Former Dragons' Den Star Shares Start-up Secrets with Exclusive Recruitment Audience in Manchester and Gets Ready to Invest in the North West
On the 5th June over a hundred recruitment professionals were invited to Manchester’s King Street Townhouse for an exclusive event hosted by Recruitment Entrepreneur.
James Caan CBE, ex-dragon, serial investor and successful entrepreneur addressed an audience of equally ambitious recruitment professionals – sharing his experience of transforming small start-ups into international global businesses.
As chairman of Recruitment Entrepreneur (RE), Caan is the figurehead of one of Europe’s fastest growing recruitment businesses, a leading investor in recruitment start-ups. Established in 2014, RE has fast-tracked the careers of 23 talented founding CEOs, enabling them to build successful, and scalable, businesses. His sights have now moved North West, reflected in the appointment of Greg Hollis, Regional MD. Speaking after the event, he said, “Manchester is central to the UK’s digital evolution, it has always had a unique and entrepreneurial reputation with fantastic potential and talent, as I’ve witnessed this evening. I’m excited to have met so many recruitment professionals with the drive and desire to build their own businesses”.
James was joined onstage by two of RE’s success stories, Grant Kaveney and Elaine Tyler, who shared their insights into what it was like to set up a business with the former dragon. Elaine Tyler partnered with RE in 2015 to establish Venatrix. Specialising in placing graduates in technology sales roles from New York to Dubai, Venatrix has grown to an 11-person team. Elaine spoke about the importance of RE’s support, saying:
“Working with Recruitment Entrepreneur allows me to focus on the elements of my role I enjoy the most; creating and developing a team and spending time with clients. The operational and financial aspects are all tightly managed by experts, so I know it’s being taken care of.”
For Grant Kaveney, it was the ability to scale offered by RE that made the partnership an ideal platform for growing his business. Grant set up GKR London in 2010, choosing to come on-board with RE in 2014 after finding it difficult to scale his business. He now has 20 people in his rapidly expanding property recruitment team.
James spoke passionately about his own journey from an ambitious, aspiring 16-year-old to CEO of Alexander Mann, which he recently sold for £820m. There was much to take-away but one thing was clear; for James, pipelining great talent is fundamental to growing a successful recruitment business.
James’s words were echoed by LinkedIn’s Alex Charraudeau, who spoke about the need to mobilise data to improve hiring processes, performance and delivery. Alex went on to deliver insights on the evolution of the industry and the key role AI is already playing in shaping its future.
Commenting on the event, Abid Hamid, CEO of RE, said, “The evening was a fantastic success. We chose Manchester for its history of innovation and business prowess. Outside London, it’s the place to be in recruitment, and those attending proved testament to that. As a business we have relentless ambition, and we look forward to channelling that to ensure recruiters in the North West who want to establish their own business, have every advantage to succeed and realise their true potential”.
The event was supported in association with rec to rec business Peritus and media agency Hoxo Media
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