Advertise on podcast: The RAG Podcast - Recruitment Agency Growth Podcast

Dom Khedun landed in Sydney in 2007 on a sponsored visa with Michael Page. Ten months later he moved companies, and then the financial crisis arrived. He was made redundant and worried he'd have to go back home. Years later he was building a legal team inside another agency when the MD called him out at a breakfast meeting in front of the whole business, 35 to 40 people. After that day, Dom went to the bank and applied to remortgage his apartment. When the money came through, he resigned and started Mizzen Search. Mizzen started as a 50-50 partnership. Working largely on his own, Dom billed between A$300,000 and A$400,000 a year off 10 to 12 deals. Last financial year, with one other recruiter in the business, Mizzen did just under a million Australian dollars, double its previous best. He has no intention of hiring again. On this episode of The RAG Podcast, Dom breaks down how a two-biller business doubled its billings without becoming an agency. Like most founders, Dom has thought about growing heads and turning Mizzen into a bigger agency. But the first thing he pictures is the price: a proper office, 5 days a week, listening to other people's problems. Even if you offered him double the profit for working that hard, he's out. He'd rather keep the Tuesday golf, the month back home, and a business he can run at this pace into his fifties. If you've ever wondered whether you can build serious money out of a two-biller business without ever building a team, this episode is for you. ---------- Episode Sponsor: Atlas Admin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies. It doesn't only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it's entering a whole new era. With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords. Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow. Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in billings after adopting the platform. No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue. Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting. Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ ---------- Episode Sponsor: Hoxo Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn, but AI has turned templated posts and outreach into a commodity. When everyone sounds the same, the market stops listening. The recruiters winning now are the ones the market trusts. At Hoxo we help recruitment founders become the most influential name in their niche, using AI to multiply output while trust stays the product. Our clients turn their existing networks into £100K to £300K in new billings within months. Watch the free RAG listener training to see how: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Mike Williams was handed a cold desk in a rural US town and told to place accountants. There weren't any. So he placed an engineer instead, and kept going, until his boss's boss rang to tell him the whole thing was going to fail and he'd be fired when it did. He became Rookie of the Year and made President's Club all 5 years. Then he quit, moved from Massachusetts to Charlotte, North Carolina, and billed over $900,000 in his first year on his own, from a spare room in his house. 4 years on, Carnegie Search is a team of 14 and he's at $3.5m going into the final quarter against a $4m target. And he says it isn't good enough. The reason is sitting in his own office, and it's the same problem in most agencies this size. On this episode of The RAG Podcast, Mike breaks down why a team that bills well on his accounts still isn't the business he's building. He isn't chasing an exit. Two years ago he wanted to be the biggest firm in town. He's dropped that, and what replaced it is a harder target than any revenue figure. If you've ever looked at a team billing well on your accounts and felt uneasy about it, this episode is for you. ---------- Episode Sponsor: Atlas Admin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies. It doesn't only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it's entering a whole new era. With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords. Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow. Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in billings after adopting the platform. No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue. Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting. Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ ---------- Episode Sponsor: Hoxo Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn, but AI has turned templated posts and outreach into a commodity. When everyone sounds the same, the market stops listening. The recruiters winning now are the ones the market trusts. At Hoxo we help recruitment founders become the most influential name in their niche, using AI to multiply output while trust stays the product. Our clients turn their existing networks into £100K to £300K in new billings within months. Watch the free RAG listener training to see how: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Three years ago Jordan Shlosberg walked up to me at an expo and asked to sponsor this show. I said no. I'd had enough of CRM companies. Two years on from our first conversation in a Sheffield hotel, Atlas is in the multiple thousands of users, with 60 staff spread across Greece, Bosnia, Italy, India, Colombia and Liverpool. He still won't disclose revenue. He's aiming at Vincere and Loxo first, then Bullhorn. Last November on this podcast he predicted a renaissance for agency recruiters and told internal talent teams they had a lot to worry about. Ten months on, I made him mark his own homework. His answer: it's happening. Atlas customers are growing headcount while the job market stays sluggish, which means recruiters are taking share. On this episode of The RAG Podcast, Jordan breaks down what to actually buy in 2026 and what's about to be automated. Jordan is not selling the idea that AI turns bad recruiters into good ones. He's blunt about it. Atlas is only as good as the conversations feeding it, and crap calls with no network behind them give you very little to work with. What he is arguing is that the gap is widening. The average recruiter gets marginally better. The strong ones get considerably better, because twenty years of relationships suddenly became searchable. If you've ever wondered what you should actually be doing with AI right now, not in theory but this month, this episode has the blueprint. ---------- Episode Sponsor: Atlas Admin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies. It doesn't only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it's entering a whole new era. With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords. Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow. Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in billings after adopting the platform. No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus what actually drives revenue. Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting. Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ ---------- Episode Sponsor: Hoxo Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn, but AI has turned templated posts and outreach into a commodity. When everyone sounds the same, the market stops listening. The recruiters winning now are the ones the market trusts. At Hoxo we help recruitment founders become the most influential name in their niche, using AI to multiply output while trust stays the product. Our clients turn their existing networks into £100K to £300K in new billings within months. Watch the free RAG listener training to see how: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Michael Green: How he made $700K in year one (after not billing for 6 years) Michael Green spent six years running teams of 100+ recruiters. Building offices. Managing people. Zero placements. When he launched Unico in April 2024, he had to go back to basics. "I had to do role plays to myself. I hadn't qualified a candidate in six years." Day one was brutal. Just him, his house and a dog. But Michael had something most recruiters don't: a genuine answer to "what makes you different?" While everyone else competed on job boards chasing $30K fees, Michael went the opposite direction. Senior positions only. Architect level and above. New York Location only His average fee jumped from $30K to $60K overnight. His biggest placement? $170,000. 12 months later: $700K gross profit. Solo. Year two: $1.5M with just four people. But here's what makes Michael different. He's not scaling headcount - he's scaling quality. Ultra-niche: ServiceNow and bleeding-edge SaaS. One technology. Total focus. Last week, a major partner messaged him: "I've seen your posts. I've heard your reputation. We want to use you exclusively." He'd never spoken to them before.. He's now targeting growth15 profitable recruiters and $3M in 2026. This week on The RAG Podcast, Michael tells the full story. We cover: - Why he walked away from running 200 people to start from scratch - How he made $700K in year one after six years out of recruitment - The "top 3%" model that clients can't say no to - Why he pivoted from $30K to $100K+ fees overnight - The AI screening tool that's changing his close rate - His LinkedIn strategy that generates 70% conversion rates This isn't about scaling fast. It's about a man who had to relearn his own trade, doubted himself daily, and built a $1.5M business in 20 months that doesn't require 100 heads to hit seven figures. No venture capital. No growth-at-all-costs. Just profitable headcount over vanity metrics. If you've ever wondered whether you can start your own agency after years of management - or if there's a smarter way to scale than just adding bodies – this episode has the blueprint. __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Atlas Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies. It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era. With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords. Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow. Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that’s not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue. Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting. Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Hoxo Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn. Spending thousands on Recruiter licences. Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks. But here’s the question almost no one can answer: How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business? Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash. That’s the problem we solve. At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics. Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process. To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn: - Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn - How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand - The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Jen Gaster: How she sold her business to her team (and kept the tax bill at zero) Jen Gaster launched HR Heads in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis with a six-month-old baby and zero income security. 17 years later, she runs three brands, 22 people, and just completed an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) transaction. Tax-free exit, 5-year payout. The employees own the business when the mortgage is paid off. One week after they completed the deal, Rachel Reeves changed the rules. EOT payments are now taxable for anyone doing it after the budget. Jen got in just in time. But here's what makes this story different. She built the business with her husband Rupert. Same office but separate brands and working processes (They've literally only attended one client meeting together in their entire lives!) This week on The RAG Podcast, Jen tells the full story. We cover: Starting a business during the 2008 financial crash with a babyWorking with your spouse without destroying your marriageWhy she admits "I don't think I'm a brilliant man manager"The EOT transaction and how they structured a tax-free exitHow Rachel Reeves' budget changed the rules one week after they completedWhy legacy mattered more than a trade sale This isn't about building an empire. It's about a founder who wanted to reward the people who built the business with her and managed to do it without a tax bill. If you've ever wondered whether there's another way to exit, this episode has the blueprint. __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Atlas Admin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies. It doesn't only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it's entering a whole new era. With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords. Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow. Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue. Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting. Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Hoxo Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn. Spending thousands on Recruiter licences. Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks. But here's the question almost no one can answer: How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business? Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash. That's the problem we solve. At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics. Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process. To show you how it works, we've created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners. In less than 10 minutes, you'll learn: Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedInHow small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demandThe 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency's most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Helen Buchan-Connor on why she's building offshore teams and hitting $600K revenue "All I wanted to do was make £100,000. That's it" Helen Buchan Connor started her recruitment business in September 2020. Her husband had just been diagnosed with lymphoma. COVID had locked down Singapore a week earlier. She was working from her lift lobby because there was no space for an office. Most people would've waited for a "better time." Helen didn't have that luxury. First year: $350K revenue, $50K profit. But then 2023 hit. The market turned. She lost $200K. She'd taken investment. Signed a JV with a well-known player in the industry. The advice she got? "Work harder. Do more calls." But you can't bring UK-style metrics into Southeast Asia and expect them to land. "In Southeast Asia, trust is built off relationships. In the West, it's built off performance." So Helen stripped it back. Looked at what the big tech companies were actually doing. Amazon. Google. The major media agencies. They were all offshoring. Quietly. She decided to do it loudly. Today: - Three-person team - $600K revenue - Phone off at 7 pm - Present mother and wife - Building offshore hubs for ad tech clients across Southeast Asia This week on The RAG Podcast, Helen breaks down exactly how she built it. We cover: - Why she started in the middle of a pandemic with a seriously ill husband - How she turned $350K Year 1 into a $200K loss in Year 3 - Why the JV investment model failed her (and what she learned) - The Southeast Asia + Philippines combination that changed everything - How she's consulting clients OUT of hiring decisions (and still growing revenue) - Why "surviving is thriving" when you're a working parent building a business This isn't about grinding harder or scaling to 50 headcount. This is about building a recruitment business that fits your life. Not the other way around. "Surviving is thriving. If you've got it together at the end of the week, you're good. If your kids like you, you're good. If you've got a couple of clients and you can invoice them, you're good." If you want to understand how to build profitably without sacrificing everything else, this episode is essential. __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Atlas Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies. It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era. With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords. Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow. Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that’s not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue. Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting. Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Hoxo Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn. Spending thousands on Recruiter licences. Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks. But here’s the question almost no one can answer: How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business? Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash. That’s the problem we solve. At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics. Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process. To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn: - Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn - How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand - The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Emily Van Eyssen on why she's firing staff and replacing them with AI "I automated someone's entire job out of my business." "They're gone. That role doesn't exist anymore." Emily Van Eyssen isn't talking about the future. She's talking about last month. She had no recruitment experience when she started. Zero training. Never worked for an agency. Stumbled into it during the pandemic through a government contract she still doesn't understand why she won. Most people would have crashed and burned. Emily placed 200 young people into employment, made a lot of money, and accidentally built a completely virtual recruitment business. When the pandemic ended and the scheme shut down, she had a choice. Go back to managing Airbnbs (which she hated), or figure out how to make recruitment work. Three years later: 30-35 placements per monthTeam of just 8 people300+ people placed globallyJobs being automated out of existence in real-time But here's what makes Emily's story urgent. She's not planning for an AI future. She's living it right now. South African talent + AI super users = roles disappearing overnight. She fired someone last week for refusing to use AI. That job is now gone forever. One of her team automated their own role out. They're still there. The role isn't. She's training 5,000 people per month in South Africa on AI (and employing none of them). She's targeting 100 placements per month by Easter. Same 8-person team. This week on The RAG Podcast, Emily tells you exactly what's coming. We cover: Why she fired someone for refusing to adopt AI (and automated their job immediately)How one team member automated an entire salary out of the businessThe South Africa + AI combination making UK roles obsoleteWhy she's training thousands in AI but employing none of themWhat happens to recruitment when one person can do the work of fiveHer plan to 3x placements without hiring a single person This isn't a prediction about 2030. This is happening right now. In Emily's business. Today. And if you're not preparing for it, you're already behind. If you want to understand what the next 12 months actually look like for recruitment, this episode is essential. __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Atlas Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies. It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era. With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords. Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow. Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that’s not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue. Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting. Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Hoxo Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn. Spending thousands on Recruiter licences. Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks. But here’s the question almost no one can answer: How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business? Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash. That’s the problem we solve. At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics. Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process. To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn: - Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn - How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand - The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Mark Thomas walked away from a six-figure salary without a concrete plan. Three co-founders. One investment. Strict 9-month covenants. Then came March: dozens of pitches, everyone loved the vision, but almost no one was buying.  The retained leadership search model wasn't landing. They started questioning everything. One week later, four retained searches landed. Revenue hasn't stopped climbing since. 12 months in: £1M+ revenue, 75% retained work, and a business model nobody else in insurance recruitment is executing at this level. In this episode: Why he nearly pivoted to golf (and why recruitment pays better)The £150k-£350k leadership gap nobody was serving properlyTurning down every role under £120k to protect the brandBuilding the "Real Madrid of recruiters" with 10-15 elite billersHow retained search gives you three-month revenue visibilityThe profit share model that creates a partnership without equity This isn't a scale-to-50-people story. This is about building a boutique firm where being the worst recruiter in the room means you've hired brilliantly. For recruitment founders who want quality over quantity and believe 10 great people beats 50 average ones. __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Atlas Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies. It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era. With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords. Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow. Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that’s not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue. Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting. Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Hoxo Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn. Spending thousands on Recruiter licences. Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks. But here’s the question almost no one can answer: How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business? Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash. That’s the problem we solve. At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics. Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process. To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn: - Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn - How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand - The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Chris & Gemma built a 7-figure agency by saying NO to 90% of clients Chris walked into a client meeting. Got the job brief. Then said "No way." The client looked at him like he was insane. "You haven't shown me the office. I don't know your team. I can't work on this job." She'd just told him they were more expensive than every other agency. He didn't care. This is how Chris and Gemma built Mixos - a husband-and-wife recruitment agency that operates completely backwards. They REFUSE to take briefs over email. They WON'T work with clients who rush them. They'd literally rather go bankrupt than cut their fees. And somehow? Rookies from retail are billing £50k+ quarters. They've grown to 15 people in 18 months. Their LinkedIn DMs are full of warm leads. In this episode: Why they lost one job last month and Chris "felt like someone stuck a knife in him"The cocktails-in-Mallorca conversation that merged two agencies during a pandemicHow they got a psychology graduate with zero experience to £53k in 90 daysBuilding a 400-person local community that makes cold calling irrelevantWhy they walked away from their biggest client (and replaced it with 5 better ones)The "blueprint everything first" strategy that stops quality diluting as you scaleWhat happens when you tell a client, "I can't help you" in the first meeting This isn't about growth hacks or AI tools or scaling fast. This is about two people who set impossible standards, refuse to compromise, and somehow built an agency where saying NO is their superpower. For every recruiter who's tired of competing on price and wondering if there's another way. __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Atlas Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies. It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era. With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords. Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow. Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that’s not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue. Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting. Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Hoxo Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn. Spending thousands on Recruiter licences. Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks. But here’s the question almost no one can answer: How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business? Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash. That’s the problem we solve. At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics. Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process. To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn: - Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn - How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand - The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Mick Donaghy: How he built $1.4M from $7K (after his partnership collapsed) Mick Donaghy's mother died when he was in his twenties. Life's too short became his operating system. He left Ireland. Moved to New Zealand. Became a top-billing recruiter!  A few years later, he got his shot at ownership. A partnership to launch an Australian business for the agency he worked.  For many reasons, this partnership didn’t work, so Mick paid back his business partner and walked away with $7,000 in his bank account. No business. No plan B. This time, he was doing it alone. GEDON was born - named after his Mum. Ultra-niche: quantity surveying and cost management. One discipline. Total focus. 12 months later: $1.4M AUD in billings.65 placements. One person every three days. But here's what makes Mick different. He's not building an empire.- he’s building freedom! Currently has 9 people, 5 offshore making 40%+ profit margins. Last week, he won 3 new clients from his personal brand. Zero cold calls. He just bought a 100-year-old house in Belfast. Cash. He drives an old Toyota Corolla, does 30 minutes in the sauna daily and is two and a half years into rebuilding his relationship with alcohol. He’s now set a new and incredible target: 20-hour work week. $300-400K profit annually. This week on The RAG Podcast, Mick tells the full story. We cover: The partnership in Australia that COVID nearly destroyedHow he started Gedon with $7K and built it to $1.4M in year oneWhy ultra-niche made his business borderlessThe personal brand strategy that replaced cold callingWhy he refuses to scale headcountHis sobriety journey and the 20-hour work week plan This isn't about scaling fast. It's about a man who lost his mom young, tried a partnership that collapsed, and rebuilt everything from $7,000 into a million-dollar business that gives him his life back. No investor decks. No growth-at-all-costs. Just freedom over headcount. If you've ever wondered whether there's another way to build a business—one that doesn't trap you -this episode has the blueprint. __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Atlas Admin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies. It doesn't only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it's entering a whole new era. With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords. Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow. Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue. Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting. Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Hoxo Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn. Spending thousands on Recruiter licences. Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks. But here's the question almost no one can answer: How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business? Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash. That's the problem we solve. At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics. Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process. To show you how it works, we've created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners. In less than 10 minutes, you'll learn: - Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn - How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand - The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency's most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Jordan Shlosberg: Why agency recruiters will win (and internal TA won't) Jordan Shlosberg runs Atlas CRM—the fastest-growing, AI-native recruitment platform in the world. Thousands of recruiters use his technology every day. Real-time data. Real billings. Real problems being solved. If anyone knows what's actually working with AI in recruitment, it's him. "Internal talent teams have a lot to worry about. Agency recruiters? There's a renaissance coming." Here's why: Agency recruiters have years of candidate conversations. Reference calls. Market knowledge built through relationships. The ability to cut through 1,500 AI-generated applications with actual insight. Internal TA has a resume. Sometimes a screening call. That's it. But here's the problem: agency recruitment only represents 7-8% of all hires in Europe. We could grow our share massively. Or we could shrink into irrelevance. The difference? How quickly we become AI-literate. This week on The RAG Podcast, Jordan and I go deep on what's actually happening in recruitment AI. We cover: Why Atlas crossed $1M ARR in 10 months while the market contractedHow clients are growing from 4 to 15 seats in under a yearThe fatal flaw in "agentic job boards" like Jack & JillWhy sourcing platforms only show you 50% of LinkedIn's dataThe partnership we're launching to make recruiters top 5% AI users This isn't another "AI is coming for your job" panic post. This is strategic intelligence from someone watching what actually works across thousands of recruiters every day. __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Atlas Admin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies. It doesn't only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it's entering a whole new era. With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords. Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow. Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue. Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting. Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Hoxo Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn. Spending thousands on Recruiter licences. Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks. But here's the question almost no one can answer: How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business? Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash. That's the problem we solve. At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics. Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process. To show you how it works, we've created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners. In less than 10 minutes, you'll learn: - Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn - How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand - The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency's most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Ricky Burns: How to build £1.1M profit in year one (after losing it all at 32) Ricky Burns made incredible money at 28 Then he drank it all away. Partied it into oblivion and got hit with a massive VAT bill he couldn't pay. Most people never recover from that kind of failure, but at 32, he decided to shut the business down and start again. He went back into employment for 11 years. Ran European divisions. Watched. Learned. Took notes on what actually works. Then in September 2024 he launched Pulse Group with his co-founder Tony. 12 months later: £1.4M in fees£1.1M in EBITDA (profit) I don't know anyone who's achieved these numbers in year one. This week on The RAG Podcast, Ricky breaks it all down. We cover: How they hit £1.1M profit in 12 months (it's simpler than you think)What killed his first business (beyond the partying)The 10 years of lessons that made the comeback inevitableWhy he paired recruitment with SOW consultancyThe systems and client focus driving 83% marginsHow AI is making them more efficient without adding headcountWhy work-life balance is now non-negotiable This isn't your typical "I scaled fast" story. This is brutal honesty about failure, sobriety, and building something sustainable the second time around. __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Atlas Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies. It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era. With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords. Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow. Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that’s not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue. Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting. Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Hoxo Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn. Spending thousands on Recruiter licences. Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks. But here’s the question almost no one can answer: How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business? Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash. That’s the problem we solve. At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics. Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process. To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn: - Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn - How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand - The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Matt Fox achieved a life-changing exit and walked away in 90 days! Matt Fox was 72 hours from a multi-seven-figure exit when COVID killed the deal. What followed: a complete breakdown, 2 years of therapy, and a total rebuild. But he did it differently the second time. Cut from 30 stressed employees to 10 people he loved. Stripped costs. Turned it into a cash machine. By 40, he'd cleared his mortgage and bought Spanish properties with cash. Then, in November 2024, he sold the business and walked away in 3 months. In this episode: Why scaling to 30 people nearly destroyed himThe "cash cow" strategy that made him wealthy before the exitHow to build a team that doesn't need youWhat selling a business actually feels like (the bit nobody warns you about)Why 80% of recruitment founders get exits wrong This isn't your typical scale-and-sell story. This is what it really takes to lose everything, rebuild on your terms, and exit with your sanity intact. For recruitment founders running 5-30 person agencies, wondering what happens next. Chapters 00:03:00 Building Dynamite Recruitment00:09:00 Challenges and Resilience00:15:00 Restructuring for Profitability00:21:00 The Sale Process00:27:00 Lessons Learned and Future Plans __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Atlas Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies. It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era. With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords. Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow. Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that’s not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue. Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting. Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Hoxo Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn. Spending thousands on Recruiter licences. Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks. But here’s the question almost no one can answer: How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business? Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash. That’s the problem we solve. At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics. Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process. To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn: - Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn - How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand - The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

This week on The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Nick Hoadley, founder of Insurance Search, a specialist executive search practice in the global insurance market. Nick quit a successful broking career nine years ago and launched a recruitment business with zero agency experience. Since then, he has shifted from 100% contingent to 100% retained, built a lean team, and maxed out a seven-figure practice while holding 50 to 60% profit margins. He is now expanding in the US with a partner model designed to scale without fixed overheads. We talk about: - How he went from insurance broker to founder with no prior agency experience - The playbook for moving from 100% contingent to 100% retained - Why a podcast and thought leadership now drive executive mandates worldwide - Building a lean delivery engine, research and board search that sustains 50% plus margins - The US partner model that scales without headcount or fixed overhead - What to productise next, from human capital research to peer forums - Practical advice on letting go of delivery to win bigger work If you are aiming to grow an executive search practice while protecting profit, this is the episode to watch. Chapters 00:00:30 Nick Hoadley's Journey 00:01:00 From Contingent to Retained 00:01:28 Impact of Podcasting 00:01:57 Aligning Personal and Professional Goals 00:02:27 AI and the Future of Recruitment 00:02:57 Building Client Trust 00:03:27 Scaling with a Partner Model 00:03:59 The US Market Expansion 00:04:28 Conclusion and Future Outlook __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Atlas Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies. It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era. With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords. Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow. Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that’s not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue. Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting. Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Hoxo Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn. Spending thousands on Recruiter licences. Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks. But here’s the question almost no one can answer: How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business? Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash. That’s the problem we solve. At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics. Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process. To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn: - Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn - How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand - The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

This week, on episode 1 of season 9 of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Samm Green, co-founder of Few & Far, a UK-based product management recruitment business with 22 people and a powerful story of resilience. Samm was the very first guest I ever recorded on The RAG back in 2019, and at that time, he had big plans to scale to 40 staff and eventually exit. While some of that came true, the road since has been far from smooth. In this episode, Samm opens up about: - The financial and emotional toll of losing over £350,000 during the market downturn. - How burnout and stress led to physical illness and a trip to A&E. - The decision to rebuild and focus on profit, not just growth. - Why transparency and community have been key to recovery. - How he’s turned the business around to be on track for £1m EBITDA in 2025. This is one of the most honest conversations I’ve ever had on The RAG. It’s a story about resilience, leadership and learning what success really means when the pressure hits hardest. Chapters 00:00 Sam Green's Journey 02:53 The Growth and Challenges of Few&Far 05:55 Navigating the Post-COVID Landscape 09:00 The Impact of Financial Loss on Mental Health 11:27 Lessons Learned from Redundancies and Business Cuts 14:36 Rebuilding and Regaining Profitability 17:20 The Importance of Mental Health in Business 20:17 Strategies for Business Development and Community Building 23:16 The Future of Recruitment in a Changing Market 26:00 Personal Reflections and Future Aspirations 28:48 Conclusion and Final Thoughts __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Atlas Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies. It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era. With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords. Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow. Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that’s not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue. Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting. Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ __________________________________________ Episode Sponsor: Hoxo Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn. Spending thousands on Recruiter licences. Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks. But here’s the question almost no one can answer: How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business? Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash. That’s the problem we solve. At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics. Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process. To show you how it works, we’ve created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll learn: - Why most recruiters are getting zero measurable ROI from LinkedIn - How small, niche teams are generating consistent inbound demand - The 3X Revenue System we use to turn LinkedIn into a predictable cash-generating channel So fill in the form today to see how this system could transform LinkedIn into your agency’s most profitable channel: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0