Executive Search Solutions for High-Growth Tech Startups
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Building Exceptional Leadership Teams for the Future of Tech
RKO Partners specializes in crafting bespoke search strategies tailored to the unique needs of high-growth tech startups.
Our approach is deeply collaborative. We become an extension of your internal team, embedding ourselves in your culture to ensure every leadership and key contributor hire aligns seamlessly with your vision.
Our Distinctive Approach
Our approach is built on three core principles: Results, Knowledge, and Ownership. These values guide every step of our process, ensuring we deliver high-impact leadership teams tailored to the unique needs of fast-growing tech startups.
Results
We are laser-focused on delivering measurable results that drive your business forward. In the fast-paced tech world, true results mean securing exceptional leaders who are equipped to scale with you and make a lasting impact.
How We Live It:
Tailored Strategy: We craft bespoke search strategies for both executive and specialized roles, ensuring each hire is an integral part of your growth strategy.
Impact-Focused: We define success by how our hires drive business growth and create sustainable value.
Agile Execution: We move quickly and efficiently, understanding that in tech, timing is everything.
Knowledge
We bring deep industry expertise to help fast-growing tech startups navigate leadership hiring. Our insights into talent markets, leadership trends, and organizational dynamics provide a proactive advantage, empowering you to stay ahead of the curve and adapt to your business’s evolving needs.
How We Live It:
Industry Immersion: We embed ourselves in your space, leveraging a vast network and a deep understanding of startup dynamics.
Strategic Advisory: Beyond recruiting, we guide you on role definition, compensation, and market positioning to attract top-tier talent.
Continuous Learning: We stay ahead of emerging trends in leadership and talent acquisition, ensuring your strategies are always informed by the latest insights.
Ownership
We take full ownership of every search, ensuring a seamless process and strategic alignment, resulting in hires that accelerate growth and drive performance. Acting as an extension of your team, we’re committed to delivering results that align with your long-term objectives.
How We Live It:
Embedded Partnership: We align deeply with your company’s goals and values, operating as a true extension of your team.
Accountability: We hold ourselves to the highest standards, delivering on our promises and ensuring reliability at every step.
Proactive Problem Solving: We anticipate challenges and provide creative, practical solutions to keep your search on track and aligned with your objectives.
Empowering Leadership Journeys
RKO Partners takes a personalized and strategic approach to working with candidates. Whether you’re actively exploring new opportunities or open to the right role, we provide insight, guidance, and access to top leadership positions at high-growth tech startups.
What You Can Expect:
Confidential & Strategic Guidance: We take time to understand your experience, aspirations, and leadership style to ensure the right fit.
Exclusive Access to High-Impact Roles: We connect you with leadership opportunities at some of the most innovative, fast-growing tech startups.
Transparent Process: You’ll always know where you stand. Expect honest feedback, clear communication, and support throughout the search process.
Expert Interview Coaching: We provide tailored strategies, coaching, and tips to help you excel at each stage of the interview process.
Long-Term Career Partnership: Even if the right role isn’t available today, we focus on building a lasting relationship and will continue to support your career journey.
If you’re a senior leader in tech and interested in exploring your next opportunity, we’d love to connect.
Case Studies in Scaling
Explore real-world examples of how we've built impactful leadership teams across key functions in high-growth tech companies.
Hiring a CFO to Drive Global Expansion for a Series-B Tech Company
Challenge: Preparing for rapid global expansion, the company needed to hire a strategic Chief Financial Officer to oversee financial operations, manage international budgets, and drive growth as they entered new markets.
Solution: Partnered with the Chief Executive Officer and Chief People Officer on a highly targeted search for a CFO with deep international finance experience and relevant industry expertise. Focused on candidates who could not only manage financial operations but also serve as a key strategic partner to the leadership team.
Outcome: Successfully placed a CFO who optimized financial systems for scale and ensured multi-country compliance. The hire had an immediate impact, leading to a rapid promotion within six months with the addition of Chief Operating Officer (COO) responsibilities.
Building Go-to-Market Leadership to Accelerate Hypergrowth
Challenge: As a hypergrowth company prepared for IPO, they needed to scale their sales and marketing functions with leaders who could drive revenue growth while navigating the complexities of a larger organization.
Solution: Partnered with senior GTM leaders, including the Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Marketing Officer, to recruit key VPs and Senior Directors across sales, go-to-market strategy, data and analytics, customer success, field operations and marketing. Focused on candidates with both startup agility and the ability to anticipate challenges at scale.
Outcome: Successfully placed a high-performing GTM leadership team and revenue-generating sales leaders who accelerated revenue growth, optimized customer retention, and established a scalable go-to-market strategy to support the company’s expansion.
Scaling Legal Leadership for a High-Growth Tech Company
Challenge: Amid rapid growth, the company needed to build a world-class legal leadership team to support scaling, ensure compliance, and navigate a successful IPO.
Solution: Partnered with the Chief Legal Officer to lead executive searches for multiple key legal leadership roles, including Directors and Senior Directors across corporate, commercial, product, risk and employment law.
Outcome: Successfully built a cohesive legal leadership team designed for long-term scalability, resulting in 0% leadership turnover over five years. As the company grew, several of the leaders advanced to VP roles. The team played a pivotal role in compliance, risk mitigation, and strategic decision-making through the company’s IPO and beyond.
Strengthening Product Leadership Post-IPO with Key Executive Hires
Challenge: The company was in a critical stage post-IPO, adapting to a rapidly shifting market landscape driven by the AI revolution. The Chief Product Officer sought experienced leaders to drive innovation across key areas, including core product development, pricing, and monetization strategies.
Solution: Partnered closely with the Chief Product Officer to identify and hire top-tier product executives, including VPs and Senior Directors, to lead specialized product functions. Focused on candidates with deep expertise in scaling post-IPO companies and driving revenue growth through strategic product initiatives.
Outcome: Successfully placed multiple product leaders who played a pivotal role in refining the company’s product strategy, optimizing monetization, and driving continued growth and innovation as the company scaled towards $1B in annual recurring revenue.
Meet the Founder
Rich Kahn
Founder & Executive Search Consultant
With over 15 years of executive search and talent acquisition experience, Rich has built a proven track record of helping high-growth tech startups assemble world-class leadership teams.
Rich offers a unique perspective, drawing from extensive experience in both in-house executive search and external search firms. At GitLab, he founded and led the executive search function, scaling it during the hyper-growth years leading up to and following the company’s successful 2021 IPO. Previously, he served as Vice President at a national recruiting firm, where he developed deep expertise in identifying top-tier talent and building leadership structures in fast-paced, competitive environments.
Throughout his career, Rich has successfully placed hundreds of leaders across a diverse range of functions, including engineering, product, security, sales, marketing, finance, people and operations. He is passionate about partnering with growing organizations to build leadership teams that drive innovation, fuel growth, and create long-term success.
Let's Connect
Whether you’re building a leadership team or exploring new opportunities, RKO Partners is here to support you. Get in touch to start the conversation.
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