The RAG Podcast - Recruitment Agency Growth Podcast

Ryan Gorman: How He Built £250k in Fees Without Making a Single Cold Call
Ryan Gorman launched Lofthouse Group in January 2021 with a newborn daughter at home.
His wife asked him one question: "What sort of person do you want Isla seeing? Do you want her growing up seeing work as something you love, or just something you do to earn money?"
Year one, solo, working part-time around his newborn: £93k invoiced. £60k profit. Home for every bath time.
"Everything has been warm. I've never had to sit down and just cold-call tons of people."
While other recruiters smashed the phones, Ryan built a podcast as a BD tool. Used LinkedIn to warm every approach. And went to Instagram to find architects who weren't even on LinkedIn.
Four years later? £250k in fees. Average placement of £12k (market average is £7.5k). 85% repeat business. 70% net profit.
This week on The RAG Podcast, Ryan tells the full story.
We cover:
Why he left tech recruitment to go back to architecture
The question his wife asked that gave him the push to start
How he used Instagram to find candidates not on LinkedIn
Why he's never made a cold call and still bills £250k
Hiring his first employee after four years solo
How his first hire billed £50k in two and a half months
His plan to become number one in architecture recruitment

If you've ever wondered whether you can build a profitable recruitment business without grinding the phones, this episode is for you.

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Episode Sponsor: Remote Recruitment
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Remote Recruitment is your flexible hiring solution for the modern era.
**RAG Listeners:** Get 5% off your first hire + a free strategy session at www.remoterecruitment.co.uk/rag
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Episode Sponsor: Hoxo
Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.
Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.
Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.
But here’s the question almost no one can answer:
How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?
Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.
That’s the problem we solve.
At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build

Stuart Mitchell: How he built $3M in 3 years (then realised he hated his own job)
Stuart Mitchell launched Hampton North in September 2022.
$1.6 million year one. $2.5 million year two. On track for $3 million plus in year three.
Now 10 staff and projects $1m profit for next year.
I interviewed him on the show in the middle of 2023, and things were flying.
But over the following 18 months, he nearly broke.
His dad died. His wife fell pregnant. And the VP he'd promised her-the guy who was supposed to take the pressure off-pulled out in January.
"I had to go home to my newly pregnant wife and have a really hard conversation."
For 6 months, Stuart ground it out alone. High expectations, low empathy. The worst version of himself.
Then at a wedding, his old running mate Greg Anderson said: "I think we should do this again."
Greg joined in June and immediately told Stuart the truth: "There is nothing here. No process. Nothing written down. You're making it impossible for anyone who joins to actually do well."
This week on The RAG Podcast, Stuart tells the full story.
We cover:
Launching just before the 2023 downturn and hitting $1.6M in the first year
Losing his dad and how it derailed him for two months
The VP hire that fell through one week after his wife fell pregnant
Why he admits "I had my own company and I didn't like my job"
How one hire professionalised a business built entirely on talent
Building a $3M agency with 10 people (and why he'll never scale past 25)
Why he takes profit first and doesn't care about a big exit
The role this LinkedIn profile and brand played in attracting top-tier talent

This isn't about sacrifice for success.
It's about a founder who built a multi-7-figure business, then redesigned it so he could pick his kids up from school.
If you've ever wondered whether you can have both profit and peace, this episode is the proof you need!
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Episode Sponsor: Atlas
Admin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.
It doesn't only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it's entering a whole new era.
With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.
Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.
Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform.
No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.
Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.
Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener...

Pete Watson: 22 years as a solo Rec2Rec in Australia (and why he'd never do it again)
Pete Watson is the longest-serving boots-on-the-ground Rec2Rec in Australia.
22 years running Mint R2R. Thousands of placements. A recognisable name across the entire Australian recruitment market.
But 18 months ago, he was at the gym when he asked himself one question:
"Would I do it all again?"
His answer was immediate: "A fast no."
Not because he failed. But because of what success actually cost him.
"Even though people look at 22 years as a business owner and go 'that's amazing, congratulations' - it's been brutal. It's been lonely. It's been isolating. It has not been good for mental health."
So that afternoon, he knocked up a logo on Canva and launched Recruitment United.
Within a week, 70 agency owners joined a WhatsApp group.
Within four months, 500.
Today, there are 330 subscribing members accessing weekly training, mate rates discounts, and a proper community of peers.
This week on The RAG Podcast, Pete tells the full story.
We cover:
Why 22 years as a solo Rec2Rec nearly broke him mentally
The gym moment that changed everything
How he built a 500-member community in four months with zero plan
Why the majority of his members have no intention of scaling
The rise of lifestyle businesses over exit strategies
Navigating divorce, becoming a stepdad, and buying back his family home
13 years alcohol-free and why he finally started talking about it

This isn't about building an empire.
It's about a founder who realised that isolated recruitment success was killing him—and built something to solve that for himself and others!
If you've ever felt lonely as a solo founder, or wondered whether there's another way to build, this episode is for you.
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Episode Sponsor: Atlas
Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.
It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era.
With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.
Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.
Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that’s not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform.
No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.
Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.
Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/
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Episode Sponsor:...

Michael Green: How he made $700K in year one (after not billing for 6 years)
Michael Green spent six years running teams of 100+ recruiters.

Building offices. Managing people. Zero placements.

When he launched Unico in April 2024, he had to go back to basics.

"I had to do role plays to myself. I hadn't qualified a candidate in six years."

Day one was brutal. Just him, his house and a dog.

But Michael had something most recruiters don't: a genuine answer to "what makes you different?"

While everyone else competed on job boards chasing $30K fees, Michael went the opposite direction.

Senior positions only. Architect level and above.

New York Location only

His average fee jumped from $30K to $60K overnight.

His biggest placement? $170,000.

12 months later: $700K gross profit. Solo.

Year two: $1.5M with just four people.

But here's what makes Michael different.

He's not scaling headcount - he's scaling quality.

Ultra-niche: ServiceNow and bleeding-edge SaaS. One technology. Total focus.

Last week, a major partner messaged him: "I've seen your posts. I've heard your reputation. We want to use you exclusively."

He'd never spoken to them before..

He's now targeting growth15 profitable recruiters and $3M in 2026.

This week on The RAG Podcast, Michael tells the full story.

We cover:
- Why he walked away from running 200 people to start from scratch
- How he made $700K in year one after six years out of recruitment
- The "top 3%" model that clients can't say no to
- Why he pivoted from $30K to $100K+ fees overnight
- The AI screening tool that's changing his close rate
- His LinkedIn strategy that generates 70% conversion rates

This isn't about scaling fast.

It's about a man who had to relearn his own trade, doubted himself daily, and built a

$1.5M business in 20 months that doesn't require 100 heads to hit seven figures.

No venture capital. No growth-at-all-costs.

Just profitable headcount over vanity metrics.

If you've ever wondered whether you can start your own agency after years of management - or if there's a smarter way to scale than just adding bodies – this episode has the blueprint.

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Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Admin is a massive waste of time. That’s why there’s Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.

It doesn’t only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it’s entering a whole new era.

With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.
Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.

Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that’s not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform.

No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.

Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.

Don’t miss the future of recruitment. Get started with...

Jen Gaster: How she sold her business to her team (and kept the tax bill at zero)
Jen Gaster launched HR Heads in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis with a six-month-old baby and zero income security.
17 years later, she runs three brands, 22 people, and just completed an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) transaction.
Tax-free exit, 5-year payout. The employees own the business when the mortgage is paid off.
One week after they completed the deal, Rachel Reeves changed the rules.
EOT payments are now taxable for anyone doing it after the budget.
Jen got in just in time.
But here's what makes this story different.
She built the business with her husband Rupert. Same office but separate brands and working processes (They've literally only attended one client meeting together in their entire lives!)
This week on The RAG Podcast, Jen tells the full story.
We cover:
Starting a business during the 2008 financial crash with a baby
Working with your spouse without destroying your marriage
Why she admits "I don't think I'm a brilliant man manager"
The EOT transaction and how they structured a tax-free exit
How Rachel Reeves' budget changed the rules one week after they completed
Why legacy mattered more than a trade sale

This isn't about building an empire.
It's about a founder who wanted to reward the people who built the business with her and managed to do it without a tax bill.
If you've ever wondered whether there's another way to exit, this episode has the blueprint.
__________________________________________
Episode Sponsor: Atlas
Admin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.
It doesn't only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it's entering a whole new era.
With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.
Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.
Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform.
No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.
Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.
Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/
__________________________________________
Episode Sponsor: Hoxo
Every recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn.
Spending thousands on Recruiter licences.
Building connections. Posting content. Growing networks.
But here's the question almost no one can answer:
How much revenue is LinkedIn actually bringing into your business?
Most founders have thousands of connections but no clear process to turn that attention into cash.
That's the problem we solve.
At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn, not just noise or vanity metrics.
Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K–£300K in new billings within months, using their existing networks and a simple repeatable process.
To show you how it works, we've created a short training video exclusively for RAG listeners.
In less than 10 minutes,...