Season 8 | Ep32 From cleaning to global recruiter - Leon Mitton on scaling with AI at the core

What does it take to go from running a cleaning business to founding a global recruitment firm? Leon Mitton shares how he launched Agnes Cole Consulting during COVID and is now using AI to drive scale and efficiency in a way few are even attempting.

On this week's episode of The RAG Podcast, I’m joined by Leon Mitton, founder of Agnes Cole Consulting, a specialist SAP and S4 HANA recruitment firm based in the UK and operating globally.

Leon started with no background in business and built everything from the ground up. In this episode, he opens up about his journey, the role of personal fulfilment in entrepreneurship, and how he’s using AI to build a lean, high-performing business for the future.

In this episode, we discuss

• How Leon went from cleaning homes to closing global recruitment deals
• What it was like launching a company at the peak of COVID
• Why AI is the future of outbound and client engagement in recruitment
• His vision for creating a long-term legacy for his family

If you're thinking about what recruitment could look like in five years or want to hear a story rooted in grit, innovation, and purpose, this episode is not to be missed.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Leon Mitton and Agnes Cole Consulting

02:14 Leon’s Journey: From Cleaning Business to Recruitment

10:01 Navigating Recruitment During COVID-19

12:29 The Transition to Entrepreneurship

15:05 Establishing Agnes Cole Consulting

17:12 Growth and Challenges in Year Two

19:11 The Messy Middle: Managing a Growing Team

24:28 Reflections on Business and Personal Fulfillment

27:08 Creating a Legacy for Future Generations

30:46 The Role of AI in Recruitment

32:19 Intentional Parenting and Education Choices

34:36 The Evolution of School Systems

37:04 Communication Skills as a Superpower

39:10 The Impact of Technology on Recruitment

41:44 AI's Influence on Client Relationships

46:18 Adapting to Change in Recruitment

51:00 The Future of Recruitment and Business Structure

55:23 Finding Joy in the Recruitment Journey

01:01:20 Inspiring Others Through Personal Stories

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Atlas

Your memory isn’t perfect. So Atlas remembers everything for you. 

Atlas is an end-to-end recruitment platform built for the AI generation. It automates your admin so you can focus on the business tasks that matter. 

How many conversations do you have every day? With clients. Candidates. Your team. Service providers.

Now how many of those conversations can you recall with 100% accuracy? How many hours a week do you spend making notes to try and retain as much as possible? And how much is still getting lost along the way? 

Traditional CRM systems weren’t built for the type of recruitment business you’re running right now. 

They were built to rely on the structured, tagged, categorised, and formal data you could feed it. Manual processes that needed you to input specific information, based on specific questions and answers. 

But what about all the other conversations you’re having every single day? 

Atlas isn’t an ATS or a CRM. It’s an Intelligent Business Platform that helps you perform 10X better than you could on your own. 

How? 

By removing all your low value tasks, acting as your perfect memory, and providing highly relevant recommendations to impact your performance. 

Learn more about the power of Atlas – and take advantage of the exclusive offer for The RAG listeners – by visiting https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/ 

__________________________________________

Episode Sponsor: Hoxo

Recruitment agency founders - this one’s for you.

What’s your plan for the rest of 2025?

If it’s based on more cold outreach, referrals, or hiring more recruiters… we’ve got news for you. That’s not where the smart money is going.

The market has changed. AI is everywhere. Noise is louder than ever.

So if you want to scale profitably this year, you need to do things differently!

It starts with what you already have.

Your experience. Your network. Your voice.

And we are showing you exactly how to use it in a brand-new, FREE Masterclass - built specifically for recruitment leaders like you.

You’re going to learn:

• Why your LinkedIn content isn’t working - and how to fix it fast
• How to generate inbound leads without being “LinkedIn famous”
• And the exact Hoxo 3X System agencies are using to book more calls - in just a few hours a week

78% of our clients made over 100K in the first 6 months using this. No fluff. No guesswork. Just stuff that works.

The Masterclass is free - but it’s only available for a limited time.

So if you’re serious about growing this year, don’t wait.

Head to https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0  to get started. See you there!