fail because they lack ability, they fail because t...

In this episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Lindsay Hartland and Greg Elton step back from the usual talk of fees, targets and growth to explore a deeper question: what keeps you motivated when money stops being enough? Through personal stories from recruitment, leadership, family life and business-building, they discuss how purpose evolves over time, why contribution often outlasts commi...

In this episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Lindsay Hartland and Greg Elton explore how recruiters can stop treating placements as one-off wins and start building long-term, profitable client relationships. They argue that too many recruiters do the hard part, winning the client and closing the deal, only to move straight on to the next opportunity. Instead, they share practical ways to s...

In this episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Lindsay Hartland and Greg Elton explore what client acquisition really looks like in a competitive recruitment market. Their argument is simple: the best way to win better clients is to win better candidates first. They unpack what “top talent” actually means, why generic outreach fails, and how recruiters can stand out by building genuine relat...

In this episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Lindsay Hartland and Greg Elton sit down with industry veteran and Blair Recruitment Consultancy founder Mike Ames, a man who’s built, scaled and sold two recruitment businesses, and then had to work out what life after the cheque actually looks like.  Mike shares the story of losing a co-founder in a car accident and being thrust into the...

In this episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Lindsay “Jocks” Hartland and Greg Elton talk to James Davies, founder of Embedded Electronic Solutions, about his journey from climbing telecoms masts and working as an engineer to becoming an S3 biller and eventually a solo recruitment founder in the quantum technology space. James shares how he swapped a comfortable field engineering salary fo...

In this episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Lindsay Hartland and Greg Elton sit down with Jon Stanley, founder of One Point Four Degrees and long-time S3 alumnus. Jon traces his journey from Huxley and Real, through nine years in Amsterdam and a tough stint at Opus, to launching not one but two recruitment businesses, including the first in the middle of Covid. He talks openly about court...

In this episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Lindsay Hartland and Greg Elton break down what it really takes to go from employee to recruitment business owner. They talk through the post-COVID wave of founders, why some people should absolutely not jump yet, and how to work out whether your current billings are genuinely down to you or propped up by your employer’s brand and infrastructure...

In this episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Greg Elton and Lindsay Hartland open up about mental health and mental wellbeing as recruiters and business owners. Greg shares how undiagnosed panic attacks in a hyper-competitive, macho recruitment culture led to an eventual diagnosis of anxiety and a completely different approach to leadership. Lindsay talks about the quieter build-up of stre...

In this episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Lindsay Hartland and Greg Elton sit down with board adviser and founder Scarlett Allen-Horton to unpack authenticity at work, what it really means post-Covid, how it ties to courage, and why aligning your values with your business and clients matters. From old-school dress codes to modern openness, Scarlett shares how telling your story builds t...

In this episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Lindsay Hartland and Greg Elton unpack why so many UK owner-operators are eyeing the United States. Lindsay explains how he rebuilt “on the tools” after years in leadership, why he chose the US, and what’s genuinely different: higher fees, quicker decisions, fewer counter-offers, and clients who value recruiters. They also cover barriers to entr...

In this lively Recruitment Founders Podcast episode, Lindsay Hartland and Greg Elton sit down with PJ Ellis, long-time friend of the hosts, RFC board adviser and brand strategist, to unpack personal branding, reinvention, and why community beats going it alone. PJ charts a non-linear path from early TV fame (Big Brother 3), back into law, then into running a digital agency and launching charities,...

In this episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Lindsay Hartland and Greg Elton dig into the shift from being process-led salespeople to relationship-led recruiters. Greg shares how leaving S3 for exec search exposed a gap, he could sell, but he didn’t have a network, triggering a reset that transformed his results. Lindsay adds that playing the long game (even doing the odd free placement) c...

In this episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Lindsay Hartland and Greg Elton unpack why solo founders need more than a WhatsApp group: real structure, honest counsel and tangible help that moves deals forward. They chart how RFC grew from their own isolation as owner-operators into a community with shared incentives, minority-stake backing and practical mentorship, built to be the antidote...

In this opening episode of the Recruitment Founders Podcast, Lindsay Hartland and Greg Elton share their origin story, the lessons that shaped them at S3/Huxley, and the serendipitous reconnection that led to launching Recruitment Founders Club (RFC). Expect lived experience over theory: successes, failures, scaling (and failing), and a promise to be open in an industry that can feel secretive. It...

Welcome to the Recruitment Founders Podcast, the place to kickstart your journey to running a successful recruitment business. In each episode, you’ll get knowledge, tips, and real-life stories to help you take your business from start-up to whatever you want it to be. At Recruitment Founders Club, we’ll show you how to follow a proven path to success, tap into a network of top-notch mentors, and...