PeopleWork Partners · October 2025

Placed Two Strategic Hires Who Became Core Team Members at High-Growth Startups

I successfully placed two critical hires at pivotal moments for their respective companies. Both are historically underrepresented candidates. The first was a seed-stage startup that had just closed a funding round and needed to build their design function from the ground up. The second was a fast-growing B2B platform grappling with technical debt and in urgent need of senior engineering leadership to scale their infrastructure. For the design placement, I leveraged my professional network at California College of the Arts to source a talented designer whose work and career trajectory aligned with the startup's needs. I invested time understanding her portfolio in depth and ensuring her long-term goals matched the opportunity. For the engineering hire, I took a more hands-on approach, conducting multiple interview prep sessions to help her effectively communicate her technical leadership experience. I also coached her through salary negotiations to secure the staff-level title that reflected her true capabilities and value. Both placements proved transformative. The designer integrated seamlessly into the founding team, took ownership of a major company rebrand—including managing relationships with external agency partners—and maintained velocity alongside the founding engineering team during the company's critical early growth phase. These weren't just successful hires; they became foundational team members who contributed directly to their companies' trajectories during crucial inflection points.