Founder Resources

Early & Growth Stage Startup Founder Recruiting Insights

"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
"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
"Bearhug found our winning candidate within 7 days. Towards the end, it felt like they were our own Chief People Officer."

Himanshu Gupta
“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
“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
"Of the 55 Executive Search Firms I've worked with, none had the follow-up, professionalism, thoroughness & enthusiasm as Bearhug Recruiting."

Richard DeFrancisco
“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
“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
"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
“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
"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
"Bearhug's approach was structured & methodical which helped us ferret out candidates we simply would not find through other means."

Sriram Ramachandran
"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

Kraig Ward 9/16/25 Kraig Ward 9/16/25

Bearhug Recruiting Releases Free Persuasive Position Brief GPT — The 1st Building Block of Our $10K Search Accelerator Workshop, Helping Startup CEOs Cut Hiring Timelines & Land 10x Exec Hires.

Most CEOs think they’re ready to launch an exec search if they’ve got momentum, a strong team, and a great network. But without the right setup, top candidates ignore you, inbound wastes time, and the process stalls. That’s why we pulled the first building block out of our $10K Search Accelerator Workshop and made it free: the Persuasive Position Brief GPT. In under an hour, by simply talking into your phone and answering 21 questions, you’ll generate a candidate-facing asset that flips top talent from “not looking” to leaning in — while cutting your hiring timeline in half.

Kraig Ward 9/16/25 Kraig Ward 9/16/25

Bearhug Recruiting Launches — The Search Accelerator Workshop — A $10K Executive Hiring Framework Funded by VC Partner Credits, Giving Portfolio CEOs Free Access to De-Risked Searches and 10x Hires.

Announcing the Search Accelerator Workshop: A $10K Foundation Now Funded by VCs. Executive searches don’t fail because of weak talent pools — they fail because the setup goes wrong. That’s why we built the Search Accelerator Workshop, a focused 2-hour session that equips CEOs with the same onboarding foundation our $100K+ retained clients receive. The twist? VC partners fund it through credits, so portfolio CEOs get access at no cost. This post unpacks why searches stall, what changes when setup is done right, and how VCs can give their founders a proven framework that de-risks the process, saves months of wasted time, and dramatically improves the odds of landing a 10x hire. Whether you’re a founder about to launch a critical search or an investor looking to add tangible value, here’s how this workshop makes the difference.

Kraig Ward 8/5/25 Kraig Ward 8/5/25

Why Founders Use Bearhug: The “Easy Button” Delivers Top 10% Talent Fast, Reduces Your Involvement by 90%, and Helps You Close Execs Who Can Actually Get You to $100M+ Revenue Scale.

Most executive search firms still operate like it’s 2015 — slow, expensive, and built for large, slow-moving enterprises. But you need a model that matches today’s speed, budget, and stakes. That’s why we created the Easy Button — a reengineered executive search model built specifically for VC-backed companies scaling from Seed to Series C and looking to unlock $100M in revenue scale. In this video, I’ll show you how Bearhug’s system helps you move faster, avoid costly mis-hires, and land top 10% passive talent — with guaranteed results, real-time visibility, and zero risk if we don’t deliver.

Kraig Ward 6/16/25 Kraig Ward 6/16/25

Bearhug’s Secret Sauce: The 5-Step Executive Search Method Trusted by Founders, CEOs, and Investors to Hire Top 10% Talent and Scale from Seed to Series C — Unlocking $100M in Revenue Scale.

In this video, Bearhug founder Kraig Ward walks through the 5 ingredients behind our reengineered executive search model — including our proprietary Search Blueprint and Scorecard, deep market mapping across 5,000–10,000 profiles, omnipresent outreach that breaks through the noise, our Long-Form Story Weaving process that gets passive candidates to pitch themselves, and our master controls that keep searches tight, fast, and aligned. If you're hiring GTM, Finance, or Product leaders to unlock $100M scale, this is the playbook.

Kraig Ward 6/9/25 Kraig Ward 6/9/25

From Bread Loaves to Boardrooms: How My Unconventional Path Led to Building Bearhug Recruiting — and What It Means for Founders Hiring GTM, Product, and Finance Execs on the Road to $100M+

Born the 10th of 11 kids in a goat-milk, bread-baking Mormon household, I took a different path — one that led from online funnels to venture-backed GTM consulting to founding Bearhug Recruiting. After seeing firsthand how outdated executive search was, I rebuilt it for founders like you: faster, leaner, and purpose-built to land top 10% GTM, Product, and Finance execs. We call our new approach “The Easy Button” — a smarter system that cuts founder lift by 90% and delivers pre-sold, passive candidates in 7 days. If you're hiring for a mission-critical role and aiming for $100M+ revenue scale, this is how executive search should work.

"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
"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
"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
“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
“Bearhug helped one of our portfolio companies hire almost their entire US C-level team, that enabled the business to scale from 1 to 20M+ over the last 4 years. They are truly awesome.”

Anton Fedorov
"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
“Kraig and the Bearhug team are one of the best startup recruiting firms I have ever met.”

Gaurav Manglik
"Kraig, we are thrilled to formally finish the process. Congratulations on your helping us get an amazing new executive to our company!"

Vangelis Mihalopoulos
"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
“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
“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
"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
"Bearhug does things differently. The process was thoughtful, transparent, and executed with a level of rigor and insight I didn’t expect."

Doug Brown
"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
"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
"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

Founder Resources

"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."

"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!"

"Bearhug found our winning candidate within 7 days. Towards the end, it felt like they were our own Chief People Officer."

“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.”

“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!"

"Of the 55 Executive Search Firms I've worked with, none had the follow-up, professionalism, thoroughness & enthusiasm as Bearhug Recruiting."

“Bearhug's unwavering drive & persistence gave me the confidence they'd get the job done. We found an amazing "diamond in the rough!"

“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.”

"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."

“Bearhug helped us hire all of our GTM function heads. Monthly sales have grown ~3x. Plus our team freaking loved working with them!”

"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."

"Bearhug's approach was structured & methodical which helped us ferret out candidates we simply would not find through other means."

"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.”

Bearhug Recruiting Releases Free Persuasive Position Brief GPT — The 1st Building Block of Our $10K Search Accelerator Workshop, Helping Startup CEOs Cut Hiring Timelines & Land 10x Exec Hires.

Bearhug Recruiting Launches — The Search Accelerator Workshop — A $10K Executive Hiring Framework Funded by VC Partner Credits, Giving Portfolio CEOs Free Access to De-Risked Searches and 10x Hires.

Why Founders Use Bearhug: The “Easy Button” Delivers Top 10% Talent Fast, Reduces Your Involvement by 90%, and Helps You Close Execs Who Can Actually Get You to $100M+ Revenue Scale.

Bearhug’s Secret Sauce: The 5-Step Executive Search Method Trusted by Founders, CEOs, and Investors to Hire Top 10% Talent and Scale from Seed to Series C — Unlocking $100M in Revenue Scale.

From Bread Loaves to Boardrooms: How My Unconventional Path Led to Building Bearhug Recruiting — and What It Means for Founders Hiring GTM, Product, and Finance Execs on the Road to $100M+

"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."

"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."

"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!"

“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!"

“Bearhug helped one of our portfolio companies hire almost their entire US C-level team, that enabled the business to scale from 1 to 20M+ over the last 4 years. They are truly awesome.”

"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."

“Kraig and the Bearhug team are one of the best startup recruiting firms I have ever met.”

"Kraig, we are thrilled to formally finish the process. Congratulations on your helping us get an amazing new executive to our company!"

"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."

“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."

“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.”

"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."

"Bearhug does things differently. The process was thoughtful, transparent, and executed with a level of rigor and insight I didn’t expect."

"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.”

"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."

"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."

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