Hooked on Search Partners, Part 1 - Issue 26

Part one of a three-part series on executive search engagement.

"Trust is a journey, not a destination. It takes time, effort, and consistency to reach its full potential." - Joyce Brothers 

Executive search partnerships are often the most misunderstood and mismanaged relationship in your founder journey. And this cycle can bring a lot of feelings as you — under pressure to fill your hair-on-fire need — try to navigate a process that often feels so... transactional. But that's because you made the mistake of looking for a great search partner three months after you needed one. 

What's going on? 
The hiring pressure mounts quickly to fill a leadership gap at your startup. And you've hit the wall on your internal search efforts — exhausting your network and talent intros from your board and advisors. Now you desperately need a plan b. In this moment of desperation, you find yourself contemplating a search firm for the first time, scrambling to figure out which firms to connect with, how to engage, and what is even expected in the process. You'll rely on pitches to place a big bet. "I'm a vendor; here's my shortlist." While you may ultimately hire someone through this transactional process, it won't come without pain. The irony is, you’ll write a big check based on nothing more than a 30-minute Zoom call and borrowed trust. And the process that ensues is chaotic and rushed as the firm tries to get up to speed on you, your company, and the spec. All the while, you'll be frustrated that you aren't seeing superstar submittals one week in. This tactic is anything but strategic, and it misses the value a great search partner can provide you and your startup.

Why does it matter? 
When you hire a search firm, you are setting your hiring bar as high or as low as that search firm can deliver. And there’s no way to have any real confidence in this bar — let alone trust — after little more than a sales pitch. Some firms won’t be the right fit. But the worst time to go through the process of figuring this out is at the same time you are in a state of talent emergency. Getting to know each other is to the advantage of both sides. It gives you time to gain confidence in the firm’s ability to add value and deliver. Plus, it gives the search partner time to understand the intricacies of your business and ask the important "why" questions necessary to formulate the right problem and potential solution statements. And once these partnerships have been established, they can be respectfully leveraged in ways beyond just filling critical leadership roles. Search partners have a broad view of the market and have seen what works and what doesn't in countless scenarios and search processes. They can be your "phone a friend" collaborator for talent-related topics as your startup scales through different stages and shifts in the market.

What do others think? 

"Use the time before there is ever a search or business transaction to get inside one another's heads to determine if there is even an intellectual fit between founder and firm. Some firms can check every box — they've done the most relevant search work and have the longest relevant search list, yet the fit just isn’t there. And that's okay — walk away. But you can't know this if all you hear is a pitch. It takes time and investment on both sides. — Mike Doonan, Managing Partner at SPMB  

What do we think? 
Planning starts now. Look at your leadership hiring needs over the next 12 months. Ask your board for search firm recommendations based on the functions coming down the pipe. Even though you are running your own internal recruiting process to find great talent, that doesn't mean you shouldn't work to find the right search partner in tandem. We recommend connecting with firms a minimum of 2-3 months before a search process, so if you hit a wall and come up short in your efforts, both firm and founder are locked and loaded. Beyond this, the best firms are always in demand. Don't assume search partners are just standing by at the ready or have the bandwidth to do your search — especially in a hot market. It is a shock for founders when they are told a firm can't start a search for weeks, sometimes months — one more reason to establish a relationship early. Make the calls, do the work, and build the partnership. 

Next week, we'll dig into how founders should show up and prepare for search calls to cut through the noise and validate a good fit before committing to a partnership. 

What do YOU think? 

Take Action

• Reputable firms: Your VC has built relationships with top-tier search firms. Ask them for recommendations and direct introductions.

• Build trust: Retained search is a big expense for your startup, tied directly to the ability to hire great leaders. Put the time and effort into getting to know who you are doing business with. Nurture this important relationship over the lifetime of your startup — chances are you will need them more than once.

• More than just role filling: Search partners can help you navigate a variety of talent-related topics. Org structure and strategy, calibrating new leadership roles, and providing key compensation insights to name only a few.

Tools, Events, Insights
Seattle Tech Week —> Information, Events, Registration
Venture Labs Presents —> Launchable Generative Apps