Backdoor Barry Unfiltered: Scaling, Letting Go as a Founder & Building a Law Firm Beyond One Person
In this episode of RecTalk, Nitin Sharma sits down with the one and only Barry Cullen, Founder of recLAW — aka Backdoor Barry — for a refreshingly honest conversation about what it really takes to scale a specialist professional services business without burning yourself (or your team) into the ground. Five years into recLAW as a regulated law firm (and eight years into the business overall), Barry opens up about the uncomfortable but necessary transition from “I do everything” founder to building teams, leaders, and systems that work without him being involved in every decision. This episode goes deep into: * How recLAW evolved from a side hustle into a fully regulated law firm * Why Barry realised he was becoming the bottleneck in his own business * Restructuring from a flat team into leadership-driven pods * The importance of triage, customer success, and speed in legal services for recruiters * Why clients don’t need Barry — they need recLAW * Hiring senior legal talent and building real employer brand credibility * Turning burnout into a catalyst for growth and long-term sustainability * Why most people misunderstand what recLAW actually does (it’s not just backdoor fees) * Barry’s most memorable professional moment — and why it mattered so much * A practical, free legal tip every recruiter should implement immediately Barry also shares a free value-packed tip for recruiters: how to protect your fees before a dispute ever happens — including a disclaimer you can add to your CVs that makes enforcement dramatically easier. This is an episode about letting go, growing up as a founder, and building something that lasts beyond you — with plenty of laughs, brutal honesty, and real-world lessons along the way. 🔗 Connect with the guest Barry Cullen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrycullen/ Check out recLAW: https://www.rectools.io/product/reclaw/ 🔗 Connect with the host Nitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/ Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/ New episodes of RecTalk, including Founder Diaries and Talking Talent, currently drop on Wednesday and Friday. Look out for new episodes of The Mixed Grill — the official podcast of the Recruitment Curry Club — dropping on Thursday. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-recruitment-curry-club/ Listen on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/ 🔗 Get in touch with these recommended suppliers Robert Woodford — The Marketing Junction: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marketing4recs/ Barry Cullen — recLAW: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrycullen/ Andrew Philipson — JOBBA: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewphilipson/ Ross Thompson — Infinity Staff Global: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rossnthompson/ Dougie Loan — SourceWhale: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougieloan/ Andrew Constantinou — Nodex: https://www.linkedin.com/in/apconstantinou/
