From Solo Recruiter to 11 Heads in 19months | Dan Payne (EP 81)
In this episode of The 1 Percent Better Recruitment Podcast, I’m joined by Dan Payne, founder of a fast-growing recruitment agency that has gone from solo founder to 11 heads in just 19 months, with the business now approaching the seven-figure mark. Dan first came on the podcast when he had just started the business and was operating on his own. At that point, he shared his ambitions of building a seven-figure agency and scaling a team within his first couple of years. Fast forward to today, and those targets are quickly becoming a reality. We cover: ✅ Dan’s journey from solo recruiter to 11 heads in 19 months ✅ The roadmap he created when starting the business ✅ Why doing the basics well still wins in recruitment ✅ The hiring triggers founders should consider before scaling ✅ Risk appetite and backing yourself as a founder ✅ The biggest mistakes Dan made while scaling the business ✅ Why overcomplicating tech stacks can slow growth ✅ The importance of strong early hires ✅ Building a leadership team and developing shareholders ✅ How headcount growth impacts revenue growth ✅ Lessons learned from scaling quickly ✅ Dan’s 1 Percent Better advice for recruiters and founders ⏱ Timestamps: 00:00 – Dan returns to the podcast 02:00 – From solo recruiter to scaling a team 06:00 – Setting the goal of 10 heads and seven figures 10:00 – The roadmap for scaling the business 16:00 – The biggest mistakes made during growth 24:00 – Getting lost in tech stacks and overspending 30:00 – Hiring triggers and when to bring in new heads 38:00 – Backing yourself financially as a founder 45:00 – Building a strong early team 52:00 – Scaling challenges and lessons learned 01:02:00 – Dan’s 1 Percent Better tip 🐋 Podcast Sponsor – SourceWhale This episode is sponsored by SourceWhale, the multi-channel outreach platform I personally use and recommend to recruiters and founders. SourceWhale helps you combine email, LinkedIn, calls, and tasks into one structured, consistent BD workflow, without relying on spray-and-pray automation. If you want better conversations, not just more activity, this is worth a look. 👉 Book a demo here: https://sourcewhale.com/book-demo/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=&utm_term=charles_kyriakou&utm_content=book_a_demo Mention The 1 Percent Better Recruitment Podcast or my name, Charles Kyriakou, when you book. 🔗 Connect with Dan Payne 💻 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-payne-26a458218/ 🔗 Connect with Charles Kyriakou 💻 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskyriakou1/ 📲 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@charles.kyriakou 🍏 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1-better-recruitment-podcast/id1775201502 🎙️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/46LjJfw 📰 LinkedIn Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7244346543967731712/ 🌐 Website – https://www.inf1nitelearning.com/ 👇 If this episode gave you insights into scaling a recruitment business, like, comment, subscribe, and share it with a recruiter or founder who needs to hear it.
