SaaS Startup

the role

Director of Client Success

THE CHALLENGE

Low Budget, High Expectations: Struggling to Secure a SaaS Client Success Leader in a Competitive Market

An early-stage startup was facing mounting pressure to hire a Client Success leader with specialized SaaS experience—but they were up against significant challenges. Operating on a limited budget, they couldn’t compete with typical compensation expectations in the high-cost Chicago market.

To further narrow the pool, the role required a daily in-office presence, a sharp contrast to the increasingly standard remote or hybrid work models preferred by top talent.

Despite posting the role on their careers page and multiple major job boards for several months, the results were disappointing—unqualified applicants and little traction with the right profile.

Even when promising candidates were identified, the lengthy, multi-stage interview process made it difficult to maintain candidate engagement, resulting in drop-off before final decisions could be made. With time slipping and no viable hire in sight, the client needed a smarter, more strategic approach to win the right talent.

OUR approach

To overcome the client’s compensation and location constraints, our team launched a strategic headhunting effort, targeting both the local Chicago market and diasporic talent across the country with the right blend of SaaS experience, leadership ability, and cultural alignment.

Understanding the demands on high-performing professionals, our team conducted after-hours outreach and interviews, accommodating candidates who couldn’t engage during standard business hours.

This personalized, high-touch approach helped us access and engage passive talent who otherwise wouldn’t have entered a traditional search process.

the result

Our targeted strategy yielded 30 shortlisted candidates of which 10 were selected as finalists.

The chosen hire—Director of Client Success—remains with the company 3.5 years later, continuing to lead through and beyond a successful acquisition.

“I’ve worked with SSC now at two startups… fast, efficient, with a keen ability to recruit talent that delivers results… responsiveness is exceptional… my go-to recruiting partner.”

— VP of Marketing