The more senior and experienced a Founder/CEO is, the more they realize that teams are not solely built by leveraging a personal network, offering referral bonuses to staff, or posting a job on a website. Often, companies are built through the work done by search firms. Martyn Bassett Associates provides engaged search services to startups and scale-ups…
One of the most daunting yet exciting initiatives a business can undertake is a digital transformation leveraging product management principles. We’ve had the pleasure of being engaged by several organizations to recruit product talent to lead digital transformation initiatives. Recruiting on behalf of a client for such a hire requires a consultative approach across the stakeholders and…
Congratulations – the ink is dry on your last raise, and it’s finally time to build out the ELT you’ve dreamed of; starting with a VP of Product Management. As a recruiting partner to startups and scale-ups across North America, the decision to hire a VP Product is a defining time in a Founder’s journey. This is the moment when…
We’ve been building product teams for tech startups since 2006. Shortly after the launch of our Product Practice in 2016, we began engaging with leaders across the adtech category. Through these searches, we quickly learned that hiring adtech Product Managers was a friction-filled hiring journey for most product leaders. Here are the three common friction points that…
We are back continuing our product management hiring series focused on the challenges many DTC brands face. This article explores the second top reason why it’s hard to hire DTC product management talent and what you can do to overcome this roadblock and get to a “hell yes” hire quickly. Today we talk about money or the…
Today is part two of our series focused on diagnosing why it’s so hard to hire DTC product talent and what you can do to overcome the roadblocks to get to a “hell yes” hire. And the #1 reason is… many DTC brands are not “real” tech companies! Before everyone gets too excited, we know this…
As product management Recruiters, there isn’t a product category we haven’t invested countless hours researching and recruiting. The “DTC” category of products is the most fun to recruit for – it’s also one of the most difficult. What is DTC? A DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) business is a business model where a company sells its products or…
We are no strangers to building product management teams. Our first product management search was completed in 2006, and in response to the increasing global demand for product talent, we launched our product practice in 2016. Over the years we’ve recruited CPO and VP Product Management level hires from all product tech categories, including law and legaltech. Differences in Recruiting…
For most tech companies, there comes a time when it’s necessary to seek outside investment. During the initial due diligence period and in any subsequent partnership, investors evaluate the leadership team as much as they evaluate the business. Evaluating a product management leader and determining whether the right person is in the seat may not come easily. The Head…
Your Step-by-step Guide and Downloadable Checklist How do you hire a Product Manager? It may seem like a simple question, but many Founders only realize how challenging and nuanced it can be once it’s too late. We have met many leaders who have applied traditional techniques and approaches to hiring a Product Manager and quickly realized…
Have an interview coming up? The questions asked during an interview are crucial to ensuring that a potential hire is well-suited for and interested in the role. If you’re the interviewer, it is essential to get your questions figured out so you’ll walk away with a solid understanding of how aligned the candidate’s previous experience is to…
Our Senior Product Recruiter, Priya Golani, has completed many complex searches for Senior Product Management talent. She shares her insights on what makes a great Product Manager of cloud computing solutions. 1. A Technical Foundation The top Product Managers who work for elite cloud computing and cloud networking companies often begin their careers following a STEM degree and working…
With a product career that includes Adobe, Facebook and Microsoft, Florian Pestoni is a Product Manager turned Founder and CEO. Heidi Ram, our Head of Product Practice, sat down with Florian to discuss his CEO journey, from learning to let go of his “product baby” to building a “product-centric company” and overcoming common roadblocks Founders encounter when…
Once a Fintech CEO has decided to hire their first VP of Product, they then need to decide whether to hire someone with a background in fintech. This is a dividing line. While many CEOs and stakeholders will vehemently believe that a first-time VP Product should come from a competitor or similar product within the…
We were recently engaged by a client to conduct a search for a VP Product Management. The mission of this hire was to see the business through its next stage of global growth. This growth included new product opportunities as well as maturing and optimizing the product organization’s processes to become a more ‘product led’…