When It’s Time to Hunt A-Players,
Bring a Bear
FACT: The Top 10% of the Executive Talent Pool Never Has to Look for a New Job. The Very Best Executives Are Always Poached FIRST by the Very Best Headhunters.
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![Brett Moyer Headshot]()
"Your level is above 99% of recruiters because of the obsessive detail you go through to truly understand both the candidates and the role. Most firms say they go deep, but Bearhug actually does. That’s why we got the outcome we wanted, in the timeframe we needed."
Brett Moyer
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![Brett Carlson Headshot]()
"Bearhug’s process was absolutely thorough. From market coverage to real-time visibility, nothing was left unexamined. We landed the perfect person for the moment. 10/10."
Brett Carlson
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![Anton Fedorov Headshot]()
“Bearhug helped one of our portfolio companies hire almost their entire C-level team. That business has scaled from 1 to 20M+ over the last 4 years. They are an amazing partner for exec hiring for series A/B startups!””
Anton Fedorov
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![Spencer Dusebout Headshot]()
"The Bearhug team is one of the top executive search firms in the nation. They have a very unique perspective on building and scaling companies and I highly recommend their work!"
Spencer Dusebout
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![Phil Dur Headshot]()
“I want to commend the Bearhug team for being such excellent partners to our entrepreneurs and the larger PeakSpan team. We really appreciate and value our relationship with you!"
Phil Dur
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![Jay Potter Headshot]()
"I’ve worked with dozens of search firms, and Kraig and the Bearhug team are truly something special. They put more thought into their work than almost anyone I’ve met in business."
Jay Potter
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![Gaurav Manglik Headshot]()
“Kraig and the Bearhug team are one of the best startup recruiting firms I have ever met.”
Gaurav Manglik
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![Vangelis Mihalopoulos Headshot]()
"Kraig, we are thrilled to formally finish the process. Congratulations on your helping us get an amazing new executive to our company!"
Vangelis Mihalopoulos
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![Jon Kerry-Tyerman Headshot]()
"Having seen Bearhug from both sides, as a candidate & client, their approach is unmatched. Radical transparency and hands-on coaching delivered results that felt like a miracle."
Jon Kerry-Tyerman
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![Amit Shrivastava Headshot]()
“Bearhug’s outreach stood out immediately — specific, contextual, and focused on real impact. The process was collaborative, transparent, and the most thoughtful I’ve ever experienced."
Amit Shrivastava
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![Nick Ezzo Headshot]()
“Bearhug’s approach was refreshing — transparent, knowledgeable, and focused on adding value from the start. Their approach turned a high-stakes role into a smooth, confidence-building experience.”
Nick Ezzo
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![Colin Parker Headshot]()
"Bearhug is the recruiting partner high-growth businesses need — experienced, transparent, and realistic about what’s possible in senior searches. They bring urgency and deep preparation to every step."
Colin Parker
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![Doug Brown Headshot]()
"Bearhug does things differently. The process was thoughtful, transparent, and executed with a level of rigor and insight I didn’t expect."
Doug Brown
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![Matt Fox Headshot]()
"I was initially skeptical, but Bearhug quickly proved different — down-to-earth, empathetic, and thorough. They exceeded all expectations and delivered a great outcome for both sides.”
Matt Fox
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![Jason Murante]()
"Bearhug’s process was extremely structured, efficient, and effective. Unlike anything I’d ever experienced. The level of detail and organization gave me total confidence at every step."
Jason Murante
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![Walter Rowland Headshot]()
"Getting to know the Bearhug team through such a thoughtful, structured process was a standout experience. Any high-growth startup needing specific executive hires should expect not just results, but a process that makes candidates want to join."
Walter Rowland
Bearhug Recruiting is a Boutique Executive Search Firm and Trusted Partner to Early and Growth-Stage Environmental Technology and Enterprise Software Startups Scaling From ~$3M to $100M+.
We exist on the belief that competitive advantage is a who, not a what. Great talent is the ultimate moat.
Don’t Wing Your Next Executive Hire
Most founders underestimate how risky it is to “wing it” when hiring key executives.
Even top CEOs make the same avoidable mistakes. Targeting the wrong list, pitching it poorly, or mismanaging the process, which leads to wasted time, long delays, and losing top candidates at the finish line.
That’s why we created a free report that reveals the 27 most painful mistakes CEOs make prior to launching an executive search and the exact steps to take to avoid each one.
Get your setup process right from the start, and your search will move faster, attract stronger talent, and might even spare you from needing to hire a firm like ours.
Free Report: The 27 Most Painful & Expensive Mistakes Tech Startup CEOs Make Before Launching an Executive Search (and How to Avoid Them)
Why Bearhug?
Most firms recycle tired networks, cut corners, or bill you no matter the results.
We don’t.
The Proof Is in the Data
Across 6,495 candidates we’ve personally recruited since 2018, only 157 have ever overlapped on a second search (and none on a third).
That’s a 97.6% unique candidate rate. Proof that every Bearhug search is built from scratch, not recycled inventory.
Why This Freaks Out Other Recruiters
Most firms can’t believe it, because 99.9% of recruiters start by mining their own database first before going out to find new people.
We do the opposite, and take pride in it.
It’s a totally unconventional (and admittedly harder) way to run search… yet we’re still 2.5× faster than the industry average. Go figure.
How We Do It
We start with exactly what you, the client, want us to go find.
Then we build a fresh market map from the ground up, every time.
And this is the result, even though we work almost exclusively with early-stage, GTM-focused startups and candidates clustered in major tech hubs.
The Result
A process built for precision, transparency, and speed.
2.5× faster results than the industry average.
Top 10% talent that other recruiters can’t reach.
Hires that stick, because we only do it the hard (and right) way.
Bonus: With every search engagement at Bearhug, we don’t just “Fish & Dish”. We also take pride in teaching you and your team how to fish for yourselves going forward. Our unconventional approach will transform the way you and your team do recruiting. So beyond our helping you fill one or more critical GTM gaps to accelerate your startup’s success, you’ll see we’re in this to also help empowering you for the long game.
As our client, you’ll receive access to all the systems and templates we use to run your search. We’ll also show you how to adapt every one of our proven strategies as a system you can use for all your future hiring needs, across every role and department. Because helping you and your team proactively grow your networks and fine-tune each department’s recruiting funnels is equally as important as filling an immediate gap on your executive team.
Three Reasons CEOs Choose Bearhug
#1. An Unconventional Approach: We don’t recycle tired networks. We start fresh, review thousands of profiles, and handpick a short list of 5–7 leaders who are qualified, interested, and available. More than half will tell you they ignored every other recruiter but took our call. That’s the difference.
#2. A Zero-Risk Performance Partnership: We put skin in the game. Our fees are tied to milestones, not time. Within 21 days, you’ll have at least two interview-worthy candidates, or we refund your engagement fee. In reality, most clients hire after just 3–4 interviews, with signed offers in ~50 days (2.5× faster than the industry average).
#3. A Boutique Model with Flexible Fees: You’ll never be one of 20 searches on someone’s desk. Each partner runs no more than three at a time, so you and your candidates get the white-glove experience required to close the top 10% of the market. And through our Easy Button MSA, we make the economics work, with discounts that compound over time, placement credits, and deferred invoicing when we see a true long-term partnership.
The Result: Nearly every client becomes a repeat client. VC firms introduce us across their portfolios (both pre & post funding). And candidates often describe the process as the most thorough and thoughtful recruiting experience of their careers.
We don’t just fill roles. We help you build the executive dream team that will transform your company and unlock $100M+ in revenue scale.
Our Customers Have Spoken
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![Kourosh Zamani Headshot]()
"Bearhug's in a category of its own. It's not even fair to compare them to other recruiters. Their process and work product blew me away."
Kourosh Zamani
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![Maria Khokhlova Headshot]()
"Bearhug helped us hire damn great department heads who've all built out strong teams. We’re growing 10% MoM & have expanded to 30 states!"
Maria Khokhlova
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![Himanshu Gupta Headshot]()
"Bearhug found our winning candidate within 7 days. Towards the end, it felt like they were our own Chief People Officer."
Himanshu Gupta
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![Robert Romano Headshot]()
“Working with Bearhug was worth every penny and every minute. I now have a new standard for how I'll recruit for all future hires.”
Robert Romano
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![Somya Kapoor Headshot]()
“I’ve recommended Bearhug to my board and will promote them to the other startup founders in my network. They've done an amazing job!"
Somya Kapoor
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![Richard DeFrancisco Headshot]()
"Of the 55 Executive Search Firms I've worked with, none had the follow-up, professionalism, thoroughness & enthusiasm as Bearhug Recruiting."
Richard DeFrancisco
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![Aaron Elder Headshot]()
“Bearhug's unwavering drive & persistence gave me the confidence they'd get the job done. We found an amazing "diamond in the rough!"
Aaron Elder
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![Ryan Alshak Headshot]()
“Bearhug's a N of 1 at what they do. Any VC portfolio company with go-to-market hiring would be very lucky to work with them.”
Ryan Alshak
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![Dmitry Korolev Headshot]()
"Now I really know what it means to be a "great recruiter". I'm afraid there is an impossible gap between Bearhug and the rest."
Dmitry Korolev
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![Ivan Lvov Headshot]()
“Bearhug helped us hire all of our GTM function heads. Monthly sales have grown ~3x. Plus our team freaking loved working with them!”
Ivan Lvov
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![Rohit Gupta Headshot]()
"Bearhug's hiring window was solid. The process was solid. Our needs were met effectively which is why I’ve come back for all our GTM roles."
Rohit Gupta
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![Sriram Ramachandran Headshot]()
"Bearhug's approach was structured & methodical which helped us ferret out candidates we simply would not find through other means."
Sriram Ramachandran
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![Josh Hailpern Headshot]()
"The experience with Bearhug was like a breath of fresh air. We hired a great new CEO and the way they serviced us was amazing.”
Josh Hailpern
Try Our "Free Position Brief GPT"
Try Our "Free Position Brief GPT"
Land a 10x Executive in Under an Hour — Just By Talking Into Your Phone.
Early & Growth Stage CEOs: It’s Reality Check Time.
Ready or not, you must face the following 7 truths:
Executive recruiting done right (especially for early-stage GTM roles) is hard.
Constant GTM recruiting done right is even harder.
Transitioning from founder-led everything, and passing the baton to other GTM leaders at critical inflection points is deeply uncomfortable (yet necessary).
Filling holes from unexpected (or planned) Executive leadership departures is painful, costly, and time consuming.
Executive recruitment while important, comes in sporadic volumes and requires a totally different skill-set, strategy, and approach (especially at the early-stage).
A single Executive mis-hire at the early-stage could cost you 18-24 months of lost productivity and upwards of ~$3m in hard cost and opportunity cost and might even sink the business.
While you might find success filling these key early-stage GTM roles using your network, your still missing out on ~95% of the best people the market has to offer your startup
Two Questions Your Investors Ask Themselves Prior to Each Board Meeting:
“Can this CEO recruit a world-class management team?”
“Can they do it again and again at each stage of the company’s growth?”
If NOT, it’s just a matter of time before they will coordinate to bring in a new CEO who can.
The 5 Reasons Executive Searches Fail
The number one reason executive searches fail is that they aren’t set up properly from the start. Teams go in unclear or misaligned on what the role truly requires.
The second reason executive searches fail is that you end up with a weak flow of qualified candidates. Mostly B’s and C’s instead of the A-players you really need.
The third reason executive searches fail is that decision-makers end up disagreeing while choosing from a slate of look-alike finalists. None of whom stand out as the clear fit.
The fourth reason executive searches fail is hesitation. Causing you to lose out on one or more A-players you fully intended to close.
The fifth reason executive searches fail is clinging to past hiring decisions, and waiting too long to replace B’s and C’s with A-players, who won’t tolerate working alongside lesser talent.
US Recruiting Snapshot
Why do 40% of Startups Outsource Recruiting?
Because they failed to fill the role on their own…
They’d prefer to focus on growing the business…
To improve the quality by using a specialist…
To dramatically reduce their cost per hire…
The Bottom Line: Candidate due diligence takes time. And time is what’s lacking in most startup executives' lives. Let us take the weight off your shoulders and give you back ~200+ hours of your time while making sure you build a world-class leadership team!
Speaking of making your life easier, have you seen our “Hallway of Hugs” yet? If not check it out [here].
The Partnership Journey
You need help. We can deliver. But first, let’s invest a few minutes getting acquainted to ensure we’ll be a good fit.
Step 1
30-Minute Discovery Diagnostic
This session is designed to give us a clear picture of your recruiting workflow, immediate priorities, and 3–12 month headcount plan. We’ll identify what’s working, where the bottlenecks are, and what’s needed to achieve your hiring goals.
Following this diagnostic, our team will develop a customized recruitment solution tailored to your needs, which we’ll review together during a second call to refine and finalize.
Step 2
60-Minute Solutioning Session
This session is where strategy turns into structure. Building on insights from your Diagnostic Call, we’ll walk through a customized recruiting solution designed around your goals, budget, and growth timeline.
Together, we’ll refine the plan, adjust scope or priorities as needed, and finalize the roadmap to launch your next critical hire with clarity and confidence.
Step3
Customized
Proposal
Each proposal is crafted from the ground up after a full assessment of your hiring goals, internal process, brand reputation, and our available capacity.
We tailor every engagement to ensure the right strategy, structure, and outcomes — not a one-size-fits-all approach. ❤️
Battle Tested Workflow
While placing senior GTM leaders into early & growth stage software companies is our core focus, our proven approach works for any role, seniority, company size, industry, or location.
By partnering exclusively with Bearhug, you can go ahead and start celebrating early.
Why?
Because Steve Jobs was right…
“I noticed that the dynamic range between what an average person could accomplish and what the best person could accomplish was 50 or 100 to 1. A small team of A-players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players.”
-Steve Jobs
Services Menu
“Top of Funnel Talent”
Targeted passive candidate sourcing & automated outreach campaigns designed to book pre-approved candidates directly to the Hiring Authority’s calendar.
*Perfect for early-stage startups on a tight budget with critical, low-to-mid-level or higher-volume recruiting needs.
“The Master Platter”
Bearhug’s comprehensive white-glove service, that guarantees both clients & candidates have a world-class search experience (maximum risk reduction and guaranteed positive outcomes).
*Ideal for well-funded startups with critical senior-level GTM or C-suite hiring needs willing to pay for the top 10% of the talent pool.
The Business Case For Bearhug
Success Metrics
Let our KPIs drive yours, as we help you scale from Seed to Series C and help you unlock $100M in revenue scale.
Top 10%
2.4x Faster
What We Expect of You
Urgency: We’ll expect you have the intention of filling your vacancy within 90 days. If you want to move at a slower pace, you’ll be better off working with another search provider.
Whatever It Takes Attitude: You must be so committed to securing the strongest talent, that traditional HR protocol is secondary. Exceptional candidates often require exceptions to the rules.
Stakeholder Participation: All members of the search committee must approve the Search Blueprint & Scorecard prior to kick-off. Team collaboration from start to finish is mandatory for search success.
Communication: We require immediate and ongoing feedback from our clients throughout the search, and ask that you return our phone calls and emails within 1-business day.
Integrity: Your commitment to being on time for meetings with the Bearhug team and our Candidates must be your bond of integrity. The same goes for adhering to the rules of our signed fee agreement.
We Fish.
& We Dish.
What You Can Expect From Us
Client Onboarding: Our proprietary 2-hour “Search Blueprint & Scorecard” deep-dive intake session ensures every member of the search committee remains fully aligned from the start. This process ensures easier decision making in the end.
Collaboration & Transparency: You’ll get full visibility into our real-time daily activity metrics and candidate pipeline as it grows via our proprietary client portal. This allows you to help shape the search at each stage, ensuring we’re always going in the right direction.
Interview Preparation & Debriefing: Prior to interviewing our candidates, you’ll be provided with an incredibly robust write-up (and if desired, a verbal summary) on each candidate. We also conduct interview debrief sessions with both sides within 24 hours and log visible notes.
Reference Checks & Negotiations: We’ll do our part to ensure every finalists is fully vetted by strategically selected references, and are pre-closed with hypothetical offer scenarios. This will reduce friction and eliminate surprises during the negotiation process. You can expect our candidates to sign their offer letter within 24 hours.
Transition Support & Onboarding: Our work continues far beyond just getting the offer letter signed. We stay involved and support both sides through the candidate’s resignation, start date, and on through their first 12-months of employment.
Speed: Critical leadership hires often take 6-12 months. Yet, we aim to secure you a top-tier placement within ~60 days. You can trust we’ll make you look good in front of your Board.
Money Savings: Our competition charges 33.3% of the new hires first year comp, and you’ll often have to pay the full fee regardless of the placement being made. We typically charge a fixed fee so we’re NOT incentivized to bring you the most expensive candidates.
Time Savings: It can take 200+ hrs to run a comprehensive and exhaustive search process from start to finish. Why not let us handle this for you, so you and your team can stay focused building the business?
Time To Revenue: One of our KPIs is tracking our candidates “Time to Revenue” (the time it takes for the new hire to pay for themselves + cover our fee). It’s a benefit of our follow up cadence and something our clients value in addition to the reduction in overall cost per/hire.
Risk Reduction: Avoid the costly mistake of a mis-hire which for a senior role can exceed 15x their annual salary. Let’s reduce your risk by ~90%+ via our battle tested workflow.
Ready for your bearhug?
FAQs
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We Diagnose First, Price Second.
Just like a great mechanic, we don’t quote before inspection. Every engagement begins with a free 30-Minute Discovery Diagnostic, the first step to clarify your goals, workflow, and 3–12-month headcount plan. From there, we co-design a custom recruiting roadmap and craft a tailored proposal that fits your growth stage, urgency, and complexity.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Only precision-fit solutions.
While we’re certainly not your cheapest option, it’ll be hard to work with another search firm once you’ve tried Bearhug. Each proposal is built from scratch after we fully understand your requirements, brand reputation, internal hiring process, and our available capacity.
One of our biggest advantages is the flexibility of our pricing model. Invest 30 minutes with us, and there’s a strong chance we can accommodate both your recruiting needs and your budget, without compromise on quality or outcomes.
💡 What You’ll Gain
Certainty: A proven system that delivers the right hire, fast.
Clarity: A roadmap that aligns your entire team before outreach.
Continuity: A partner who evolves with you as your needs scale.
🔧 Time for a Recruiting System Check-Up: Every early- and growth-stage CEO tunes their product and GTM engine, but rarely their hiring engine.
Start with your free 30-Minute Discovery Diagnostic, and we’ll pinpoint where your recruiting workflow may be costing you time, talent, or traction.👉 [Book Your Discovery Diagnostic Call]
And don’t forget to ask about our Easy Button MSA, the most capital-efficient, outcome-based fee structure in the market. -
Historically, our average search takes us 50.7 days from kick-off to getting a signed offer letter. However, that number is skewed due to some extreme outliers.
We have a lot of control over how quickly things happen during the first 30 days (getting people into your internal process) and very little control with how fast you move things along afterward.
However, we typically work with clients to align both sides of the workflow in order to complete any given search within ~60 days (+/- 15 day).
Click [here] to book a call to discuss your needs and timeline. -
While a competent Headhunter can help you fill any role you need, regardless of industry, function, seniority, size, or location, Bearhug has built its entire reputation on filling executive GTM, Finance/Ops, and Product roles.
Click [here] to discuss your needs with us. -
100% of our search practice fits into either the “Environmental Technology” or “Enterprise Software” category (often both).
However, the team always gets the most excited to support founders and investment teams focused on building cutting edge solutions that bring some form of digital transformation to the physical world (e.g. “Environmental Technology”).
These solutions often involve solving incredibly complex scientific and engineering challenges and require large capital investments and R&D cycles before the product is ready to be commercialized. These solutions are often referred to as Frontier Tech, Hard Tech, or DeepTech companies.
Click [here] to discuss your needs and timeline with us. -
We offer a Zero Risk “Performance Partnership” Guarantee.
(1) You’ll receive 2 interview-worthy candidates (or 1 you hire) within 21 days of search commencement on our Executive Search service or we'll refund your “engagement fee”.
(2) Our 2nd invoice is typically due at the point you’ve chosen to have a 1st interview from one or more of the candidates on our slate during our weekly status calls that begin 2-3 weeks after search kick-off.
(3) Our 3rd invoice is only due upon making the placement, meaning 100% of the risk is on OUR shoulders. We either deliver, or you pay nothing.
Click [here] to discuss your needs and timeline. -
Of course. Head on over to our “Hallway of Hugs” to see what over 100+ people we’ve worked with have to say. Free to contact any one of them. They’ll all tell you we do great work.
Click [here] to discuss your needs and timeline.
Let’s Talk.
hello@bearhugrecruiting.com
(858) 779-4769
Bearhug’s San Francisco Bay Area Headquarters:
98 Graceland Dr.
San Rafael, CA 94901
Bearhug’s South-East Headquarters:
1985 Riviera Dr Ste 103 - 1156
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464