"If we have obvious candidates in our networks, most hiring managers tend to go there first. Beyond that, you have to sell yourself as the hiring manager. You also need to sell the organisation and the journey that they're on and, therefore, the opportunity for the candidate. Now, if that can come from a longstanding name in the industry like Oakstone, it has a degree of third-party validation. And that's, I think, one of the key reasons that we would use a firm like Oakstone.

Oakstone haven't tried to overreach and be jacks of all trades, masters of none. I think having a tight focus on the types of profiles that they can recruit, and the strength of their network has really been something that I've defaulted to, as opposed to going to a larger firm that might purport to be able to recruit everybody, anybody and everybody. They've kept very tight in terms of where their expertise is, and personally, that attracts me to working with them."

Nick Bareham - Revenue Leader and Fractional CRO

"One of the things I've done a lot of is open up US companies into Europe. I can think of many examples where I needed to hire rapidly. Oakstone were outstanding; they got me the right people at the right time. Two of the hires that they made for me I've hired into other roles in companies in my portfolio. It's really about the quality. If you get good people, particularly in sales, they onboard quickly, you ramp them quickly, they get to quota quickly, and you can just be relying on that skillset.

I've used Oakstone when I was an operator, when I was running international sales organisations, when I came out of full-time work, and now I am in a plural role as a board member/ chairman/ investor. They've always been consistent in being able to help me. That's why I come back to Oakstone an awful lot because I know that I can rely on the work that they do and the quality of the CVs and the people they put in front of me.

What sets Oakstone apart from their competitors is their ability to be clear about the remit. Oakstone won't just take on any role. They know what they are experts in. That's a differentiator. It is that level of connection; the feedback you get is consistent, it's continual. So, you always know where you are in the cycle.”

Martin Moran - Advisor, One Peak Partners Growth Investors