Trusted Partner to CEOs and InvestorsSeries B through IPO
“We took HotJobs public, reached a $1.2 billion market cap, and grew to $125M in revenue and 650 employees before Yahoo, then the most valuable company in the world, acquired it. We learned what it costs to assemble a leadership team at speed, under pressure, with everything on the line. That operator's instinct is the DNA of this firm.”
Since then, Dave Partners has placed more than 400 executives inside companies backed by the greatest growth investors. We work exclusively with venture-backed companies from Series B through IPO. Every engagement is retained, hands-on, and organized around one question your board will eventually ask anyway: who are the best people on the planet for this role, at this stage, in this exact context?
We take a deliberately small number of searches at a time, so each one gets a founder's full attention. The partner you meet is the partner who runs your search. We also put our own capital to work, investing as an LP in top-tier venture funds and in companies directly. That gives us a perspective most search firms never earn. We are not filling a seat. We are making a bet on your next 18 months, right alongside you and your investors.
400+
Executives Placed
20
Years Building Teams
$1.2B
HotJobs IPO Market Cap
94%+
Two-Year Retention
When you engage Dave Partners, you are not hiring a vendor. You are joining a network the most disciplined investors already rely on. The executives we place go on to build companies funded by the institutions below, and that shared standard is exactly the point.
The best leaders are never looking, never available, never waiting by the phone. Most firms work the ground anyway. They gather what has already fallen, the available and the convenient, and call it a search. We do the opposite. We climb to the top of the tree, to the highest and hardest branch, again and again, and we return with the finest people on the planet for your specific mission, values, and purpose.
Founding and senior leadership for AI infrastructure, applied AI, and frontier-model companies.
Commercial, data, and platform leaders across sports, entertainment, and sponsorship intelligence.
Executives who scale vertical SaaS, payments, and B2B platforms from Series B through IPO.
Leadership for consumer platforms, marketplaces, and PLG-to-enterprise transitions.
Operators and commercial leaders for digital health and life-sciences technology.
Senior talent for energy, climate, and next-generation industrial technology.
One page of total clarity. What does success look like 12 months after this person starts? We define the mission-critical outcomes before we search. No Blueprint, no engagement.
40 to 60 of the best people on the planet. Not who is available. Not who is convenient. Who is the best. We engage every one of them personally until they say yes or tell us to stop.
A disciplined interview process that challenges candidates intellectually and moves them emotionally. The outcome: 5 to 9 finalists so strong that your only hard decision is which one to choose.
We placed the CFO at a Series B sponsorship-intelligence platform backed by a top growth-equity firm. Within 18 months, the board named the hire the single best finance leader across that firm's 40-company portfolio.
Series B · Sports and entertainment sponsorship intelligence platform
We recruited a VP of Software out of Google DeepMind into a frontier AI-chip company. Six months later, it raised $500M at a $5B valuation, led by a top growth fund.
Frontier AI chip company · Series-stage hardware
We placed 9 of the top executives and engineering leaders at a consumer social platform, from Series A through acquisition. It sold for $1.1B, and its lead investor called it the defining hiring sequence of the portfolio.
Series A through acquisition · Consumer social platform
We ran the CRO search for a live-streaming platform at $38M ARR, backed by a leading software investor, and delivered a slate of enterprise-ready commercial leaders in 45 days.
Growth stage · PLG to enterprise transition
Investors call it indispensable. Published by HarperCollins in 2018, it contains the frameworks behind 400+ placements, in one volume.
Whether you are a CEO preparing for the most important hire of the year, an investor weighing leadership risk across a portfolio, or an exceptional leader exploring what is next, we would welcome the conversation.
Dave Partners
Retained Executive Search · National
The fastest way to reach us is the form. Tell us what you are solving for and we will respond personally.
Contact · Free Frameworks
Tell us what you are solving for. We respond personally, and we will send you the Blueprint template and the interview scorecard our partners use on every retained search. No noise, ever.