YourBusinessWithJamesCaan2016 - 63

ENTREPRENEURS

In the hunt

Inspired by her market stall-owning dad, Elaine Tyler, 30, jumped right in with
her recruitment firm for tech companies. Her golden rule? Hire the right people

W

hat attracted you to the
recruitment sector?
The fast-paced nature of the role and the
fact that no two days are ever the same.
I like being able to help organisations
capture top talent and place people into
life-changing careers. After my degree in
business management in 2008 I went to
a recruitment company to find a job and
ended up working for them.
Did you always want to run your
own business?
I think I probably had it in me as my dad
has always run his own business, a market
stall selling jewellery in Blackpool, so my
entrepreneurial nature comes from him.
I really enjoyed working in the business
I was in before but there was no more
space at the top. I was also coming up to
a big birthday - 30 - which was a little
bit of a catalyst: if I don't do it now, will
I get the chance again? I told James
Caan about my business idea and before
I knew it I was presenting a business
plan to him. He backed my idea.

WORDS: GEORGINA MARIC

How did that first day feel?
The first day with my company Venatrix
[it means huntress in Latin] in October
2015 is one I will never forget. I had taken
the jump, creating an exciting graduate
tech sales recruitment firm. I had
experience, a plan, a vision, but I had no
staff, clients, graduates or IT system.
I was shell-shocked, it was scary, but
I was soon pitching to clients and got
three on board that day.
How did you find the graduates?
From the internet at first and then
someone messaged me directly, I
interviewed him and he became my first
member of staff. Once there were two
of us it was OK, it was hard, but we
managed. Now I run a weekly
assessment centre for 20 graduates
seeking jobs in the tech sales market.
We only recruit for technology
companies - that's our USP and it
makes us stand out.

CEO Elaine says having
a 'fun' workplace
is important

Is recruiting for yourself different
from recruiting for clients?
No - when you see the right person you
know. I look for people for us at the same
time and there are seven of us now.

No. 1 graduate technology sales recruiter
in the south east by the end of 2017. It's
important to have goals so every day is
planned on a micro level. By visualising
your targets you make them a reality.

What is your greatest achievement?
Hiring a quality team as that's what
drives everything else. If you get that
right, everything else falls into place.
We've placed 70 candidates so that's 70
people whose fortunes we've changed.
It's always dynamic and changing but of
course there is lots more to be done.
My biggest focus is attracting high
calibre talent and developing my staff.
Fostering a fun culture at work is also
important as it makes people want to
work for you.

What have you learned
about yourself?
That I am really resilient and that if you
are having a tough time you just have to
get back up and carry on.

Any low moments?
All the time, it's a rollercoaster! You can
have good m0rnings and bad afternoons
but you've got to be positive and focus
on what's going well as it's up to me to
keep everyone smiling and focused. I
want to have doubled in size and be the

What is the best piece of advice
you've received?
Hiring the right people. Don't
compromise on this - that's
James Caan's mantra.
What would you say to someone
thinking of starting their
own business?
To go for it. Before I started I was
apprehensive, thinking of all the risks.
I'd thought about it so many times but
never quite done it and now I have
actually done it, I would do it again -
any day of the week.

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