BBC Dragon Steven Bartlett has invested in recruitment tech and talent agency Chapter 2.
The business aims to maximise and modernise the current outsourced recruitment model via three key pillars – People, Process and Technology – which it says are tailored to each client’s specific needs.
Having the likes of John Lewis and Bumble among its clients, Chapter 2 has driven impressive growth to date (248% CAGR).
Leo Harrison founded Chapter 2 pre-COVID, in 2020, to solve a problem that he had experienced increasingly in his former role as COO at OLIVER Agency – that of costly talent acquisition, and an industry not fit for purpose.
“The definition of the word ‘company’ is ‘group of people’. Hiring a great group of people is the single, most important, fundamental objective of any company that has the potential to be great,” said Diary of a CEO podcast host Bartlett.
“I’ve spent years trying to build a talent solution that would allow my companies and I, to find, attract and recruit the world’s best talent.
“The issue I’ve found is that typical recruitment companies are expensive, have misaligned incentives and don’t understand our company’s culture. Then I discovered Chapter 2, a company designed to fix all of this, led by Leo – who is one of the best entrepreneurs I’ve ever met.
“I knew we had to join forces to power my company’s talent needs; Flight Group, but also to help high potential companies all over the world to meet their talent needs.”
Based in the United Kingdom, United States, South Africa, India and Germany, with a global reach, Chapter 2 will join Bartlett’s ‘business ecosystem’.
Harrison said: “I genuinely believe that the recruitment and talent acquisition space is slow, expensive and ripe for disruption.
“Attracting and retaining the top 0.1% is harder than ever in a saturated market. As the global COO of OLIVER Agency, our biggest challenge was retaining the culture and quality we had built while scaling our team, at pace, globally.
“I quickly realised this was due to the recruitment industry simply not being fit for purpose, and why I founded Chapter 2.
“With Steven’s collaboration, Chapter 2 will amplify our reach for our business and our clients. Together we can ensure Chapter 2 provides our current and prospective clients with a first-class talent solution that delivers results.”