No. I fill roles of every kind, across engineering, product, go-to-market, operations, people, finance and leadership. AI and deep-tech hiring is a strength of mine, and it goes back to building Neuralink's technical teams. It is one part of the practice. If the role matters to your company, I'm glad to hear about it.
Mostly startups and growth-stage companies, from founding hires through senior leadership. My own background covers automotive, neurotechnology, fintech, consumer marketplaces and digital health, so I don't limit the practice to one industry. I also take a limited number of director-level and specialist searches for larger companies.
On my own, no, and the process is built around that. I don't review code. I work with your hiring manager and your engineers to define the bar, and we write the screen together. I read for ownership and curiosity, and for how a candidate reasons. Your team judges technical depth against the criteria we agreed on at kickoff.
Retained search is typically 25 to 30 percent of first-year total compensation, paid in stages. Contingency is 20 to 25 percent of first-year salary, due only on a hire. Fractional recruiting is $150 to $250 an hour, scoped monthly. Those ranges are typical starting points. We agree on final terms in writing before I begin work.
Retained search fits founding hires, executives and scarce specialists, where the role is critical and the talent pool is small. Contingency fits a defined role with a clear profile, worked alongside your own pipeline. If you plan to hire several people over time, I can embed as a fractional recruiting lead. We can sort out which one fits on a call.
I do. The person you talk to on the first call is the person who runs your search. Every candidate has a conversation with me before you meet them. I work with a small number of companies at a time, so each search gets my full attention.
No. Candidates never pay for placement. Companies engage me and pay me, and that is the only way I'm paid. On your search, you are my client. I'm still straight with candidates about the role, because my reputation depends on placements that last.
No. I read every résumé myself, and I make every decision about a person. No AI screens, ranks or rejects anyone in your search. I use AI for the preparation around a search, such as defining the role and mapping the market. The judgment about people stays with me.
I build my own software when a search calls for it. AI helps me define the role and map the market, so your search plan comes together faster. If your role needs a tool of its own, I can build one. For technical roles, I also ask candidates how they work with AI tools, which I use myself with Claude Code.
My goal is at least five strong candidates at the final stage. I treat that as a target to work toward. If nobody gets through, we reconvene and look hard at the screen and at the expectations for the role. We also ask whether the process was fair to the people in it.
Time at the start. Kickoff includes the people who will work with the hire. Together we agree on what the role requires and what evidence would show someone is ready. We write the screening questions and define a strong answer before I contact anyone. Later, the take-home and live exercises are scored against those criteria, and your team judges technical depth.
Yes. If a candidate isn't the right fit for your team, I say so and explain why, even when it's a candidate I like. Candidates get the same honesty from me about your role. I would rather lose a deal than make a bad match, because my reputation depends on placements that last.
No. I describe your role to the candidate first, and nothing about that person is shared with you until they give me an explicit yes. The people you meet have already heard about the role from me and decided they want the conversation.
Yes, as a second focus. Larger companies can engage me for director-level and specialist searches, and the practice works the same way. I take a limited number of these alongside my startup and growth-company work. If you're at a larger company, tell me about the role and I'll say honestly whether I can take it on.
This practice is powered by Trinzik, the AI visibility and competitive intelligence company I co-founded. Recruiting engagements are separate from Trinzik's software and agency partner programs, and they are scoped and priced on their own terms. My email address is at Trinzik, and it comes straight to me.
Book a call or email me at rik@trinzik.ai. Either one reaches me directly. A 30-minute conversation is enough to tell whether a search makes sense and which engagement type fits. Tell me about the role and the team. If I'm not the right person for it, I'll tell you that too.
Tell me about the role.
A 30-minute conversation is enough to tell whether a search makes sense and which engagement type fits. You'll be talking with me. If I'm not the right person for your search, I'll tell you that on the call.
About TrinzikThis practice is powered by Trinzik, the AI visibility and competitive intelligence company I co-founded. Recruiting engagements are separate from Trinzik's software and agency partner programs, and are scoped and priced on their own terms.