Three Strategic Bets That Changed How One Recruiter Thinks About Growth, with Ollie Scott

Why do some recruitment founders build seven-figure businesses while others plateau despite working just as hard? My guest, Ollie Scott, discovered growth doesn't come from hustle alone. It comes from strategic bets.

Ollie is the founder of Unknown, a talent growth consultancy that's worked with over 500 brands including Nike, Apple, and Disney. Six years ago, he started with £13,000 on a credit card and one mission: build the opposite of every recruitment company he'd ever seen.

In this episode, Ollie shares his journey from rebellion to revenue. You'll hear why differentiation always beats trying to be the best, how scaling from 8 to 18 people nearly destroyed his business, and the three strategic bets he used to rebuild.

You’ll Learn:
• Why trying to be the “best” agency is a losing strategy
• How Unknown defined a point of view clients cared about
• What went wrong scaling from 8 to 18 people
• Why profit is the safety net that enables innovation
• How to build a productized recruitment offering
• Why freelance talent pools are the future of recurring revenue
• How recruiters can monetise M&A intelligence
• How to price buy-side advisory at six-figure fees

Episode Timestamps:
[4:05] Selling suits to James Caan’s recruitment firm
[10:23] Launching Unknown with £13,000 on a credit card
[15:36] Naming strategy and brand distinctiveness
[18:26] Writing a breakup letter to recruitment companies
[21:44] Why rebellion works early but can’t scale
[36:36] Productizing around three ICPs
[44:03] Scaling to 18 people destroyed profit margins
[48:34] Profit as psychological safety
[53:20] Building recurring revenue through freelance talent pools
[58:25] Why recruiters have more M&A intelligence than M&A firms

Guest Bio:
Ollie Scott is the founder of Unknown, a £3 million talent growth consultancy specialising in the global creative industry. Before launching Unknown, Ollie spent six years at Gemini People, joining the board in his early twenties. Unknown now operates across executive search, freelance talent pools, and M&A advisory for creative agencies.

Connect with Ollie:
LinkedIn: Ollie Scott
Website: unknown.media

Connect with Mark:
recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session
linkedin.com/in/markwhitby
Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach