Captivate Talent

Last Wednesday, our Head of Executive Search, Casey Erickson, participated in a dynamic panel at the Cloudflare offices in Austin, where 40 talented women in GTM connected to share unfiltered and actionable career insights. The discussions covered vital topics such as: - How to position yourself within and outside of your company - Addressing mental health in the workplace - Navigating challenges in a male-dominated industry - Effective communication strategies, including speaking up when interrupted At Captivate Talent, we are dedicated to empowering women to thrive in their careers and shape the next generation of SaaS leaders who will raise standards and create inclusive work environments for all. So we were so excited to help participate! A special thank you to ATX SDR Leaders for hosting this impactful event and inviting Casey to help lead the panel!

We had a great time co-hosting our second annual welcome happy hour at Pavilion's GTM conference—this year bigger and better, with amazing partners like Alysio, Crossbeam, Magentrix (Partner Management & Customer Management), Partner Fleet, Superglue, and TrustRadius! This year we even went with a fun theme, with "tiki vibes" for a G-TIKI-M event 🏝️ We love doing these types of events because community is at the heart of what we do. Bringing people together and helping them connect is at the core of our company. From the leis and tiki vibes to the incredible conversations, this event was a reminder of the power of community and partnership. 🌺 Thank you to everyone who joined us—we’re already looking forward to next year! 🌟

We had an incredible week at SaaStr hanging out with some of the best founders and revenue leaders in SaaS. Last week, we attended SaaStr for the 4th time! And despite not having a booth, we had our best SaaStr yet! 2 happy hours (thanks for co-sponsoring Nooks and Paddle) 1 lunch (co-sponsored with Deel) 1 dinner And we even threw a sauna and cold plunge event on Wednesday morning! Thanks to all our events, we were able to re-connect with old friends and make a bunch of new friends in the process. Part of our goal as a team isn't just to hire for revenue talent, but also to be a value-add and key member of the SaaS community. We definitely hit that goal again at SaaStr! Next up, we'll be at Pavilion's GTM 2024 where we'll be sponsoring an exciting offsite for revenue leaders and a fun night 1 happy hour. See you in Austin next!

We are so excited to welcome our newest hire! Everyone say "hello" 👋 to Katie Ostrander! Katie has completed more than 150+ GTM searches for early-stage and venture-backed companies throughout her recruiting career. Her primary focus over the past 7 years has been around full-cycle GTM recruiting—from IC to leadership level! Before joining Captivate, Katie was the first Client Manager and third recruiting hire at Candidate Labs. There she helped to recruit for early-stage, venture-backed companies like Deel, Vitally, Modern Treasury, and more. Katie will be joining our Go-To-Market team and will be our first hire in Denver 🏔️ Outside of work, you’ll likely find her hiking, skiing, traveling, or enjoying time on a patio with friends. We're so excited to have Katie be a part of the team and can't wait to see the impact she will make here 🚀

Attending SaaStr Annual this year? We're hosting 4 events and have a full list of side events 👇 Events we're hosting: 1. The big unofficial welcome party on Monday afternoon at The Swingin' Door (right across from the venue) with Nooks     2. A dinner with SaaS founders on Monday night (we just have a couple of spots remaining)     3. A lunch for founders and leaders with Deel on Tuesday     4. A happy hour with Paddle on Wednesday evening If you're going to be in town, we'd love to see you and meet up! We've also put together a full list of SaaStr events. There's a little something for everyone to sign up for. You can check out all of our events and other events here: https://lnkd.in/eNDv8RPx See you there!

Search Kick-off → Hire in 6 weeks for a CRO That's how long it took our executive search team to identify, present, and help SALUS hire their CRO Shirin Oshidari. When SALUS (Construction Tech) came to Captivate Talent, they already had the right profile in mind. However, they were unable to find the right candidate through their network. So they decided to work with Captivate Talent to find the right leader to fill this crucial role. In 6 weeks, our executive search team was able to find and present Shirin, a 35-year construction tech expert. To get there so fast, Captivate spent time getting to know the SALUS team to understand their culture, values, and strategic needs first. This helped establish a strong level of trust from the start. It also allowed Captivate to act as a true extension of their team when representing them in the market. And the work paid off! Shirin has been the perfect fit for SALUS. She already embodies their core values and has elevated the sales team and their sales process, giving them a competitive edge within the construction industry. Read more about Captivate's work with SALUS here: https://lnkd.in/gkee2MAk

We are so excited to welcome our newest hire! Everyone say "hello" 👋 to Madison Mosack! Maddie comes to the team with over 7+ years of recruiting experience, primarily focused on full-cycle GTM recruiting for early-stage (primarily VC-backed) SaaS startups - from IC to leadership (VP-level)! She will be joining the go-to-market recruiting team to help place individual contributors and rising leaders! She's also our second hire in Austin 🤠 Outside of work, Maddie enjoys going out on Lake Austin, trying new restaurants/cocktail bars, yoga, and playing games like cards, monopoly, and mahjong. We're so excited to have Maddie be a part of the team and can't wait to see the impact she will make here 🚀

As a SaaS founder, few transitions are as daunting as handing off the sales function you built from the ground up. Knowing when and how to pass that baton can make or break your growth trajectory. We recently talked with Roi Ravhon, Co-Founder and CEO at Finout, who has recenlty navigated a founder-led sales transition. Roi's advice about passing off the responsibilities was simple. "Rip off the bandaid," he said. Rather than prolonging a shared transition period, Roi believes you should go all-in from day one when hiring a sales leader.  With every sales function immediately reporting to the new VP with full authority and ownership. As Roi says: "We hired a VP of Sales because we need a VP of Sales running that function - not someone stuck in a transitional role." Is it uncomfortable at first? Absolutely. But that short-term upheaval is worth the long-term benefits for the organization. This approach allows the new leader to quickly implement strategy, earn credibility, and rally the entire team. Prolonging a transition means lack of clear accountability and missed opportunities as the organization stays stuck in limbo. For founders: Have you struggled to fully let go of sales leadership? For first sales leader hires: Have you inherited a misaligned team due to a messy leadership transition? Passing the baton is never easy for founders. But ripping off that bandaid starts an exciting new chapter and sets the sales organization up for growth under its new leader.

As a founder, one of the biggest inflection points is transitioning from doing all the selling yourself to building out a dedicated sales team. Get the timing and approach wrong, and it can set you back. Get it right, and it can supercharge your growth. We recently chatted with Roi Ravhon, Co-Founder and CEO of Finout, about making this critical transition. Roi shared his firsthand experiences hiring Finout's first VP of Sales in the U.S. and scaling the go-to-market team from there. Here are 3 key lessons that stood out: 1️⃣ Prioritize "builders" over "scalers" in early sales hires When making those first sales leadership hires, favor candidates who will roll up their sleeves, get into the trenches, and lead by example. As Roi put it, "We value people who can prove themselves, then build a team, then start to grow together with us." 2️⃣ Spend as much time as possible with new sales leaders   Don't just hire your VP of Sales and then disappear. Roi emphasized: "You need to work very, very closely with that person. You need to share the same vision. You need to share the load." He made it a priority to be in the same room as their new sales leader frequently during this transition. 3️⃣ Leverage founder sales experience to shape your transition process When transitioning from founder-led to team-led sales, your early experiences are invaluable. Roi stressed leveraging those insights, saying: "We spent many, many, many hours talking about what we're selling, how we're selling, what's our differentiation." Use that knowledge to mold your sales process. Whether you're navigating this transition currently or looking ahead to it, there's a wealth of wisdom in Roi's experiences. The full recording also covers topics like integrating distributed teams and entering the U.S. market. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/ep95YFjW

Hiring your first employees is a pivotal moment for your startup. Here are our best insights to make great hires the first time around: ✅ Be Strategic in Job Design: Identify key objectives, required skills, and unique selling points of your startup. ✅ Select Your Core Interview Team: Involve team members who can assess cultural fit, skills, and cross-functional compatibility. ✅ Build a Competitive Interview Process: Ensure a timeline of 3-4 weeks, with a clear structure for leadership and individual contributor roles. ✅ Evaluate Candidates the Right Way: Focus on both tangible skills and intangible qualities like grit, creativity, and cultural fit. Having a poor hiring process can negatively impact business growth. For an early-stage startup, that can mean missed revenue, higher churn, or even missed opportunities to fundraise. Not to mention the huge cost of employee turnover and having to re-do the onboarding process. Build a strong process the first time around to avoid costly mistakes! Check out our full guide on hiring first employees for startups here for more tips: https://lnkd.in/gH2gtsE9