The Search Firm We Couldn't Find: Built for Operators, by Operators
When I started at Permanent Equity, my first assignment was clear: figure out how to elevate the talent across our portfolio. How do we find great leaders for these companies? How do we vet them? And how do we convince them to join us?
We tried solving it the typical way—working with outside recruiters, leaning on personal networks—but it quickly became obvious the traditional model didn’t translate. Our companies live in that tricky middle ground: big enough to need real leadership but small enough that every hire has outsized impact. Search firms kept sending us candidates who were either too far removed from hands-on work or priced like they were joining a Fortune 500. It just wasn’t working.
I didn’t set out to build a recruiting firm. 10th St. was born out of necessity, not ambition. My team and I started by creating an internal capability to solve our own talent needs. But word got out. Other investors and operators (many of them close friends!) were facing the same challenge and started asking for help. What began as an internal resource slowly grew into something bigger.
Our work has always been grounded in firsthand experience. Every step of our process was shaped by tight feedback loops; hiring for real roles in our companies where the wrong hire doesn’t just sting, it sets you back a year. We’ve seen what happens when you miss. And we’ve also seen the transformation that takes place when you get it right.
What follows is not only our process but the why behind it.
Enjoy,
Kelie
The Weight of a Missed Hire
The stats about bad hires are well-documented. The Department of Labor estimates costs at 30% of first-year earnings. HR consultants put the figure around $240,000 per mistake. But these numbers don't capture what it truly feels like:
That sinking feeling when a leadership hire isn't working out
Watching company momentum stall as a crucial role remains unfilled or poorly filled
The weight of difficult performance conversations that yield little improvement
Explaining to investors why growth targets were missed due to leadership gaps
When running a $15M or $50M company, every hire matters profoundly. There's no deep bench to absorb the impact. There's no expansive HR department to handle the fallout. The consequences land directly on the leadership team's shoulders.
The 10th St. team understands this reality because we've navigated it firsthand—facing difficult decisions to part ways with leaders who weren't working out, then having to restart the entire process while maintaining team confidence.
Our Four-Phase Search Process: Built for High-Stakes Hires
After years of refining our approach through direct experience with growing companies, we've built a process specifically for high-stakes hires. This isn't theoretical—it's a framework proven effective when every hire matters:
Plan & Prepare: We establish a deep understanding of needs through collaborative intake, soft skills benchmarking, and when applicable, incumbent analysis
Search & Sell: Using targeted strategies and compelling marketing materials, we identify and engage top talent with messages tailored to the personality profiles you need
Screen & Score: Our rigorous filtering process and multi-science assessments evaluate candidates on both technical qualifications and personal qualities
Selection & Success: We partner with you through interviews, offer negotiation, and strategic onboarding to ensure lasting success
Here’s how each phase of the process works:
