Nov 28, 2024
Nov 28, 2024
5
5
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Why I founded Fulltilt Talent: Building teams that build startups

Why I founded Fulltilt Talent: Building teams that build startups

Why I founded Fulltilt Talent: Building teams that build startups

Sophie Tung

Founder + CEO, Fulltilt Talent

New horizons
New horizons
New horizons

My Journey to Starting Fulltilt Talent

I’ve spent over 15 years immersed in startup recruiting, specializing in the high-stakes world of early-stage hiring. I’ve helped companies like Slack and Calm scale from the ground up, working directly with founders and early leadership to build the teams that defined their growth. And still, as I set out to build Fulltilt Talent, a thought kept crossing my mind: “There are so many recruiters out there, so many agencies—why would I do it? What makes me different?”

The answer is deeply tied to the mission of Fulltilt Talent: to bring a founder-focused, hands-on approach to recruiting that truly understands what it takes to build teams from scratch. Founding a company to help startups make their most important hires isn’t just another business move for me—it’s a calling that’s been brewing for years.

The Unique Challenge of Early-Stage Recruiting

Here’s the thing about early-stage recruiting: it’s not just an entirely different game from hiring for a well-established company—it’s a balancing act in the middle of constant change. At this stage, priorities are shifting rapidly, goals can evolve overnight, and many factors are in motion at once. To add to the complexity, these companies are still largely unknown; they’re building their brand and credibility while asking candidates to take a leap of faith on a vision that’s still taking shape. That’s why early-stage hiring is about so much more than matching skills to a job description. It’s about finding the right people who can embrace that uncertainty and take ownership of shaping the company’s identity, culture, and trajectory.

Throughout my career, I’ve specialized in these “first-of” hires. I’ve brought in the first go-to-market leaders, finance experts, ops heads, and people leaders for multiple high-growth companies. These roles are as foundational as they come, and they require a very specific type of person: someone who’s both a strategist and a doer, who can operate without a playbook and instead build the damn thing themselves. They’re not stepping into a polished role; they’re creating it, defining it, and, in many ways, navigating a controlled chaos to bring it to life. This isn’t aimless improvisation—it’s using their experience, resourcefulness, and sheer determination to take the scattered pieces in front of them and assemble something extraordinary. That’s the magic of a founding hire. And it’s also the challenge.

What Makes a Founding Hire Different?

Being a “first-of” hire is an intense experience. You’re not just filling a role—you’re essentially writing the playbook for the department, setting the standards, and shaping the function. Founding hires do what’s in their job description and everything that’s not. They have to be resourceful, self-motivated, and resilient because they’re building as they go, often with very few resources.

For founders, hiring this first person in each key role is one of the most critical decisions they’ll make. They need someone who’s comfortable operating in the gray, who can manage strategy while diving into the details, and who will bring a “get-shit-done” mentality to every challenge. Hiring at this stage isn’t just about experience or skills; it’s about finding someone with the right mindset and drive to push through the uncertainty and make things happen.

Why Fulltilt Talent Is Different

At Fulltilt, we’re not just filling roles—we’re partnering with founders to find the people who will define their company’s DNA. What sets us apart is that I don’t just understand the value of a “first-of” hire; I am a “first-of.” My career has been built on stepping into unstructured, high-stakes environments and turning ambiguity into results. That’s exactly what I bring to early-stage hiring: the ability to build the foundation while moving quickly and strategically.

Hiring at this stage is about turning complexity into clarity. Early-stage startups don’t have the luxury of a fully developed roadmap, and priorities shift quickly. I know how to absorb signals from every angle—founders’ goals, hiring managers’ needs, market conditions, customer feedback—and turn them into a strategic hiring direction. It’s about understanding where the company is now and what piece will make the biggest impact next.

My approach is hands-on, immersive, and grounded in understanding what makes each company unique. I’m not just helping founders make hires; I’m helping them make hires that matter—those who will lay the groundwork for everything that follows. And my “no-bullshit” commitment means exactly what you think it does: I’m direct, transparent, and all-in. I’m there in the weeds with founders, strategizing, interviewing, and making sure every hire isn’t just qualified but driven to be a cornerstone for the company’s future.

Why Now?

Look at any major tech company, and you’ll see that every big team they’ve built started with one person. Someone took a leap, laid the first brick, and built a foundation that others would follow. I’ve had the privilege of working alongside incredible founders and executive teams, witnessing firsthand how transformative those first hires can be.

But today, the startup landscape is evolving. The way companies are funded, built, and grown has shifted, and so has the need for efficiency and grit in how we approach hiring. Founders may not have the resources or luxury to dedicate a full-time, in-house recruiter to their team at this stage. That’s where I come in—to bring a level of expertise and intentionality that most early-stage teams don’t yet have the capacity to build themselves.

This isn’t just about filling positions—it’s about rethinking how we build teams in a way that matches the pace and grit of the startup world. At Fulltilt, we help founders navigate the chaos, find clarity, and make hires that drive growth and define their company’s future.

Let’s Build the Next Great Startup Together

So, if you’re a startup founder with a big mission and a need for top-tier talent to help you build it, let’s talk. Fulltilt Talent is here to be more than a recruiting partner; we’re here to be an extension of your vision, helping you attract and retain the people who will shape your company’s future.

Let’s get to work. We’re just getting started.