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We are an executive search firm focused on helping startup, VC funded, pre-IPO and otherwise plain-exciting technology companies hire awesome people in EMEA and APAC.
Our customers love working with us because we like to jump right in with them. We love working with them because they understand what we're trying to achieve. The result? We'll sweat, bleed and work tirelessly to help them find the perfect, kick-ass candidates.
Our people are the most important reasons why you will want to work with us. We haven't worked in blue-chip, corporate roles and we have an aversion to wearing suits but our way of doing business matches that of our clients.
Trust us, with nearly 30 years' experience recruiting for some of the most demanding technology companies, we got this. In the absence of hanging out in a cafe for a chat, find out more about Chris & Steve here.
Culture fit is paramount. You probably know this all too well and you'll be glad to hear we are experts at identifying people who have the character and key ingredients needed for working at disruptive and challenging startups.
Why? Because we are a disruptive, ambitious and challenging startup! You should also know that we have a low tolerance for all things average.
Follow Me: 
How long have you worked in search?
Since November 2000, right before the DotCom bubble burst!
What do you like most about your job?
I love running a business. The marketing, strategy, defining your niche, your customer and doing your best to win business in that niche and be seen as an expert; it's tremendously rewarding. The best thing about recruiting is being able to work with really inspiring and exciting companies and people.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Spare time? I'm not sure what you mean? Well, I love snowboarding and windsurfing and in the breaks between I listen to plenty of music and play guitar. And web-design - it really helps keep my creative instinct satisfied. And cooking... anything that let's me be creative to be honest.
Favourite food?
Pizza! And other Italian food. I'm lucky enough to live in a place where are loads of great restaurants with different cuisines.
Favourite iPhone App?
Probably the 'Tune In' internet radio app, I have it on most days.
What would you call your autobiography?
I trust you to kill me.
If you had superpowers, what would they be?
Flight.... definitely flying. I'd love to be reincarnated as an Eagle or something, it must be amazing to be able to fly.
Which celebrity do you most resemble?
Some say Karl Pilkington, I'm not so sure. My fiancee says Bruce Willis! I say Zinedine Zidane (right up until I touch a football)
What sport(s) do you follow? Which team?
I'm a religious Formula 1 fan and watcher, that's become my main sport addiction since moving away from the UK. Lewis Hamilton is my favourite driver followed by Raikonnen and Alonso. I still follow and love football (soccer!) but I don't get to watch is as much in France.
What could you not live without?
Music, a guitar and sadly, my laptop. Tea and coffee...
Favourite movie?
Top Gun... maybe Seven.... maybe BadBoys 2 - Steve and I can quote that all day long at each other!
Favourite holiday destination?
I think Dahab in Egypt so far. I spent two weeks there last Spring and the windsurfing is amazing!
What would you do for a million bucks?
Well, I'd advise against starting a search business! I reckon I could just about give up tea and coffee...
Thing that annoys you most?
Bureaucracy and 'paper' rules that are utterly irrelevant... even more so the people who stick to those rules for no other reason than someone else has told them too, without asking why
Three guests for dinner – who are they?
Well, I reckon I'd definitely have to crash Steve's dinner and bring three guests of my own too: Keifer Sutherland, John Cleese and Kurt Cobain.... now that would be one hell of a party!
Follow Me:
How long have you worked in search?
Since October 2000
What do you like most about your job?
Changing people's lives (hopefully!) for the better, ever since I started in search the opportunity to speak with people and have them move cities or even countries has always excited me and it all starts by me contacting them.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Keeping fit, catching up with friends, cooking, travelling, going to gigs, spending time with my wife and generally enjoying life!
Favourite food?
Asian food
Favourite iPhone App?
The music app, Pandora is one I use the most, also any app that keeps me up to date with my favourite sports teams.
What would you call your autobiography?
Remember Me?!
If you had superpowers, what would they be?
Seeing into the future, thus making sure I find the perfect person for a role every time!
Which celebrity do you most resemble?
My wife says Adrien Brody!
What sport(s) do you follow? Which team?
Football, NFL, NBA, unfortunately I follow a football team that no one will have heard of, Scunthorpe Utd, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, NBA, NY Knicks
What could you not live without?
Apart from my wife ;) I'd have to say the beach, I'm very lucky to live in Sydney
Favourite movie?
Goodfella's or Scarface, slightly out of left field, Bad Boys 2 is a movie I can watch over and over again and still laugh as much as I did the first time!
Favourite holiday destination?
I recently had an amazing trip around Europe, Croatia, Italy and the Greek Islands will take some beating
What would you do for a million bucks?
Anything that would keep my ethics and dignity in tact
Thing that annoys you most?
Adults who ride bikes on the pavement!
Three guests for dinner – who are they?
Dave Grohl, Richard Branson and Stephen Fry
We aspire to be the world's best and well-known executive search firm for startup companies in the technology sector. We're not there just yet but we wake up everyday thinking of ways to be better.
Our whole company, ethos, culture, process and vision has been developed to ensure that we always find the best people. This is because we know how damaging average candidates can be to a growing business.
We relish being an agonising thorn in the side of our incumbent competitors, like Korn Ferry, Heidrick & Struggles or Spencer Stuart and we go out of our way to ensure nobody can accuse us of being slick-talking or bland!
We strive to be outstanding; being only better than them is just not good enough.
We believe the only way to achieve this is by consistently delivering results with flawless service that rocks our customer's world.
We are passionate about treating people with courtesy, honesty, decency, openness and humility. We like to work with people like us; people who are smart, have acute attention to detail, do everything to the best of their ability and who aren't afraid to make mistakes, take risks or enthusiastically disagree.
Honestly, if you don't enjoy collaborating with partners, rewarding hard work and having fun, then we're probably not the right firm for you.
...unless you're committed to building unbeatable teams and crushing your competition. We don't do average because your company needs more than average. We suspect you knew that already because you're here reading this page.
It's no secret that great people can be the difference to a company's success. It has been well-written and reiterated over and over again by almost every Venture Capitalist, Entrepreneur and CEO on the planet. In fact, some VCs say that a startup CEO should spend at least 50% of their time on hiring.
So why don't many companies devote enough time and attention to hiring? Well, average is so attainable, so in reach and sometimes so seductive it's difficult to ignore, even by the most well-intentioned companies.
Average is so middle of the road, neither great enough to promote nor bad enough to fire. Average teams and people will kill a startup before it's had a chance to flourish by eating away at your culture, productivity and motivation.
Hiring amazing people will make your existing team better, they'll get everyone to step up their game and increase productivity across the board. They're able to produce almost miraculous amounts of work that you previously thought would take 10 people.
We can't emphasize enough how much better it is for a company to have fewer brilliant people than many average people. And the best part; awesome people also make it easier to attract other amazing people.
A typical Akascia client designs, creates, builds, deploys and sells software, hardware or services to other businesses. They are ALWAYS awesome, usually have less than 1000 employees and have probably been around for less than 10 to 15 years. Often they are private, pre-IPO with VC funding and sometimes they are publicly-listed.
If you're a VC, incubator or early-stage startup then you should definitely contact us to find out about our equity-based fees for you or your portfolio companies.
We really get a kick out of working with companies who are challenging larger incumbents. We understand their need for outstanding people who can handle a somewhat chaotic environment; autonomous, tenacious people who don't need a department of people behind them to make a sale or resolve a support case.
We've worked for companies with cloud-based, on-premise, perpetual, subscription, XaaS, indirect, direct, high-touch, channel and virtually every other license or sales model you can think of (and probably some you can't).
Our clients often use us to find their first people in a region and generally that starts with sales staff. Once we're dialled-in to a client's culture, we are then really effective at handling most of their hiring, regardless of the department or seniority.
Our extensive network and search expertise gives our customers access to the very best people from Senior Individual Contributors to VP-level across Sales, Marketing, Services, Support and Research & Engineering.
Our process is thorough, considered, well-honed and designed to reach only the very best candidates. We believe working in a retained or exclusive manner is the only way we can commit to the level of service required to ensure you consider only the most awesome people that bring real value to growing companies.
We never have and never will use online resume databases or job boards and we only use proven executive search and headhunting techniques. This means you will see candidates from us that you would otherwise never have known about; those who rarely need to pursue an application, have neither the time nor inclination to engage in talent pipelining and who are seldom found by other methods.
Finding and keeping amazing customers is hard work. But working and collaborating closely with them makes it easier for us to find and attract the best candidates.
We consider our clients to be part of the family and just over there --> you can read about what they have to say about us. And the best part is that hardly any of these testimonials were coerced from our clients under duress!
“I love working with Akascia because.both Chris and Steve follow through on their commitment to present qualified candidates that spot on met our requirements. They also have wonderful personalities and are extremely easy to work with. We definitely have them on our list for future recruitment needs.”
“Steve is fantastic to work with, driven to obtain the goals of both parties and ensures that the communication channel is flowing both ways, a challenge when dealing with people on a global scale.”
“Chris helped us to secure the right candidates intelligently managing our involvement to make the selection process an efficient and successful exercise. From my perspective, they are one of the most competent recruitment teams in the Telecoms industry. Working with Akascia is like having your own specialist recruitment department. Thanks Chris!”
“Steve took on two projects that had been difficult for our U.S. based recruitment operation to hire due to timezone differences as well as understanding the local market conditions. We worked well together to move candidates through the stages of interviewing. Steve kept me informed as to his progress, concerns or questions candidates were asking, and he successfully helped close out both positions with well qualified and motivated new hires. I felt that I had found a partner in the Asia Pacific region, and am very happy to recommend his services and firm for any challenging technical hire. He is very pleasant to work with as well!”
“Chris has been providing extensive recruitment services for Redback in Europe and Asia helping us to identify the right talent to drive our business forward. I look forward to working with him again.”
“Chris was a really efficient and creative recruiter, demonstrating strong negotiation skills and also a keen and personable approach. I would engagement of his services whenever you have a recruitment need that requires an attentive and technically skilled approach.”
“Steve was very helpful and quick to turn work around at short notice. His efforts are much appreciated and he was always polite, focused and results driven.”
“Steve operates in a very professional, non-intrusive manner, and quickly identifies the right person for the right job.”
“Steve facilitated my appointment at a new position. Everything professionally and efficiently handled.”
Here you will find a few resources and tips to help you hire awesome people at your tech startup. If you want a bit more advice, we're always happy to have a conversation about your hiring plans, strategy and some of the best ways to go about it. Just contact us to set up a time in our schedule.
Are your sales hires kickin' ass? Or just...meh? You do want to hire better sales people don't you? Check out this infographic about what we think about this problem.
Tired of working with annoying, average recruiters? Take a fun look at how we stack up against our competition and why we're a great fit for companies like yours.
Made a hiring mistake? We've all done it at some stage and this infographic highlights some of the costs to your business. Read it and make sure it doesn't happen again!
Can a Headhunter Help you? To make life a bit easier for you, we bashed our heads together and thought of 10 essential, straight-to-the-point questions we would ask a headhunter to be sure they wouldn't waste our time and money.
VCs have a huge amount of experience in hiring great people and have seen first hand how important building unbeatable teams is. So we put together a few essential tips from leading tech VCs about how to hire the best.
Eight average ways average companies find average people. Which ones are you using? Maybe you should think about avoiding them for your most critical hires!
Headhunters are out to get your engineers! Here's five tips to stop your best engineers from being poached and probably make them much happier.
Want more information about Akascia? who we are? who we work with? and what we do? Look no further.
Whats the difference between retained and contingent recruiting? This is our way of explaining why a retained search is still the First Class method of hiring for your business.
Want to know more about crowdfunded investments, check this article out
If you're not on LinkedIn or Facebook or Twitter, you really should be. A great article about the death of the job board and the birth of job hunting on social media.
Does your company scream 'I should be an Akascia client'? Do you want to work with a vibrant, challenging firm that doesn't accept anything average? Do you enjoy a similar culture and approach to us? Then we'd love to speak with you about your next recruitment project so contact us now and let's do this!
Don't worry, we'll find you! If you are great at what you do then when we have the right assignment, we'll almost certainly call you before you call us. If you really need to get on our radar, please just send us a quick email or LinkedIn Connection request with a short note explaining what you're looking for.
Chris Sargent | About Me | LinkedIn | Twitter Feed
☎ +44 2070 787 665 / +1 (415)-418-7870
Alicia Seri | LinkedIn | ☎ +33 170 70 90 37
Elisa Conte | LinkedIn | ☎ +33 170 70 90 37
Henrik Steen Pedersen | LinkedIn | ☎ +33 170 70 90 37
Steve Bett | About Me | LinkedIn | Twitter Feed
☎ +61 2 9977 1184
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