The Recruitment Mentors Podcast

1 hour 5 minutes
9 Mistakes, 68 Heads & a Cash Crisis: How Evona Rebuilt to £279K Per Head with Tom Kelly
In this episode, I sit down with Tom Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Evona, the specialist space industry recruitment firm.
Tom shares the nine mistakes that came from scaling on headcount to a peak of 68 people, and how the business rebuilt around output to reach £279K NFI per head.
We dive into the 180 LinkedIn seats Evona never needed, Tom moving to the US unpaid and being handed the CEO role a month later, and the P25 output measure that now runs the business.
Connect with Tom on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evonatom/
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Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/amFIj1wlEPs
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5 October 2026, 5:00 am
26 minutes 8 seconds
Walked Away From a £350K Deposit to Win This Plot: Tom Glanfield on Life After the Exit | Walk & Talk #3
Walk & Talk episode with Tom Glanfield, founder of LHI Group.
We walk around his Sandbanks plot and chat about the £13.5M bidding war to win it, why he never paid himself more than £150K while building LHI, and life after the exit.
Connect with Tom here:
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Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MHtnRPtxuEI
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Want more content like this?
The Wednesday Debrief is our free weekly newsletter for recruiters who take their craft seriously. Join 7,000+ subscribers here: https://newsletter.recruitmentmentors.com/
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Get in touch with me:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/
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1 October 2026, 5:00 am
1 hour 1 minute
Building a US Desk From Zero to $2M: Lessons From the Trenches with Fred Forrest
In this episode, I sit down with Fred Forrest, co-founder of Sourcechange. He left a comfortable seat at Pangea, got investment from day one, and built a US energy recruitment business from a box room in Aldgate East to past $2M in year three, with no clients and no track record in the market when he started.
We get into the tactical mistakes that made year one even harder, how Fred turned a tiny opening into Sourcechange's biggest client, and why he believes AI is only half the bet without a ferocious sales culture behind it.
Connect with Fred here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frederick-forrest-05916812b/
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Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1UA0w7kYy7M
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Want more content like this?
The Wednesday Debrief is our free weekly newsletter for recruiters who take their craft seriously. Join 7,000+ subscribers here: https://newsletter.recruitmentmentors.com/
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Get in touch with me:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/
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28 September 2026, 5:00 am
58 minutes 23 seconds
From an Attic to £80M: Tom Glanfield Gave Away Half His Business and Made Several Staff Millionaires
In this episode, I sit down with Tom Glanfield, the founder who built LHi Group from a graduate loan into an £80M recruitment group, to unpack the equity scheme that made several of his staff millionaires and the Employee Ownership Trust exit that followed.
You can connect with Tom here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomglanfield/
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Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IJ1SiJDH2KY
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Want more content like this?
The Wednesday Debrief is our free weekly newsletter for recruiters who take their craft seriously. Join 7,000+ subscribers here: https://newsletter.recruitmentmentors.com/
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Get in touch with me:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/
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21 September 2026, 5:00 am
29 minutes 38 seconds
A Surprise Trip to Greece's Best Hotel, a £31K Month & Kayleigh's Rules for Work-Life Integration | Walk & Talk #2
Walk & Talk episode with Kayleigh Prowen from Circle Partners.
We chat about young people getting into the industry, buying two houses by 24 & surprise holidays to Greece.
Connect with Kayleigh here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayleigh-prowen-a1a540174/
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Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vVL_T-ULHXk
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Podcast Sponsors: Claim your exclusive savings from our partners with the links below:
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Want more content like this?
The Wednesday Debrief is our free weekly newsletter for recruiters who take their craft seriously. Join 7,000+ subscribers here: https://newsletter.recruitmentmentors.com/
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Get in touch with me:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/
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17 September 2026, 5:00 am
1 hour 11 minutes
150 Companies, 190 Placements: The Only Outsourcing Episode You'll Ever Need with Kyle Grainger
In this episode, I sit down with Kyle Grainger, founder of Untapped, who has placed close to 190 people into more than 150 recruitment companies across South Africa and the Philippines over the last three and a half years.
We break down the real numbers behind delivery consultant pay and cost, the employment-of-record risks that can leave you legally liable for someone else's employee, and the hidden margin scam where agencies quietly charge clients double what they pay the person doing the work.
You can connect with Kyle here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-grainger/
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Watch the episode on YouTube:
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Want more content like this?
The Wednesday Debrief is our free weekly newsletter for recruiters who take their craft seriously. Join 7,000+ subscribers here: https://newsletter.recruitmentmentors.com/
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Get in touch with me:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/
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14 September 2026, 5:00 am
17 minutes 36 seconds
Golden Nugget #126 | How to Scale a Recruitment Contract Book: Client Engagement Strategy & SOW Explained with Jack Procter
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Want more content like this?
The Wednesday Debrief is our free weekly newsletter for recruiters who take their craft seriously. Join 7,000+ subscribers here: https://limitless-learning.thisishector.com/subscribe
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Get in touch with me:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/
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10 September 2026, 5:00 am
59 minutes 2 seconds
Brand New Division, £1.5M Written: How Kayleigh Prowen Turned One-Deal Clients Into Repeat Business
In this episode, I sit down with Kayleigh Prowen, Group Commercial Director at Circle, to unpack how she built a brand-new commercial division from scratch and hit a £1.5M new-business target that the rest of the company had barely matched the year before, without a team behind her to start.
We dive into the exact strategies she used to reactivate the 200+ clients who'd only ever done one deal with Circle, the scripts and systems she used to business-partner with the wider 360 consultant team, and the mindset shift that took her from a top-billing recruiter to building a division of her own.
Connect with Kayleigh here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayleigh-prowen-a1a540174/
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Watch the episode on YouTube:
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Want more content like this?
The Wednesday Debrief is our free weekly newsletter for recruiters who take their craft seriously. Join 7,000+ subscribers here: https://newsletter.recruitmentmentors.com/
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Get in touch with me:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/
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7 September 2026, 5:00 am
15 minutes 58 seconds
Golden Nugget #125 | The Philosophy That Built an 8.6X Exit (And Why They Never Once Argued) with Marc Cohen & Graeme Hubert
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Want more content like this?
The Wednesday Debrief is our free weekly newsletter for recruiters who take their craft seriously. Join 7,000+ subscribers here: https://limitless-learning.thisishector.com/subscribe
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Get in touch with me:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/
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4 September 2026, 5:00 am
1 hour 12 minutes
From 20 Heads to 14 to a £6M Year: The Verto People Rebuild with Robbie Sturgess & Martin Doig
In this episode, I sit down with Robbie Sturgess and Martin Doig, co-founders of Verto People, to unpack how they shrank the business from 20 heads back to 14 to fix a culture and standards problem, then rebuilt it into a business on track for a £6M year.
We dive into the BD playbook that rebuilt their sales culture, the DISC-based hiring filter that's pushed probation pass rates to 90%, and the EMI equity scheme built with Tom Glanfield that could put an £18.9M pot in the team's hands.
Connect with Robbie here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbiesturgess/
Connect with Martin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-doig/
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Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FA0qdHFJicE
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Podcast Sponsors: Claim your exclusive savings from our partners with the links below:
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Want more content like this?
The Wednesday Debrief is our free weekly newsletter for recruiters who take their craft seriously. Join 7,000+ subscribers here: https://newsletter.recruitmentmentors.com/
-------------------------
Get in touch with me:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/
31 August 2026, 5:00 am
14 minutes 55 seconds
Golden Nugget #124 | Building A Contract Book Through Community: Roundtables, WhatsApp Groups & Daily BD Structure with Nick Chambers
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Want more content like this?
The Wednesday Debrief is our free weekly newsletter for recruiters who take their craft seriously. Join 7,000+ subscribers here: https://limitless-learning.thisishector.com/subscribe
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Get in touch with me:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/
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27 August 2026, 5:00 am
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