Tom Scott

Thank you for looking at my LinkedIn! 

For the TL;DR folks:

I help companies build leadership teams to preserve and build their legacy. Want to meet or know more? https://linktr.ee/tomscottt

Longer version: 

I am a two-time founder. I sold my first company, Fearless, in 2023 after growing it from £0 to 10m in 4 years. In that time, some companies I've worked with (in many capacities) include BP, London Stock Exchange, Klarna, Skyscanner, Wise, Miro, Toyota, Google Ventures, Handshake, Fantasy, Jio, Attio, and Gravity Sketch. 

Now, I'm building Verified. We are an executive search company building the teams of tomorrow. 

Companies globally trust us to build world-class teams that have a lasting impact on their enterprises.

With our executive search and board advisory services, we build high-performance design and engineering teams for clients ranging from FTSE 100 companies to VC/PE portfolio companies, placing their senior teams.

I believe I've been put in this world to help others realise their purpose by finding great work and enabling companies to support them. 

My credentials:

- Advisory to global CEOs and VCs on building design teams.
- Public speaker on all things talent, design and building companies.
- Most followed design recruiter on social media
- Built my own design agency, so I understand design well.
- Interviewed the world’s best leaders on various topics.

Outside of work, I am a man of God, a devoted father and an Olympic weightlifter. Glory to God! 

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/tomscottt

Co-Founder & CCO

A list of REMOTE Design roles in Europe: 

1. Canonical - Visual Designer (EMEA remote)
2. GitHub - Senior Product Designer (Spain remote)
3. BJAK - Senior Motion Designer (UK remote)
4. ThriveCart - Product Designer (UK/EU remote)
5. SmartRecruiters - Senior Product Designer (France remote) 
6. HubSpot - Senior Product Designer (Ireland remote) 
7. Mozilla - Creative Lead (UK remote) 
8. Addepar - Senior Product Designer (UK remote) 
9. Consensys - Design Director (EMEA remote) 
10. Contentsquare - Staff Product Designer (UK/Italy/Germany/Spain remote)
11. Vivid - Senior Product Designer (EU remote) 
12 Kraken - Senior Product Designer (EMEA remote) 
13. Smartsheet - Senior Product Designer (Bulgaria remote) 
14. Hostaway - Senior Product Designer (EMEA remote) 
15. GitLab - Staff Product Designer (EMEA remote) 
16. Protex AI - Brand & Digital Designer (Hungary remote) 
17. LastPass - Product Designer (Hungary remote) 
18. Mediafly - Midweight Designer (UK remote) 
19. Metalab - Design Lead (Global remote) 
20. Prolific - Lead Product Designer (UK remote) 

Even though there is a lot of push to go back to 3-4 days in the office, there are still a ton of companies offering remote options which I know is vital for so many people. I hope this list helps! I'll continue to post remote roles. 

All links to jobs in the the comments. Happy Monday!

1x Exit. Building my 2nd company: Verified. Design and Exec Recruiting.

A real issue for design teams when hiring:

Some design teams are so far ahead, prototyping with newer AI tools and, in general, ways of working, that it’s difficult to find designers who have done this and meet every requirement. 

This is why we need to hire on potential, not just polished portfolios. 99.9% of the time, the perfect designer just does not exist. 

This is why hiring more interns and early-stage designers would be great, as they are often far ahead with AI understanding and the newer ways of working in design, as it’s all they’ve known.

I've been hiring designers for 10 years this year. 

What started as me needing a job has turned into a labour of love. 

I still love: 

- The buzz of taking on a new client brief.  
- Seeing someone you place get a 30k pay rise. 
- Help a company build a genuine world-class team. 
- Someone change their LinkedIn to the new company. 
- See someone you place becoming your hiring manager.

We're building a new design team in London from scratch for a client, and getting feedback that we've built an interesting team full of great design talent, and everyone is settling in well, is truly rewarding. Nothing beats that. 

Here's to another 10 years.

“We need more designers who wear hats" 

This is the best comment from a CEO recently.

In all seriousness, though, more companies than ever want to hire designers for deep, hard-earned product and interface design skills and are obsessed with their craft (not just visuals), sweat the details, and live and breathe making highly crafted products. No politics, just building.

Bonus points if they wear a hat and smoke a cigar when designing.

A list of live design leadership roles in EUROPE: 

1. PandaDoc - Design Director (EU remote)
2. Bolt - Head of Product Design (Tallinn) 
3. duvo.ai - Head of Design (Prague) 
4. Preply - Creative Brand Director (London/Barcelona) 
5. the LEGO Group - Global Creative Director, Masterbrand (Copenhagen) 
6. Sinch - Director, Product Design (Stockholm) 
7. iChoosr - Head of Product and Design (Amsterdam) 
8. Text - VP of Product Design (EU remote) 
9. AKQA - Product Design Director (London) 
10. Kraken - Product Design Director, Growth (EU remote) 
11. Zoopla - Head of Product Design (London) 
12. HSBC - Head of Product Design (London)
13. OpenTable - Director, Product Design (London) 
14. Nothing - Director of Software Product Design (London) 
15. Vinted - Area Director of Design (Berlin) 
16. The Trade Desk - Creative Director (London) 
17. Pattern® - Creative Director (London) 
18. SS&C Technologies - Product Director, UX & Design (London/Essex) 
19. King - Creative Director (Barcelona) 
20. Rapid7 - Director, Product Design (Belfast) 

All job links are in the comments. I hope this helps!

A live list of design INTERN jobs: 

1. Robinhood - Product Design Intern (NYC)
2. Cloudflare - Product Design Intern (Austin, TX)
3. Anduril Industries - Product Design Intern (Costa Mesa) 
4. Stripe - Product Design Intern (Toronto) 
5. Waymo - Digital Product Design Intern (Warsaw) 
6. Cresta - Design Intern (Toronto)
7. Agoda - Product Design Intern (Bangkok) 
8. Datadog - Product Design Intern (Madrid) 
9. GoFundMe - Product Design Intern (SF) 
10. GitHub - Product Design Intern (US remote) 
11. Microsoft - Product Design Intern (Dublin)
12. Diligent - Product Design Intern (Hungary) 
13. Notion - UX Research Intern (NYC) 
14. Tencent - Game User Research Intern (London) 
15. MongoDB - UX Research Intern (Dublin) 
16. Xometry - UX Research Intern (Waltham, Massachusetts) 
17. Picnic Technologies - Visual Design Intern (Amsterdam) 
18. Edenspiekermann - Digital Product Design Intern (Berlin) 
19. BYBORRE - Visual Design and Branding Intern (Amsterdam)
20. Revolut - Product Design Intern (Europe wide) 

We need to do what we can to help the next generation of designers, so the more intern programmes the better in my opinion. You can't beat learning from people on the job. 

I hope this helps!

Design hiring in 2025 had similar issues: 

- Many companies ran into the same problems. They needed “Super IC” unicorn designers, did not know what top designers actually earn, ran long, outdated interview processes, and were too slow and too vague when selling and closing.

- Many companies tried to hire without a clear view of what they actually wanted. 

- Hiring top-tier designers is not about volume. It’s about being targeted, intentional, knowing what you want and and being willing to pay for it.

Design hiring in 2026 looks like it will be busier than ever. 

I'm here for it.

The design hiring market has been wild. I’ve spoken about this from a candidate’s point of view. There’s a huge juxtaposition, and it’s not getting be

Open article: The playbook to hiring designers in 2026 by Tom Scott • 9 min read

I used to spend hours scrolling Dribbble back in the day. I found SO many world-class designers, a lot of them I still I work with today. 

Where is the design community these days?

I miss when Dribbble was good. Read.cv was the nearest thing before it got shut down. 

It seems like we have X where designers are posting cool things and Substack is growing. We need a place again for a great design community.

Hiring designers is constantly evolving, so it's important to share what I am observing to help people find great work. 

I thought I would put together a list of reasons I’ve seen candidates not pass recent interviews at a range of companies. 

TL;DR:

1. Not enough real product work
2. Weak craft
3. No product sense
4. Incoherent storytelling
5. Tied to old playbooks
6. Low ownership signal
7. Lack of technical depth
8. Not thinking like a product designer
9. Slow pace
10. Not enough experience in AI tools

If anyone has any additions to this, I would love to hear! Let's share and learn.

Open article: 10 reasons designers do not pass interview processes by verifiedinsider.substack.com

10 reasons designers do not pass interview processes

Most of the proposals for Hatch Conference have been from outside of Europe, mainly the US. 

Europe's start-up scene and the level of design quality is incredible at the moment, but we need to be better at talking about ourselves more. We need to share the work. 

Hatch is an incredible opportunity built for European Designers. 

The call ends February 15th. I know most submissions will come in the last 24 hours, but let's not wait. 

I've had a lot of messages about people wanting to submit proposals, do it. 

Help Damian Martone find the best facilitators and speakers in Europe, tagging them here so they apply.

10 observations on how to attract and hire great designers: 

(From working and interviewing world-class design teams) 

1. They seek to understand the market first
2. Spend time crafting hiring materials
3. Double down on top of the funnel
4. They don’t get on a call unless they are excited
5. Test for the right signals
6. Test for craft early in the process 
7. Focus on live work
8. High agency is a must
9. Everyone leads through the work
10. They double down on storytelling

Open article: How to attract and hire great designers in 2026 by verifiedinsider.substack.com

How to attract and hire great designers in 2026

Delivering people development with real world results 🚀📈 | Mt. Blanc & Mt. Cotopaxi Summiteer 🏔️ | IRONMAN 70.3 finisher 🏊‍♂️🚴🏃🏻| IRONMAN in training

For 20 years, I helped leaders get better at leading.

I built a successful consultancy. Worked with high-growth scale-ups, as well as Amazon, Coca-Cola, and DHL. Delivered keynotes across three continents. Watched brilliant managers transform their teams.

I was good at it. Made a 7-figure business doing it.

But here's what kept me up at night: most of what I was teaching people didn't stick. They'd leave my workshops inspired, return to work overwhelmed, and by Tuesday the habits I'd spent days teaching them were gone.

The HR leaders who hired me knew it too. They'd spend millions on training that delivered maybe 10% ROI. But what else could they do? Traditional leadership development; workshops, courses, and quarterly check-ins was all that existed.

After hundreds of those conversations, I realized something: the entire model is wrong.

Leadership doesn't happen in classrooms. It happens in real moments:

📌 Difficult conversations
📌 Delegation decisions 
📌 Team conflicts

That's when managers need support. Not three months later in a conference room.

So in 2025, I did something terrifying. I walked away from it all to build what I wished had existed.

I'm now Founder & CEO of Atherio, the AI-powered platform that's replacing traditional leadership development with something that actually works. 

✅ Real-time support. 
✅ Embedded in your work. 
✅ Building habits daily, not quarterly.

We're backed by advisors from Kellogg and London Business School, working with a select group of pilot partners. And we're on a mission to transform 1 million+ employees into super-workers.

If you're tired of leadership development that doesn't work, let's talk. 

📧 ben@atheriohq.com
🌐 www.atheriohq.com

Still delivering keynotes on leadership, performance, and why the future of L&D looks nothing like the past.

Ben Stocken

Crazy hard is addictive...and here's an example:
Somehow I've ended up with 28 people who have agreed to climb Everest in a day, in Wales! 😆 

That's 28 clever, rationale humans who responded to my original post on here (link to it in the comments). 

-They've agreed to push themselves further.
-To summit Snowdon 4 times in 24 hours.
-Everest basecamp to summit.
-In one day.
-Mad.

My post asked for 5 people and I got flooded with 50+ replies!

We're now planning, plotting and supporting each other in a WhatsApp group.

Here's the cool thing:
I've never met some of these people, but LinkedIn helped me create this little tribe of adventurers. 

Some of us will make it, some of us won't, but I truly believe that the joy here is in the struggle, the unknown and the community. 

Want to join us? 
DM me for more info. 

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Ex England Rugby | 20 years developing leaders. Now replacing what doesn’t work with Atherio | Founder & CEO, Atherio 🚀

7 ultra endurance events in 4 years…all to get my ass kicked by a 9 year old. 

The truth is: I couldn’t be happier about it.

Here’s the challenges that I’ve completed since this all began in 2021…

-Welsh 3000s
-Marbella Half IronMan 
-Submitted Mont Blanc
-Barcelona Full IronMan
-The Marathon Des Sables 
-Ride25 Leg 3 - Geneva to Milan
-Ride25 Leg 4 - Milan to Rome

Yesterday, following my eldest around the Maverick New Forest Trail run, the penny finally dropped…

All of my accomplishments, training and misery mid event have been preparing me to help the next generation achieve their dreams and fulfill their potential.

My journey now, is to succeed at this.

It’s the same in business leadership.

The ultimate role of a manager is to unlock the next generation of talent, isn’t it?

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The funniest and most dangerous reply I had to a DM last week…

There are some insanely narrow minded views on what it takes to create high performing teams in businesses.

It’s a mindset like this that limits how great a business can be.

Can you do it yourself in house? 

-Yes.

Should you?

-Maybe.

Is this the reason to do it yourself?

-Hell NO!

🤣🤣🤣

25 reasons you’ve got to find your Marathon Des Sables this year…


1️⃣ We don’t suffer enough day to day.

We’ve adapted our lives to be more efficient, faster and easier. Finding a challenge that relies on you overcoming prolonged physical and mental suffering sculpts a resilience that will stand you apart from the pack.

2️⃣ If you think you can’t, try it.

Focusing on one singular goal gives you laser focus and allows you to measure what matters. Going a step further and attempting a goal that you might fail at provides you a chance to explore your potential.

3️⃣ The process is most important.

I’ve done more research and prep on the MDS than on anything else this year. When the goal is huge and the stakes are high your process levels up. You get smarter at strategy and tactics.

4️⃣ Win or loose, you’ll have more fun.

I’ll call this the F*ck it effect. At the end of the day life is here to be lived and loved. None of us are getting out alive. If you achieve the goal great, if you do everything right and miss, then you’ve had one hell of a journey.

5️⃣ The brotherhood of the tent effect.

This has been everything to me at the MDS. I’ve truly added 7 brothers to my family in the last 11 days and the bond created through shared suffering and ecstasy lasts. Share your challenge with others. It compounds the benefits. Lots more on this later in the week!

So there’s the first 5.
I hope they add value to you.

The rest are in the comments section for you. 👇 

What's the challenge you've set yourself this year?

You can't afford to miss this episode if you...VALUE YOUR CUSTOMERS! 

Leaders: This is the most valuable conversation you'll listen to this week. 
That title's not even clickbait...

In this week's episode of The Human Loop Podcast I sit down with Andrew Fahey, CEO of Briars to discuss the challenges and opportunities for CEOs in 2026.

He emphasises the importance of realistic optimism for the year ahead. 🚀 

We then explore the role of AI in transforming professional services, the necessity of human skills in a tech-driven world, and the innovative approaches Briars is taking to enhance client experience and internal processes.

You're going to want to heat how they are firmly putting the Human in the Loop of the CS. It's 🔥

Thanks so much for a fun and value packed conversation Andrew!

Enjoy and get ready to take notes!

Thanks to our show sponsor atherio.
Interested in being a guest, or know someone who should be?
DM me today.

Last week 4 managers DM’d me after one masterclass.
All they wanted was a simple truth framework.

Here’s the problem I see every week:
Managers are drowning in noise.
New targets, new platforms, new team dramas.
Their role is moving at rugby speed. 🏉

The worst managers?
Lost in the chaos.

The best ones?
They use a Single Source of Truth.

(Yes, I know… sounds simple. But most don’t have it.)

This is without doubt the most common conundrum coming up when I'm speaking with HRDs and CEOs right now!

"How do we help our managers to be more consistent, drive perfromance, whilst looking after their wellbeing?"

I always ask if they have a Single Source of Truth?
The blank faces tell it all. Then we get to work.

Here’s why a Single Source of Truth matters:
✅ Keeps your team focused on what matters
✅ Drives performance without burning people out
✅ Builds trust-no more “what the hell are we doing?” moments
✅ Empowers smart people to solve smart problems (not just follow orders)

Last week, I shared this on a (TRN) The Recruitment Network masterclass.
4 managers (new and experienced) messaged me afterwards to thank me.

Want the framework?
Hit Like below and Comment “TRUTH” and I’ll send it your way.
Let me know-how do you keep your team aligned when the pace goes full throttle?

P.S. Your monkeys are not your monkeys. 😂
Stop micromanaging-start leading.

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I’ve already had one of those messages:
A new manger on the ropes and wondering how the hell it happened!

Their “dream” January promotion.
Has begun to feel more Hunger Games than happy ending!

Can you relate? 

You step up as manager, pumped for glory...

Then-bam! You hear:
“Congrats on your promotion, here’s your team’s target for 2026.” Cue the icy dread. 🫣

Suddenly you’re not celebrating-you’re gearing up for battle.

Targets flying at you.
Pressure building.
Everyone watching to see if you survive.

It’s less “welcome to the club” and more “may the odds be ever in your favour.” (Chills, right? 😂)

Here’s what most don’t tell you:
→ The real games start AFTER the handshake.
→ You get dropped into the arena with zero prep.
→ Support? LOL. You’re flying solo.

I’ve coached managers for 20 years. Seen too many get blindsided-left scrambling, doubting, burning out. It's why 60% of managers fail in the first 24 months and that's costing businesses million every year!

It’s not fair.
It’s not how leadership should work.
It's killing your businesses health and growth.

Managers deserve real support, not just a pat on the back and a mountain of expectations.

What helped you survive your first promotion?
Share your war stories below or DM me if you need backup.

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Furious, Stretched or Accelerating Architect - Do you know which you are right now? 

Every manager and leaders goes through these stages. 
And every time you nail getting to Accelerating Architect, guess what?

The world changes and you have to start again at Furious Founder, just higher up on the performance curve. Getting it now?

My 3 phase model helps you become more self aware. 
Being more self aware is the first step to development.
Development leads to increased performance.
Performance leads to better outcomes.

Which are you today? 
How can you get to the next level?

All leadership lives and dies on delegation.
The Biggest Problem: Most get it wrong and don't know why...

Every week I see two extremes of managers destroying their teams...and it's often not their fault.

They're part of the 80%+ that haven't been trained to lead. They're doing their best whilst also being an IC.

So what's really going wrong?

-Micromanagement: "I'll do it myself."
-Abdication: "Figure it out, I'm too busy to help."

Both destroy teams. Both create cultures of fear.

I've watched this pattern for 20 years form my work with England Rugby, to the FTSE 250 and hyper growth companies I support.

The micromanager suffocates their team.
Checks every email.
Rewrites every deck.
Wonders why their high performers quit.

The abdicator dumps tasks and disappears.
Shows up two weeks later wondering why nothings done.
Blames the team for "not taking initiative."

Neither extreme works.
But there's a third way, and it works every-time.

SMART Delegation: The Fix

S – Specific outcome, not vague hopes!
❌ Micromanager: "Send me every version for review"
❌ Abdicator: "Improve our retention"
✅ The fix: "Build exit interview process, analyse 6-month trends, present 3 recommendations by March 15"

M – Measure of success defined NOW.
❌ Micromanager: Success = "exactly how I would've done it"
❌ Abdicator: Never defines success, just complains later
✅ The fix: "What does excellent look like? How will we both know you nailed this?"

A – Authority level crystal clear.
❌ Micromanager: "Run everything by me first"
❌ Abdicator: "You own it" (then overrules their decision)
✅ The fix: "You can decide X, recommend on Y, just update me on Z"

R – Resources identified and committed.
❌ Micromanager: "You have everything you need - me reviewing every step"
❌ Abdicator: "Figure it out with what you have"
✅ The fix: "Here's your budget, stakeholder access, and my time for these checkpoints"

T – Timeline with checkpoints, not chaos
❌ Micromanager: Daily status updates, constant interruptions
❌ Abdicator: "Done by Friday" then radio silence
✅ The fix: "Draft Tuesday, review Thursday, final Friday"

Delegation is a SuperPower.
It's not about control OR abandonment.
It's a structured handoff that builds capability.

Company's invest millions in hiring, projects and incentives but never measures whether managers actually stop micromanaging or abdicating.

What are you measuring to know if they're getting better?

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Ben Stocken

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The Battle

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Tom Scott's LinkedIn Performance

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