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 Consulti…

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 …

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 b…

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 pla…

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, Ire…

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 rele…

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 – fro…

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 …

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 pa…

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 downtur…

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 o…

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 me…

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 …

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 L…

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 …

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 …

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…

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 mo…

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…

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 a…

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 st…

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 …

How to build a thriving solo business while still being the best possible parent: This is Catherine Roughan’s inspiring journey What if success in recruitment wasn’t about scale or exit – but about happiness, balance, and doing it your way? This week on The RAG Podcast, I sit down with Catherine Roughan, founder of Kidmore Recruitment, a specialist…

What does it take to grow a global recruitment company, secure private equity investment, and aim for a £100M valuation – all by the age of 31? On this week’s The RAG Podcast, I’m sitting down with Joe Jani, founder and CEO of Metric Search, one of the world’s fastest-growing recruitment firms. Here’s what we uncover: 🔥 How Joe scaled Metric Search…

If you are a recruitment founder planning on spending time and money on LinkedIn next year, then chances are, you’re likely to make this one critical mistake – and it will cost you big time. On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m sharing insights from my live talk at the Recruitment Agency Expo in Birmingham. I’m revealing how recruiters ca…

This week on The RAG Podcast, I’m sitting down with Jim Sloan, CEO and founder of Navartis a specialist recruitment agency in the infrastructure sector. Jim’s journey is an incredible story of growth to a team of 110+ across multiple countries and significant profits of £2M EBITDA Here’s what we discuss: 🔑 How Jim started the business as a new bran…

On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Craig Whiting, founder of RLS Search, who shares his incredible journey from solo billing to building a 15-member team specialising in tech talent for investment management. In this episode, Craig opens up about his transition from running a small operation with his partner—billing £1.5 milli…

Ever wondered what it takes to build a thriving recruitment business with your partner? On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, Kate Cross joins me to reveal the highs, lows, and secrets to creating sustainable contract revenue while maintaining a successful personal relationship. Kate is co-founder of Harvey Jacob, a construction recruitment ag…

From no recruitment experience to solo founder billing £1m a year– @Paul de Rozarieux’s Journey in Recruitment This week on The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by an incredible guest, Paul de Rozarieux, founder of Fusion Search. Paul’s story is truly one of a kind. With zero recruitment experience, Paul built his business from scratch, growing it into a se…

AI is set to transform recruitment, and this episode will blow your mind! On this week's episode, I am joined by Jordan Shlosberg, founder of Atlas, to discuss how his AI-powered CRM is set to transform the recruitment industry! Now, Jordan knows a thing or two about building successful businesses. He took his previous company, ProSapient, to a mas…

Season 8 premiere! In this episode, I’m bringing back one of the most talked-about guests we've ever had: Tom Glanfield, the founder of LHi Group (originally Lawrence Harvey). Last time Tom was on, he shared his hilarious and inspiring growth journey and plans for exiting the business. Now, he’s back after successfully securing a massive exit! We d…

Today, I'm excited to look at another of Access Group's products. This time, it's an automation platform called ELAY that was recently acquired by the Access Group based on its initial success in integrating well with Vincere and its customers. In this episode, I interviewed Mehdi Este, the founder and automation general manager, and Nick Beecroft,…

What really happened to Volcanic and why they are making huge progress under The Access Group. On this week's show, I'm joined by Nick Thomson and Rachel Kirton from Access. Nick is the GM of Access Recruitment, and Rachel Kirton is Senior Product Manager for Volcanic. Volcanic is an iconic brand in our sector. Famous for SaaS recruitment websites,…

On this week's show, I've decided to completely pause the schedule and remember the amazing Ryan McCabe, who sadly lost his life this week. I really don't have words to describe how amazing Ryan was. I personally didn't know him that well, but we had great interactions. We spoke semi-regularly about our businesses, and I always felt that we were si…

On this week's show, I'm super excited to be joined by Helen McGuire. Helen is the exited founder of Diversely.io, a technology business acquired by Access Group in 2023. Entering the pandemic in 2020, Helen ran a recruitment business dedicated to helping return-to-work mothers find flexible jobs. Helen understood this cause well, as she’d previous…

I'm excited to be joined by Callum Beaumont, the founder of Cordell Beaumont, a specialist recruitment firm headquartered in the UK with an international client base in the shipping and maritime sector. In this episode, we talk about Callum's five-year journey as a recruitment business owner and ultimately focus on the five biggest mistakes he's ma…

In this episode, I want to walk you through our very own Hoxo inbound lead generation model. You probably see team Hoxo and I online each month, generating lots of content and engagement… What you may not know is that we achieve an average of 1000 NEW inbound leads every month - all from our series of 5 consistent tactics (1360 leads in May 2024, t…

Diane started the business with her husband without ANY experience in the industry. But what she did have was the vision to build a scalable and sellable business. And in this episode, she shares how she did it. Diane saw the value in focusing on one staffing niche; in this case, they decided on title insurance and mortgage. Listen as she tells how…

On this week's show, I'm releasing my talk at this year's Recruitment Agency Expo, all about why AI and automation could be the biggest mistake you make in your recruitment agency in 2024. In March, I was on stage in front of a room full of recruitment leaders who had been subjected to countless suppliers from technology companies promoting their l…

Leo is the founder of Core3 Finance Recruitment, headquartered in Bristol, with 10 employees. Although the company is only two years old, Leo’s team has already reached just under £1 million in revenue in their second year. What I love about this business is that they're all about making a positive social impact. They are B Corp certified and belie…

On this week's show, Jake Frazer, CEO and Founder of Precision Talent Solutions, shares his journey of building a recruitment firm specialising in government contracting talent. Jake is based in Switzerland, but the company is 100% remote, with employees working from 12 countries around the world. The company's unique talent model involves hiring s…

This week’s episode is a collaboration between RAG Podcast and Recruitment Mentors Podcast! Hishem and I host two of the most well-known, highly-regarded podcasts in our sector. We started them at roughly the same time, and we even used to record them in the same Hoxo HQ studio! After sitting down together at the recent recruitment expo, we realise…

I'm excited to be joined again by Lysha Holmes. Lysha is the founder of Qui Recruitment, a specialist Rec2Rec based in Manchester. Someone I've worked with since the pandemic who's now built a 100% inbound business. She went from being an amazing recruiter with incredible integrity who would only represent the best recruiters in the Northwest to ca…

On this week’s show, I'm joined by Scott Brown, the founder of Heriot Brown, a UK-based in-house legal recruitment specialist agency. Scott started his recruitment business almost by accident. He made the switch to recruitment because he felt unfulfilled as a lawyer and wanted to have more control over his career. He wanted to gain sales experience…

I'm joined by an old client of mine, Paul Smith. Paul is the Managing Director of Deploy Recruitment, a specialist infrastructure and technology recruitment business heavily invested in the rail sector. Paul started the recruitment side of this business just over 10 years ago. In this episode, he tells me about the last year and how he completed th…

I'm super excited to be joined by Mirtes Lobaito, the CEO and founder of AGM Tech Solutions, a recruitment firm headquartered in New Jersey in the US. Mirtes shares her inspirational journey from Brazil to the US, where she started her business with no English language skills and worked her way up from cleaning homes to tech sales. She eventually e…

I am so excited to be rejoined by Chriss Abbass, the CEO of Talentful, four years after our first episode together. For those who don’t know, Talentful is the world's leading embedded talent recruitment solution, working with some of the best tech companies on the planet. I had Chris in my studio in London back in 2019. At the time, his business wa…

I'm super excited to be joined by Oliver Legg, the co-founder of Aspiron Search, a specialist headhunter in the cybersecurity market operating from the UK but placing people all over the US. Oliver started his career as a regional sales manager for a home security installation company seven years ago. Today, alongside Joe his co-founder, they gener…

In this episode, Ephram Stephenson, CEO and founder of Collar Talent Group, joins me for part 2 of the Collar Talent Group story! I interviewed Ephram Jan 2023 when his business was just over a year old and he'd already reached a head count of 100. 13 months later, and the business now has 140 people across multiple Australian offices, making them …

This week, I'm super excited to be joined by Alex Woodhead, the founder of a brand new 10-day-old talent and engineering consultancy called Apera. A business that specialises in recruitment for future mobility, space and clean energy. This is a super niche futuristic market with so much space for growth. And it isn’t Alex’s first time attacking it!…