Tipped

If I was still a VP of Sales, I'd use Tipped to find my sales team hires. 

Simply put; I've founded a company to use my experience building Series A-D SaaS companies to ensure our clients hire the best possible people they can.

My methods will ensure that startups & scaleups make derisked hiring decisions by having me and my team of ex-SaaS executives to rely on to pre-select the best profiles for consideration and we personally interview every single candidate before it hits our clients.

If you're a tech company, we'll hire your Sales/Account Executive | Customer Success/Account Managers | Marketing | Operations | Product & Engineering | VP Sales | CROs

We cover all regions. EMEA | US | APAC.

Talk to us for a true talent partnership that you can count on for the long term. We find people who are 'Tipped' for Success.

Managing Director (SaaS Recruitment & Executive Search)

Bluebird

Managing Partner

TikTok

ByteDance is a true technology company operating a range of content platforms that inform, educate, entertain and inspire people across languages originally headquartered in Beijing.

Responsible for bringing some cutting edge technologies that helped make products (like TikTok) successful to the Western EMEA market involving App Analytics, Machine Learning, Computer Vision & Deep Neural Network AI

RVP, Western EMEA (Senior Leader, AI Sales)

Sensor Tower

VP EMEA

Optimizely

Joining at Series B, I built and managed the UK&I Business for Index Ventures & A16Z startup Optimizely. 

Oversaw growth 5-55 Heads across sales, presales, marketing & customer success.
Top Line Revenue transformation $4-$27m ARR in my region alone.
Transitioned the business from PLG to full Enterprise motion signing the first $1m deal with a large UK supermarket chain.

Hired & managed a team of 14 Enterprise & Strategic AE's

Presidents Club 2017 (As a company leading Sales Leader)
Presidents Club 2018 (As a company leading Sales Leader)

Responsible for the sales and success of our class-leading Experience Optimization platform (Optimizely X) in the UK and Ireland measured by sales and adoption of our platform and creating a world-class team of cross-functional professionals.

RVP, UK&I

EmpowerSocial - Social Media Agency

My first real business; I founded a social media agency specialising in above the line and social media strategy for local businesses in the hospitality and trade sector.

Hired 13 contract staff HQ'd in Maidstone, Kent. 

Built to 55 clients and £20,000 MRR 

Also, my first exit. As I sold the business to large media agency PurpleCow Ltd in 2015.

Founder & CEO

Enterprise Account Executive, SaaS

BT Global Services

Enterprise Account Executive, Commercial & Public Sector

Clarion Events

Sales Development / Account Executive

Why am I building a recruitment company? The industry needed it.

I spent years scaling start-ups and disruptive SaaS companies and I'm now creating the recruitment company I actually would have used, if I was still a VP of Sales.

Ash Takher

Bluebird - the only search firm in the world that consists of 100% ex-SaaS & AI operators.

Do you want to speak with the person you'll hire within 7 working days for any of your open GTM & Tech roles?

Stop wasting time working with traditional agencies, and get in touch.

Golden Egg Check

At Golden Egg Check, we’re on a mission to back the next generation of category-defining founders. Our focus is on early-stage (pre-seed and seed) startups with the potential to scale fast and build meaningful companies. We combine funding with hands-on guidance, a strong community, and direct access to our network of operators, angels, and VCs.

As a Partner, I bring my background as a founder and operator in the SaaS industry. As an IPO'd sales leader, and having built and scaled Bluebird into Europe’s leading SaaS recruitment firm, I know first-hand the challenges founders face when it comes to building high-performance teams and go-to-market structures. My role at Golden Egg Check is to bridge that experience with our portfolio, helping founders navigate talent, culture, and sales execution from day one.

Together with the team, I support:
	•	Deal flow & selection: Sourcing and evaluating high-potential startups.
	•	Portfolio support: Advising founders on hiring, GTM strategy, and scaling teams.
	•	Community building: Connecting entrepreneurs, angels, and VCs across our ecosystem.
	•	Capital raising: Growing our investor base and co-investment opportunities.

Golden Egg Check Capital is a platform. We believe early-stage founders deserve both capital and an operator-led support system that understands the grind of building from scratch. That’s the part I love bringing into the mix.

Partner

FastSpring

Built FastSpring's EMEA team from the ground up, growing it from $0 to $3mio ARR and 3 to 15 FTE.

Head of Sales, EMEA

SolarWinds

"Machiel has an exceptional work ethic and coupled with his outstanding sales ability, he has helped grow our EMEA business at an exponential rate. Machiel has been pivotal in the hiring and grooming of our Dutch sales team and has shown an exceptional capability to train from the ground up."

Director of Sales

#1 AE world wide in 2015:
$1.4mln in ARR
124 New Logo's
165% quota attainment

Account Executive

Customer Success Manager

Inside Sales Representative

Sales Development Representative

Are you an ambitious Founder, looking to reach your company's full potential through hiring exceptional people? You're at the right place.

I am a former SaaS sales leader who is disrupting the executive search and recruitment space.

Bluebird saves SaaS & AI companies time by introducing them to highly qualified Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Product, Engineering & AI people & leaders (up to C-level) surprisingly fast. On average it takes Bluebird only 7 working days to introduce you to the person you will end up hiring.

My professional achievements as a SaaS leader:
- Pivotal role in N-able's/Solarwinds' growth from $6M to $250M ARR, hired 40+ people, and successfully IPO'd
- Built FastSpring's EMEA team from the ground up, hiring 12 people and growing it from $0-$3M ARR within a year

Machiel Kunst

My, my…!!!

Just on my way back from an amazing week in Helsinki at Slush, and I open my phone to see we just crossed 100,000 followers on LinkedIn.

I 💙 this community. Thanks everyone.

PS. This image was obviously not approved by our Brand Experience Manager, Geke... the person behind the scenes driving all of our visibility.

Founder of the #1 SaaS & AI search firm for GTM & Tech // Partner at GEC Capital

Big news! We just made our first in-territory hire in Germany 🇩🇪

Even though we already have a 6-person team serving the DACH market, bringing someone on the ground is a major milestone for us.
Germany is one of our biggest markets, and this move shows how serious we are about doubling down.

I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Luisa Marr to the team.

From the first conversation, she stood out:
Warm. Sharp. High EQ. Curious. Self-aware.
The kind of person who asks excellent questions.

Born and raised in Berlin. International school upbringing.
Door-to-door sales. Built her own home-fragrance brand from scratch.
Crushed quota in her SaaS roles. And deeply motivated by achieving something together.

She cares about the same things we do:
• Teamwork & culture
• Personal + professional growth
• Shared vision on where we want to go, what we want to achieve, and how we get there

Luisa, welcome to Bluebird.
We’re building something special in Germany, and you’re a huge part of that next chapter.

Let’s go 🚀

I’ve noticed that top salespeople consistently nail two things:

1️⃣ They see the world through the buyer’s eyes.
They don’t sell features (duh!), they understand what life actually looks like for the customer.
That means they can connect the dots between the intangible impact (less stress, more clarity) and the tangible impact (cost savings, new revenue).

2️⃣ They stay involved after the deal closes.
They care about the implementation going right, because they know happy customers become their best prospecting engine.
Most of their next meetings come from direct intros by their existing clients.

Like most good things in life, it takes commitment, and a genuine interest in helping people.

What do you think makes a salesperson truly outstanding?

FIRST and FOREMOST: a big THANK YOU to all the volunteers at Slush. All of you were the stars of the show. I was deeply impressed by your organization, professionalism, and positive vibes.

I loved being on stage to talk about how to transition from Founder led sales to building a sales organization, and hiring a VP sales eventually. Huge interaction afterwards with lots of questions. So much fun!

All in all, fantastic to see so many familiar and new faces. Spending time with the Golden Egg Check team has been absolutely fantastic 💜

$0 → $4M ARR in 10 months.
This is what hypergrowth really looks like.

Peec AI just announced their $21M Series A by Singular, and it’s one of the most impressive stories in European AI right now.

Why?

Because they have real traction, customers, and market pull.

📈 $0 → $4M ARR in 10 months.
🌊 Flooded with inbound.
🏆 Top global brands already relying on their technology.

At Bluebird, we’re incredibly proud to partner with Peec AI and help build out their entire GTM, Product, and Engineering organisation.
This is one of those rare moments where you get to shape the trajectory of a category-defining company.

And yes… they’re hiring. A lot.
If you’ve ever wanted to join a rocketship while it’s still on the launchpad, this is that moment.

Open roles:
- (Senior) Account Executive (×6)
- Growth Marketer (×3)
- Customer Success Associate
- GTM Engineer
- Product Manager
- Product Manager SEO
- Backend Engineer (×5)
- Fullstack Engineer (×5)
- Data Scientist (×3)
- Software Development Manager (×2)
- Site Reliability Engineer
- Revenue Operations Lead
- Customer Support Associate

💡 Link to all vacancies is in the comments.

If you’re an A-player who wants impact, speed, and a front-row seat to one of Europe’s most exciting AI scale-ups... this is your shot.

#AI #SaaS #Hiring #GTM #Engineering #Product #ScaleUp #Careers #BluebirdRecruitment

Yes! Michelle Ferguson has joined Bluebird 🤩

Another top Engineer in the building.

As she puts it herself: “surprisingly” social
🇿🇦 from South Africa
⚡️ great energy

She’s joining one of our fastest-growing teams: Team IT. A handful of former engineers placing product & engineering roles for our customers.

Wonder how we keep getting top operators from the SaaS/AI market to join Bluebird?
👉 Connect with Michelle and ask 🙂

Welcome aboard, Michelle!

STOP hiring strategists at a startup! 😒 
I've said it again and again.

And the funny thing?
I’ve made this mistake myself, while preaching the opposite for years.

If you’re a founder and you’re talking to someone who:
• impresses you with their strategic thinking
• teaches you something new every time
• makes you think “damn… they might even take my job one day” 
(please note you're putting them on a pedestal)
…there’s a good chance you’re talking to a strategist, not an executor.

And that’s exactly who you DON'T need full-time at an early-stage startup.

Meet with them once or twice a month.
Let them challenge your thinking.
Get the ideas and clarity.

But DO NOT bring them in as a full-time hire.
It’s a waste of money at this stage, and it slows you down.

Progress doesn’t come from talking. It comes from doing.

👇 I break it down in this video.

A few months ago, Mathijs from Newion introduced us to Lasse & Marco from koppla, after their €6M funding round. 

We kicked off a clear exec search process for their VP Sales.
Shortlist ready… and within ~2 days we introduced Fabian, who ended up being the perfect match.

Today I’m sharing the video testimonial Lasse recorded. Grateful for:

Mathijs, for the intro
Lasse & Marco, for the trust and great cooperation
And the Koppla team, for moving fast and playing at a top level

The best part?
We’re now helping Koppla further scale their GTM and tech teams.

Onwards 🚀

If you have a Co-Founder, Rocket Fuel might be the most important book you read this year.

Most leadership duos fail because the roles are blurry.

Two people doing “everything.”
Two people owning “strategy.”
Two people stepping on each other’s toes without meaning to.

The magic happens when you split the force in two:

👉 The Visionary: ideas, direction, instinct, momentum.
👉 The Integrator: clarity, execution, accountability, stability.

When those two roles are understood, respected and protected, a 2-person leadership team becomes a weapon.

The visionary stops drowning in ops.
The integrator stops firefighting someone else’s ideas.
And the business finally has both speed and control.

Complementarity is the cheat code. Jelle van Jaarsveld 🤝 

If you want your leadership duo to kick ass:
- Get brutally honest about who’s the Visionary and who’s the Integrator.
- Design your weeks, decisions, and responsibilities around that.

Rocket Fuel nails this concept, and once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

Your whole company feels the difference.

Quintin Schevernels - did you recommend this book to me?

Bits & Pretzels is landing in Amsterdam for the first time, and I’m excited that Bluebird is supporting the launch. If you’re a founder or investor, this one is worth your time. 

Expect honest discussions, good people and AMAs with operators who’ve successfully built things. As an investor and ecosystem player, I’ll share a few thoughts to open the evening before we get into the sessions. 

There will be food, drinks and plenty of room for proper connection.

AMA sessions with:
- Lex Hoefsloot (Building in hardware)
- Martine Rooth (Raising successful rounds)
- Sophie Heijenberg (Inside the mind of an early stage VC)

If you want to join, the link is in the comments!

With Golden Egg Check, we’re hosting a series of small events for people who are curious about investing in our second fund.

If you want to learn more, I’ve dropped the Luma links in the comments. Here’s what we’ve got lined up:

📅 25 November — Padel in Enschede
📅 28 November — Pitch & Putt in Kamerik (between Utrecht & Amsterdam)
📅 3 December — Boswandeling in Doorn
📅 4 December — City Tour in Groningen

We’re keeping the groups small, and the conversations honest.

If you’re curious...
👇 Check the comments for the links.

Ever looked critically at how much time your leadership team spends hiring?

Most companies accept it as normal that a big chunk of leadership time goes into interviews.
Because hiring the right people is priority #1.

But it’s a huge time drain.

When I was a first-line manager, I spent over 50% of my time hiring.
Time I could’ve spent coaching and developing my team.

The problem?
Our hiring pipeline was flooded with candidates from recruiters and job boards.
I didn’t want my team wasting hours on first-round interviews.
And HR wasn’t equipped to assess sales talent the way a leader would.

So, how much time do you spend hiring?
And what creative ways have you found to make it more efficient?

PS: This is the ROI of working with Bluebird.
We only send candidates we’d hire ourselves.
Every profile is vetted for the soft and hard skills that actually matter.
Fewer interviews. Better candidates.
And a lot more time back to focus on what actually drives growth.

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