Our Story

From Cold Calls to Reshaping Recruitment with AI

My story in the world of recruitment and technology began 19 years ago, in my early twenties. I used to make 120 calls a day, trying to convince care homes and recruiting firms that they should have their own job board at CareerBuilder and use the internet to advertise jobs. People thought that was wild back then. But even in those early days, I saw the potential.

Then, in 2013, I first learned about the power of AI, specifically NLP. This was a pivotal moment. By 2016, I was already trying to convince companies that they should build databases of talent, seeing clearly the direction the industry needed to go. My conviction was so strong that in 2016, I mentioned to the C-level of the largest staffing firm in the world, "You should think about the evolution of recruiting." This bold step led to a life-changing opportunity: I became the Global President of Innovation in my thirties.

This role was incredible. I traveled to countries never dreamed of, loving every moment of it. My goal was to transform the way we do things and guide people towards a new future. In 2018, I predicted that AI would transform the way we do work, a prediction that has certainly come to pass.

After this, in 2020, I started EQ. This was where I truly learned that relationships were the key to success. I even shared the initial idea for EQ with Lee Grant, someone I've known for 20 years and whose expertise in Salesforce and automation I deeply respected. When I asked him to join, we made a pact: we'd make this work no matter what. Having someone you can truly rely on, with the skills and the ability to learn, makes the journey smoother. Together, we built a permanent recruitment business focused on inclusion, using AI in the background to save time. This hands-on experience led us to build our first set of AI products, developed with our community of 1,500 people, I started to write about our journey and how we'd achieved what we had. I decided to empower recruiting organizations to have the same superpowers as the largest companies by embracing technology and being early adopters. My focus is on those early adopters of AI, and I work to help people stay ahead. My ultimate goal is to partner with companies that want to unlock access to opportunity. It's a shared purpose, underpinned by our mission: Zero-Admin™. Innovation has helped me think ahead, inspiration has kept me going, and inclusion allows us to share this journey together.

The Problem: Overcoming Technical Hurdles to Build a Better Way

One of the biggest problems I faced was getting ripped off a bunch of times because I couldn't code. This was a huge frustration. The breaking point came when I snapped my Achilles tendon. On the sofa, I just said, "It's time to figure it out." So, I taught myself how to code. In the past, I'd hired technology and product leaders who didn't know how to manage teams, and I'd offshored work, losing both time and money. I wrote down all my learnings, and I knew with AI coming, there had to be a better way than just "another platform or tool that solves a small part."

That's why we built EQ. We wanted to make it easy to solve the most important problems for recruiting organizations. I spoke to investors who simply didn't get our market, so I decided to only have the biggest industry leaders as advisors. We built and iterated, then did it again. We work hand in hand with our customers, and we genuinely care about their success. We want our customers to win. It's not about another tool or product; it's about providing something that can help forward-thinking businesses win, businesses that value human connection. We were trying to run a profitable business, but the technology was confusing, so we decided to build the right tech for our niche.

My Background & The Real Problem

My Background

I have 19 years of experience in Staffing & Recruiting tech. My journey started on inside sales, spending 10 years at CareerBuilder, which gave me a grassroots understanding of the industry. Later, I became the Global President of Innovation at Adecco, the largest staffing firm in the world, and I'm also an HRtech Investor. This unique blend of hands-on sales, executive leadership, and investment acumen provides an unparalleled perspective on the challenges and opportunities within the recruiting landscape.

The Evolution of EQ

When I started the EQ community, it began as a tech-driven recruitment firm. It was through this practical application that I realized we could use AI to eliminate most of the administrative tasks. So, we started to build AI for our network of recruiters. From there, we began building integrated agents that make recruitment firms 10X more efficient.

For me, the "villain" is the sheer number of point solutions that do not solve real challenges. People simply don't understand that the industry is nuanced. I wanted to build something together, something integrated and truly effective, for the friends I've made over the years in staffing.