Leadership hiring consultant for founders, with one partner from brief to offer.
Founders hire their first senior leaders at the moment the company can least afford a wrong one. We work directly with founders and promoters, as a partner rather than a vendor, to bring in the leaders who will take the business through its next stage.
When founders call us
- The first professional CXO: a CEO, COO, CFO or CHRO alongside the founder.
- Scaling up: functional heads for sales, operations, manufacturing or technology as the company grows past what the founding team can run.
- Funding or listing: leaders investors expect to see, from a CFO for a raise to a board ready team before an IPO.
- Succession: the next generation in a family business, or a professional leader to take over from the founder.
What founders get from us
- One partner throughout: the person you brief is the person who runs the search and closes the offer.
- Honest advice on the brief: what the role really needs, what it should pay, and whether the market has the person you have in mind.
- Leaders who fit a founder led company: people who can work with a founder's pace and instincts, not only in large company structures.
- Confidentiality: your plans stay private, and your team is never approached without your agreement.
Hiring challenges for founders
- Proven leaders from large companies often hesitate to join a founder led business, so the opportunity must be presented well.
- Founders often hire for today's problem rather than the next three years.
- Equity, ESOPs and variable pay need careful structuring to close a strong candidate.
- A first CXO changes how the founder works, and both sides need to be ready.
Where we work: startups and PE or VC backed companies, promoter and family businesses, across 18+ industries, in India and across the Gulf, South East Asia, Africa and the US.
The moments that bring founders to us: stepping back from the day to day for the first time. Losing an early leader at the worst possible time. Getting ready for a raise, a listing or the next generation. Taking the business into a new venture, region or sector.
We will never push a candidate at a founder. Caliber sits with the candidate: we search in discretion, assess, evaluate and validate for the right fitment, and let each profile speak for itself.
Our process: a working session with the founder, a mapped market of leaders who have done the job in comparable companies, discreet outreach, structured assessment and deep referencing. Typically 2 to 3 weeks (passive job seekers) from brief to offer, depending on location and how narrow the brief is.
Frequently asked questions
We have never hired a CXO before. Where do we start?
With a conversation about what the business needs in the next three years. The role follows from that.
Can you help structure ESOPs and variable pay?
Yes. We benchmark the offer and manage the negotiation to close.
Do you work with early stage startups?
Yes, when the role is a leadership role and the company is ready to hire at that level.
Is the search confidential?
Fully. Founders often hire before the team knows, and we work that way.
See the leadership roles we search for and our industry practices.