The UK recruitment sector exudes entrepreneurial spirit – and, with few barriers to entry, the growth in the number of trading enterprises has only been curtailed by recent events. The number on the UK Business Register continued a steady ascendency through to 2019, largely courtesy of a sharp increase in the number of businesses offering perm-centric (placement) services. The pandemic changed everything however, resulting in significantly fewer start-ups and – notably in 2020 and 2022 – more business deaths than births. Opportunity clearly knocked again, however, as – by March 2024 – the number of recruitment enterprises on the Register had risen again.

Far from falling fate to these tumultuous recent years, the businesses of the five shortlisted candidates for Recruiter Award’s Entrepreneur of the year have all flourished – with two born during the pandemic. Keen to understand whether there was commonality in the DNA of recruitment founders, we sought out the triggers behind each entrepreneur’s decision to establish their business.

The entrepreneurial trigger

For two of those shortlisted, being involved as a team member in building a business and taking it through to exit was the catalyst for setting up their own. After an MBO of Astbury Marsden, his previous company where he had been a senior management team member, Nicholas Barton exited in 2007 and set up The Barton Partnership, with a plan to build a niche executive recruitment and consulting firm.

“I wanted candidates to engage with people who had operated at a similar level and truly understood the client markets that they were placing into,” said Barton. He was also intent on elevating the company into the professional services arena, positioning the business “at the intersection of consulting and recruitment”.

For 5Values’ Tom White, having joined People Source Consulting on a commission-only basis in 2009, he earned himself £500k and generated over £5m in fees for the business. White reflects that, operating in this way, he was already, effectively, working for himself. By 2015, when the business was sold to the Manpower Group, he had secured an equity partnership, providing the capital to go it alone. “I wanted to build my own entity, but I did have a moment when I asked myself whether I could do it again.” He clearly could, as he knew how to succeed through having a laser-focus on niche and evolving in-demand skills. This time, however, the business would operate “as a hybrid between systems integrator and recruiter”.

Emérique & Partners’ founder and CEO Emérique Opou had supported a previous employer with the business planning that enabled a ‘start-up’ of a niche offering in a new geography. After then being headhunted elsewhere, she realised that “the company’s ambitions were bigger than the opportunity, as so much of the market was controlled by bigger players and procurement protocols”. To work around them, it was essential to operate in a niche, maintain exceptional client and candidate relationships and be a font of market intelligence. Therein, the kernel of the idea for her own, differentiated business was born – but without any exit equity, she had to go it alone until she could afford to hire her first employee eight months later. In terms of where Opou’s drive came from, she attributes it to her mother’s journey from Congo to France, where her dentistry qualifications were not recognised and she had to start from scratch to reinvent herself – eventually becoming Mayor of Lyon and the publisher of 21 books.

Sam Spoors, founder and MD at Talentheads, similarly wanted to break the mould. Having worked in both agency and in-house recruitment, she sought to combine the needs and perspectives of both. “Working in-house,” she recalled, “I gained a valuable understanding of the wider issues relating to talent acquisition – notably how recruitment works within the wider HR function, which in turn is delivering on the business strategy. Agencies provide the invaluable ear to the ground, which employers – who typically work in their own bubble – need.” Spoors’ Talentheads’ vision would help growth businesses build high-performing TA functions through talent strategy, L&D, coaching and recruitment support – but, like Opou, she started solo, until funds allowed her to start to build her team.

For Hayley Pugh, MD of Oakley Recruitment, with 20 years of recruitment experience, two young children and an upbringing within an entrepreneurial setting, the pandemic gave her time to reflect on how she wanted to continue her recruitment career. By October of 2020, she had set up her own business operating from home and offered team members the opportunity to do the same.

Company and individual evolution

Having gained an understanding of the origins of their concepts and the catalyst for set-up, we on the judging panel were also keen to chart the evolution of their business and the entrepreneurial skills that they believe have enabled their success.

I gained a valuable understanding of the wider issues relating to talent acquisition

While it was clear from an early stage that White’s new business would succeed – achieving £2m turnover in its first trading year – he wanted the company to be a force for good within the world of digital transformation. The subsequent rebranding to 5Values Consulting Group (which includes 5V Tech, 5V Video and 5V Media) reinforced the importance of the company’s five guiding principles, aimed at “doing right by our team, our partners and the planet”. The achievement of B Corp Certification in December 2023 is, for White, “proof that we're on the right path, ensuring our actions reflect our values”. White has also actively sought to be “part of the industry”, hosting The IoT Podcast (in which he interviews notable industry leaders and influencers) and serving as a World Economic Forum Expert Member (on AI and IoT [internet of things]). And his key to entrepreneurial success? “Innovation, purpose, drive… and a hell of a lot of perseverance.”

With 20 years as a top biller and an entrepreneurial upbringing, Pugh was confident in taking a calculated risk in setting up her business. Like White, team-nurturing was a key focus – including the training of six from scratch – “setting new standards for wellbeing, work-life balance, flexibility and personal development”. While the team now operate on a hybrid basis, Pugh advocates flexible working and “knows what it means to people of all ages and backgrounds to be able to work where and how they work best”. With 0% staff turnover since set-up – and one team member noting that “working for Oakley Recruitment is ‘living the dream’ ” – Pugh hopes that “by showing this model works for busy, profitable recruiters”, as Oakley Recruitment has now become, “working conditions across the sector may be enhanced”.

‘Bravery, community and legacy’ could not be more fitting core values for a company steered by Spoors – a truly inspirational lady with grit and determination at her core. The vision for Talentheads, started from her kitchen table in 2020, was to support growing businesses by providing internal recruitment teams that develop alongside the client’s team until they can take over the operation. The company achieved its five-year mission with plenty of time to spare, having already supported 200+ businesses and created 600+ local jobs. Along the journey, Spoors was recognised as the North East Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year in 2023. And in recently reaching the company’s four-year trading milestone, she said: “Scaling is fabulous; however, it uses every inch of energy, cash, profitability… non-negotiables for a business focused on legacy.” Crucially, however, “it doesn't get easier. It evolves to the next milestone which pushes you further, teaches you things and surrounds you with new challenges”.

“Determination, dedication and discipline” are what Emérique & Partners’ Opou credits for entrepreneurial success – all duly tested during the pandemic, the Great Resignation, which included the unexpected loss of two team members – and the company’s expansion into new geographies and service offerings. Her headhunting firm set out to service the notoriously tough French market – placing actuaries, quantitative analysts, risk and compliance specialists into top investment banks, insurance companies and consulting firms – and is now the market leader in this niche. Having extended its offerings into Germany and Luxembourg, she also established a contracts operation in France. Opou’s lesson? “You need to anticipate that there will be difficulties.” And she acknowledges that it is how you overcome these difficulties that defines you. Noting that “it is extremely rare to see a woman leading an international recruitment company, especially within the male-dominated financial services sector”, it is no surprise to see that she was recognised as early as 2022 on the ‘SIA Global Power 150 Women’ list – and Recruiter highlighted her as ‘One to Watch’ in this year’s award.

Driven by “a constant desire to evolve, grow and move forward, my mind doesn’t stop thinking about how to grow and become better versions of us as a company and myself as a person”, admits Barton. Business milestones included hiring NEDs with notable management consultancy expertise, appointing Tara Ricks (former MD of Joslin Rowe and Randstad’s UK Professional Services portfolio, owner and partner of Elite Leaders, multiple non-executive directors and Recruiter’s Business Advice columnist) as executive chair, inclusion within the Forbes World’s Best Management Consulting Firms and the FT’s Best UK Consulting Network.

Moreover, the recent addition of a curated network of 8,500 consultants, offering fractional advisory services as “a genuine alternative to the traditional consulting model” is game-changing. And the transformation of the wider ecosystem, incentivising cross-selling across the three teams (permanent search, independent consulting and advisory) is a transformative move. Barton, himself, has been on a journey to his ‘next world’ for a while – “one not predicated by solely focusing on running the business” – including investing in other companies and advising entrepreneurs, notably those with a headcount of 10-30, how to scale. The evolution of the company and the individual made Barton the worthy winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year accolade.

It evolves to the next milestone, which pushes you further and teaches you new things

Author’s notes: Having founded two businesses myself – and, in between time, worked for an organisation who grew to become the world’s third largest recruitment group (Vedior) by identifying and nurturing entrepreneurialism – the opportunity to judge this year’s Entrepreneur of the Year category was a privilege. The reason for offering to write this piece, however, was because behind every ‘awards’ process are incredible real-life stories that deserve to be more widely heard. As such, all five shortlisted contenders should take a bow.

Belinda Johnson is the owner of employment research consultancy Worklab

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