Best executive search firms for startups (2026)

Most lists of the best executive search firms rank the largest names. For a startup, the largest firm is rarely the right one: Hiring your first VP of Sales is a different job from replacing the CEO of a public company.

This guide compares 19 executive search firms alongside Pyck, an executive search partner for high-impact roles. It covers who each firm serves, the roles it specializes in, and how its fees work, and it says plainly where another firm may be a better fit than us.

The firms at a glance

How we chose

We compared firms on four things: The companies each is built for, how it charges, the roles it specializes in, and what it offers startups specifically.

Everything about other firms comes from their own websites, public filings and industry press, last reviewed in October 2026. A fee model appears only where a firm publishes it or discloses it in a filing.

Pyck wrote this guide, and Pyck is in it. We list ourselves first and say where we are the wrong fit.

The other firms are grouped by type, not ranked, and none paid to appear.

What to look for in an executive search firm

The right firm for a startup is rarely the most recognizable one. Four things decide whether a search works, and how to choose an executive search firm covers each in depth.

Stage fit

A firm built for public-company CEO searches works differently from one built for a Series B VP of Sales. Ask what stage most of its recent searches were at.

Who runs the search

The partner who pitches is not always the person who runs the search. Ask who will do the outreach and assessment, and how many other searches they carry.

How the fee works

Most firms charge a share of first-year cash compensation. The difference is when you pay it: Retained firms bill part of the fee before anyone is hired, and contingency firms bill only on a hire.

Access beyond the visible market

Many of the strongest candidates for high-impact roles aren't actively looking. Ask how a firm identifies and engages people beyond its existing database and inbound applicants.

Pyck — best for high-impact hires without a retainer

Pyck works with founders and leadership teams on hires that change trajectory: Product, revenue, execution, performance. We reach proven off-market talent, including leaders from unicorn and high-growth companies, and take on fewer searches so each one gets real attention.

Best for: Founders hiring for a role that materially changes the company, who want a focused search with the fee tied to the hire.

Fee model: You only pay when you hire. No retainer and no activity billing.

Worth knowing: One replacement search if a hire leaves within 90 days. For board searches or large multi-country mandates, a global firm's reach will matter more.

Daversa — best for leadership teams at venture-backed companies

Daversa, also known as Daversa Partners, builds leadership teams for growth and venture-backed companies. It is founder-led, based in Westport, Connecticut, and has offices in New York, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Miami and London.

Best for: Venture-backed companies building out a leadership team, often across several roles.

Fee model: Not published.

Worth knowing: Its work centers on growth-stage companies, so an earlier-stage company should ask how often it works at that stage.

True — best for tech and data leaders at investor-backed companies

True Search is the executive search arm of True, a talent firm based in Philadelphia. It runs tech and data-first retained search for investment firms, their portfolio companies and public companies, and describes itself as the sixth-largest executive search firm in North America.

Best for: Investor-backed tech companies hiring technology and data leaders.

Fee model: Retained.

Worth knowing: Its core clients are investment firms and their portfolio companies. Founders of earlier venture-backed companies should ask about True Venture Studios, the dedicated unit it launched in September 2026.

Riviera Partners — best for product, engineering and AI leaders

Riviera Partners specializes in product, engineering, AI, cybersecurity, IT and design leaders. It works with venture-backed companies from seed to scale, as well as PE-backed and public companies, and Hunt Scanlon calls it the largest tech-focused executive recruiter.

Best for: Technical leadership hires, from a first VP of Engineering to a CTO.

Fee model: Not published.

Worth knowing: Seed to Series B companies are served by Riviera Ventures, a separate unit built from its 2021 acquisition of Arete Partners, so ask which team would run your search.

SPMB — best for C-level tech searches

SPMB is a retained executive search firm focused exclusively on technology, with roots in Silicon Valley going back more than 40 years. It serves companies from VC-backed startups to PE-funded and publicly traded organizations.

Best for: C-level and senior hires at venture-backed tech companies.

Fee model: Retained.

Worth knowing: It works only in technology, so it fits tech leadership hires better than a company hiring across non-tech functions.

Calibre One — best for VC-backed companies hiring in the US and UK

Calibre One is a retained executive search firm founded in London in 1999, with offices in London, San Francisco and New York. It works with public companies, venture capital and private equity firms, and their portfolio companies, across technology, life sciences, financial services and consumer.

Best for: VC and PE-backed companies hiring a VP, C-suite executive or board member on either side of the Atlantic.

Fee model: Retained. Amounts are not published.

Worth knowing: It runs board searches as well as executive ones, which helps a company adding board members alongside its leadership team.

Hunt Club — best for searches built on expert referrals

Hunt Club, founded in Chicago in 2014 and backed by venture investors, runs retained executive search and full team buildouts for VC and PE-backed companies. It sources through a network of referring experts and its own AI platform.

Best for: Investor-backed companies from seed to IPO, hiring at VP and C-level or building whole teams.

Fee model: Not published. Its site describes its search as retained.

Worth knowing: Its candidates come partly through referrals from its expert network. Ask how referred candidates are assessed before you see them.

Bespoke Partners — best for PE-backed software companies

Bespoke Partners is a retained search firm for private equity-backed software companies. It was founded in 2011 and moved its headquarters to Austin in March 2026.

Best for: Software companies owned by private equity, from growth to buyout.

Fee model: Retained, with the final installment due only on a successful placement.

Worth knowing: It guarantees that a placed executive stays at least a year, or it runs the search again.

Stanton Chase — best for Series A–D companies hiring across borders

Stanton Chase is a retained firm founded in 1990, with about 70 offices in 45 countries, each owned by its partners. Its startups and scale-ups practice works with Series A to D venture-backed businesses and private equity-owned firms.

Best for: Venture-backed companies hiring in more than one country.

Fee model: Retained. Amounts are not published.

Worth knowing: Because each office is partner-owned, ask which office and which partner would run your search.

Talentfoot — best for go-to-market and digital leaders

Talentfoot is a Chicago boutique founded in 2010 and led by its founder, Camille Fetter. It hires sales, marketing, ecommerce, product, data and finance leaders for Series B startups, SaaS companies, investment firms and brands.

Best for: Go-to-market and digital roles, including some below the executive level.

Fee model: Three published models: Retained for director level and above, a retained and contingency hybrid below director, and contingency for non-critical roles under $100,000.

Worth knowing: It publishes which fee model applies at each level, so you know how a search will be billed before you start.

Betts Recruiting — best for building sales, marketing and customer success teams

Betts Recruiting is a go-to-market recruiting agency founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2009 and led by its founder, Carolyn Betts. It hires sales, marketing and customer success people for tech companies from pre-seed to Series D, from SDRs to CROs, with offices in Austin, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Best for: Startups building out a go-to-market team, not only hiring its leader.

Fee model: Contingency for individual searches, or an annual subscription with one flat fee for unlimited go-to-market hires. Executive search fees are not published.

Worth knowing: Most of its work is below the executive level, and a separate team handles VP and C-suite hires. For a VP of Sales, ask which team would run the search.

ZRG — best for search alongside embedded recruiting

ZRG, also known as ZRG Partners, is a private equity-backed talent firm with more than 700 professionals and over 30 offices. It has grown largely by acquisition, with a dozen deals since 2024.

Best for: Companies that want executive search alongside embedded or project recruiting, particularly PE-backed businesses.

Fee model: Published for its other models: Embedded recruiting at a flat monthly fee, and a blended model of fixed cost plus a per-hire success fee.

Worth knowing: Its embedded model is billed monthly rather than per hire, which suits a company filling several roles at once more than a single executive search.

The largest executive search firms

Five global firms lead board, CEO and public-company search. Hunt Scanlon's 2026 rankings put each one near or above $1 billion in annual revenue.

They bring global reach and board-level networks. They also carry off-limits agreements, which can stop them approaching executives at their other clients.

For a public-company CEO or a board, start here. For a startup's first VP, their process is often built for a bigger search than the role needs.

Korn Ferry

Korn Ferry, founded in Los Angeles in 1969, is the largest, and the only one of the five still publicly listed. It is built for board, CEO and senior searches at large and public companies.

Its filings put search fees at about 33% of the placed executive's estimated first-year cash compensation.

Heidrick & Struggles

Heidrick & Struggles was founded in Chicago in 1953 and has been private since December 2025, when a group led by Advent International bought it. It bills retained searches in thirds over about three months, and its Venture Capital practice works with founders, investors and boards.

Spencer Stuart

Spencer Stuart was founded in Chicago in 1956 and is owned by its partners, with more than 60 offices in over 30 countries. Its clients range from the world's largest companies to entrepreneurial startups, and its technology practice works with growth companies, startups and venture-backed businesses.

Russell Reynolds Associates

Russell Reynolds Associates was founded in New York in 1969 and is best known for board and CEO work. Its Startups and Scaleups practice covers venture-backed companies from Series A through IPO, and in 2023 it bought Savage Partners, a search firm for growth-equity and PE-backed software companies.

Egon Zehnder

Egon Zehnder was founded in Zurich in 1964 and runs as one firm with a shared incentive system across its partners. It focuses on CEO, board and executive search, and has a practice dedicated to founders.

Global firms with startup practices

Three more global firms have practices aimed at venture or investor-backed companies.

Odgers

Odgers, known as Odgers Berndtson until 2025, was founded in Europe in 1965 and has its head office in London. Its Scale Up Collective works with private equity and venture capital funds and their portfolio companies.

Boyden

Boyden was founded in New York in 1946 and has more than 75 partner-owned offices in over 45 countries. It runs retained search, and its private equity and venture capital practice places leaders in portfolio companies.

DHR Global

DHR Global, founded in Chicago in 1989 as DHR International, runs senior-level retained search. Its technology practice includes a venture capital and startups segment, and its Jobplex subsidiary handles mid-level hiring.

Boutique executive search firms vs the largest firms

Most firms on this list are boutiques: Smaller firms focused on a stage, a sector or a function. For a startup, that focus is usually the point.

A boutique tends to give a search more senior attention and has fewer clients it cannot recruit from. The largest firms offer global reach, board-level networks and recognition with investors.

Neither is better in general. A CEO search at a public company and a first VP of Sales at a Series A startup need different things.

Tech executive search firms

For technology hires, the specialists are Riviera Partners for product, engineering and AI leaders, True and SPMB for senior tech leadership, Calibre One for VC-backed companies hiring in the US and UK, and Bespoke Partners for PE-backed software. Daversa and Hunt Club work across functions at venture-backed companies.

Pyck focuses on the roles that change trajectory in high-growth companies, technical or not.

Executive search firms for private equity-backed companies

Private equity owners often run leadership hiring across their portfolio, and several firms are built around that. Bespoke Partners works only with PE-backed software companies, and Russell Reynolds Associates added the same focus when it bought Savage Partners.

ZRG is itself PE-backed and works with investors from buyouts to early-stage venture. Stanton Chase, Boyden and Odgers each run practices for private equity and venture-backed portfolio companies, and Calibre One counts private equity firms among its clients.

How much do executive search firms charge?

Most firms charge a percentage of the hired executive's first-year cash compensation. What differs is when you pay and what you pay for.

Retained firms take the fee in installments, usually thirds, starting before anyone is hired. The total is typically 20–30% of first-year compensation.

For a startup, the percentage is only half the question. A retainer means paying before you know the search is working, in exchange for a firm committed to your search.

Contingency firms are paid only on a hire, typically 15–30% of first-year compensation. Some firms, including Talentfoot and ZRG, publish hybrid or fixed-fee models.

The models and what they include are set out in executive search fees, and the trade-offs between them in retained search vs contingency search.

Do startups need an executive search firm?

Not for every hire. Many early roles are filled through the founders' own networks and their investors, and that is often the right call.

Some roles don't need a full-time hire yet. A fractional or interim executive, such as a part-time CFO ahead of a fundraise, can cover the gap until the role is worth a search.

Search earns its cost when a role materially changes the company's trajectory, the right people are hard to reach, or the search has to stay confidential. Those trade-offs, and the mistakes founders make along the way, shape how executive search for startups should be run.

See When should startups use executive search?

Which executive search firm should you choose?

Start with the role and your stage, not the brand.

• A board seat or a public-company CEO — one of the largest firms.
• A PE-backed software company — Bespoke Partners.
• A product, engineering or AI leader — Riviera Partners.
• A senior tech or data leader at an investor-backed company — True or SPMB.
• A leadership team at a venture-backed company — Daversa or Hunt Club.
• A senior hire across the US and UK — Calibre One.
• A go-to-market team, including roles below the executive level — Betts Recruiting or Talentfoot.
• A high-impact hire, paid only when you hire — Pyck.

Whichever you choose, ask how the search will actually run: Who does the work, how the market is mapped, and how candidates are assessed. That is the executive search process from the inside, and how executive search firms work explains the models behind it.

The best firm is not the biggest one. It is the one built for your stage, your role and the outcome you need.

If a focused search, paid only when you hire, suits the role you are filling, get in touch.