A Personal Transition

Some exciting news to share: I’ve transitioned out of an operating role at RecruitLoop and my exceptional cofounder Paul Slezak will lead the business through its next phase.

I’ll continue supporting RecruitLoop as an advisor and board member.

This was a decision we made collectively at the end of 2017, and we’ve spent the first months of 2018 ensuring a smooth transition.

I’m proud to share we’ve now completed the transition, with minimal impact on our clients, community and team.

It’s an exciting milestone for RecruitLoop, and for me personally.

RecruitLoop is entering its ‘growing up’ phase. After years in startup mode, it’s now a real business. We’re growing sustainably, with a community of over 5,000 recruiters serving thousands of clients across multiple geographies.

2017 was our first full year of profitability. We first achieved monthly breakeven in 2015, then traded profits and growth before committing to this achievement last year. This was a big milestone, and gave us confidence making a transition without negatively impacting the business.

Paul is a natural leader for our next phase of growth. He’s an experienced manager and business builder who before RecruitLoop led multiple recruiting businesses in Australia, Asia and the US. He is relentless, enthusiastic, energetic. Anyone who meets him is immediately infected with this passion.

He is simply incredible with people. Equally comfortable presenting in a boardroom, as managing a remote team of employees over video conference. His people skills are off the charts, and of all his superpowers, this is what I’ve learnt most from him.

RecruitLoop is already built with his DNA, which made for a natural and smooth transition. He has already started implementing some big ideas.

I can’t wait to see RecruitLoop flourish under his leadership.

At a personal level, this was both a simple and a complicated decision.

It was simple in the sense that I was ready for change. I’d felt this way for some time, and had been transparent with my cofounders, who were 100% supportive.

RecruitLoop has been a life-changing journey over the past 7 years. I’ve made lifelong friends, tons of mistakes, grown in untold ways, relocated from Sydney to San Francisco, and had two kids along the way.

I felt ready and excited to explore new challenges.

But it was complicated by all the things that need to rank above personal desires when building a real business: ensuring stability for our team, clients and community; managing expectations and obligations to investors; avoiding jeopardising any partnerships; and mitigating operating risks.

I would not have been comfortable transitioning without carefully considering and addressing each of these points.

So we took our time to do it properly. We got aligned as cofounders, mapped a gameplan, and started the process, which took about three months. We could have moved faster, but given our alignment didn’t feel any need to create unnecessary risk by rushing.

I’m hugely grateful for the support of Paul, Denis and Garry throughout this process. For our wonderful team, and our investors who support the move. And especially to Rach (and now) our family who have been my anchor, keeping me tethered not just in this process but through the entire adventure.

What’s next?

I’m starting something new in the next month, and can’t wait to share more. I’ll continue supporting RecruitLoop as a board member and advisor. And I’m excited to be helping the next generation of great Australian founders, through Startmate and other avenues which I’ll be exploring in the coming months.

Onwards!