What’s the point in building a business if you lose everything at home? On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Matt Tyson, founder of Knockout Consulting and former owner of two successful payroll companies. Matt has achieved what many founders dream of—two life-changing exits in 15 years. But behind the success was a personal cost he never expected. In his pursuit of business growth, he lost sight of the very reason he started—his family. In this deeply honest conversation, we...
Jul 09, 2025•1 hr 26 min•Season 9Ep. 39
Why most recruitment businesses fail to attract top-tier leadership talent On this week’s episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Dan Grim, founder of Inside Recruitment. With 25 years in the industry and two previous equity partnerships under his belt, Dan now runs a solo rec-to-rec firm helping recruitment businesses hire the kind of leadership talent that drives real scale. In this episode, Dan explains: Why most founders can't attract true A players The key traits and expectations that top...
Jul 02, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Season 9Ep. 38
Most recruitment founders try to do it all and burn out in the process. On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Martin Smith, founder of Talent Group, who shares how he's structured his business to double down on what he's best at and handed over the rest. Martin runs TalentDrive and Talent Finance, with a 12-person team across the UK. In this episode, we talk about: His journey from agency to founder The lessons he learned from early mistakes Bringing in an MD to run one brand ...
Jun 25, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Season 9Ep. 37
What happens when your 15-person agency runs out of cash and you have to start over from scratch? On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Philippa Smith, founder of Silver Swan Recruitment, a luxury staffing agency for ultra-high net worth individuals. After growing her team to 15, COVID and poor cash flow caught up with her. In August 2024, she made the entire team redundant and scaled the business back to just herself. Nine months later, Philippa is now generating more than £1...
Jun 18, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Season 9Ep. 36
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 headquartered in the UK with offices in Amsterdam and Belgium. Matt shares how he joined Levy as a recr...
Jun 11, 2025•1 hr 25 min•Season 9Ep. 35
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 consistency and culture. In this episode, we discuss How Jay has billed $1 million annually for sev...
Jun 04, 2025•58 min•Season 9Ep. 34
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 strategies that add genuine value in a fast-changing space. In this episode, we discuss How personal branding...
May 28, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 9Ep. 33
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 based in the UK and operating globally. Leon started with no background in business and built everyt...
May 21, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 9Ep. 32
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 during the COVID-19 pandemic, experienced two strong years of growth, built a team of seven and then ...
May 14, 2025•42 min•Season 9Ep. 31
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 key clients, and has built a small but growing team of three. In this conversation, he shares what it’s re...
May 07, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Season 9Ep. 30
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 Ireland. Graham began as a recruiter and is now helping lead an international brand that’s relocating...
Apr 30, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 9Ep. 29
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 business with a former boss as her co-founder, stepping into entrepreneurship with limited experience but a cle...
Apr 23, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Season 9Ep. 28
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 starting in sales at 16 and entering recruitment six years ago, he launched Luminary just two years back—and hit £1 million in rev...
Apr 16, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Season 9Ep. 27
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 Hernshead Group, launching (and closing) multiple brands, and recently completing a management buyout to tak...
Apr 09, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 9Ep. 26
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 she hadn’t really “made it”. That belief stayed with her until her 50s. This week on The RAG Podcas...
Apr 02, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Season 9Ep. 25
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 became a generalist business that lost its direction. In this episode, we break down how he and his...
Mar 26, 2025•54 min•Season 9Ep. 24
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. In this episode, we discuss: Marc's unique story from Recruiter to Founder The reason why he scaled ...
Mar 19, 2025•1 hr 14 min•Season 9Ep. 23
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. His brand, Driven By Data, isn’t just attracting clients – it’s making his business an acquisition target...
Mar 12, 2025•1 hr•Season 9Ep. 22
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. How to unify systems, processes, and back-office functions. The mistakes made along the way and the ...
Mar 05, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Season 9Ep. 21
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 incubator structures. With 13 recruiters today and ambitions to grow to 200+, he’s a pioneer of what’s po...
Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 24 min•Season 9Ep. 20
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. In this episode, you’ll hear about: - How Harry started his business + the COVID-19 challenges he had to face right from the start ...
Feb 19, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Season 9Ep. 19
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 his LinkedIn brand and the financial impact of visibility. The power of personal branding in recruitment an...
Feb 12, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 9Ep. 18
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 leverage technology, brand building, and social selling to drive real revenue. Here’s what we cover: How AI i...
Feb 05, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 9Ep. 17
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 episode, James candidly shares: The rise of PSR Solutions from a startup in 2005 to a business with 200+ e...
Jan 29, 2025•1 hr 18 min•Season 9Ep. 16
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 nearly £1M in revenue within two years. How self-doubt and perseverance shaped his decision to become an en...
Jan 22, 2025•59 min•Season 9Ep. 15
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 as an entrepreneur compared to his corporate career. The unique company culture he’s built by treating emp...
Jan 15, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Season 9Ep. 14
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 relationships. 🌍 The importance of community building for sustainable growth. 🎯 Setting clear goals for ...
Jan 08, 2025•39 min•Season 9Ep. 13
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, alcohol-free life. In this episode, Keith and I discuss: 🍺 The cultural glorification of alcohol in...
Jan 01, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Season 9Ep. 12
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 companies to their teams without the need for external financing or debt. In this candid conversation, Ch...
Dec 18, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 9Ep. 11
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 Rec to Rec in the legal recruitment sector. Catherine has built an incredibly successful solo business while raising two boys, proving that you do...
Dec 04, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 9Ep. 9
