Welcome back to the pod! With the massive 200-mile "Chase the Sun" charity cycle only days away, the nerves are officially setting in.First up, we give a quick update on our fundraising for Say it with a Smile (we are over the £1,600 mark!) and break down our completely untested strategy for surviving a 15-hour day on the saddle.We then jump into a debrief of the recent team conference. We talk about the feeling of wanting to "kick on" and grow the business faster, and contrast the grind of being a bootstrapped SaaS company against tech startups running on VC funding.The conversation moves into product updates and how feature requests (like custom fields and AI integrations) seem to hit the Giig inbox in massive waves. We also take a quick detour to talk about our newfound obsession with Clarkson's Farm and the brilliant editing tricks they use.Finally, we dip into Lee's Lunchbox for a moment of reflection: What is the one thing you have improved on the most in the last year? This leads to a great chat about the importance of continuous learning, why old-school recruitment training was often lacking, and the memories of making our very first placements in the industry.Enjoy the episode, and wish us luck on the bikes!Links & Resources:🚴‍♂️ Support our £10k Goal for 'Say it with a Smile': https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/say-it-with-a-smile-1#📈 Check out Giig: https://giighire.com/

Welcome back to the pod!

This week, we are joined by Charles Kuryaku and Naz Harrison, the brilliant recruitment coaches behind Milo! A brand new AI-driven recruitment co-pilot.This episode is an absolute masterclass for anyone interested in Learning & Development (L&D), recruitment tech, or the gritty reality of building a SaaS business from scratch.Charles and Naz talk us through their early days in the recruitment trenches and how they made the leap into L&D. They tackle the old-school industry stigma that L&D professionals are just "failed salespeople" and explain why one-to-one coaching delivers a massively higher ROI than just sticking consultants in a classroom to watch videos.We then get deep into the startup journey. The boys open up about the brutal reality of being non-technical founders trying to build an AI product. They share the absolute nightmare scenario of having their original tech partners lock them out of their prototype just minutes before a major investor pitch and how they managed to completely turn it around, secure cash investors, and find a technical co-founder who shares their vision.Plus, we cover:Why they are building an active desktop "co-pilot" instead of a boring library of training videos.The importance of using "The Mom Test" to get brutal, honest market validation.A hilarious, highly awkward story about the cultural differences of trying to cold-call and headhunt in Germany.If you are a recruitment founder, an L&D professional, or someone thinking about launching your own tech product, you need to hear this one. Enjoy!Links & Resources:🤖 Check out Milo: https://www.linkedin.com/company/m-i-l-o/📈 Check out Giig: https://giighire.com/

Welcome back to the pod! This week, we hit a massive milestone. After 80 episodes, we finally have an actual Giig user in the studio: the brilliant Becky Kitson from Kitson Associates!To celebrate, we are officially in fancy dress (safety first, obviously), and this episode is an absolute rollercoaster. In this episode there is something for everyone! In Becky’s own words, she is a great all rounder... First, we get into Becky's journey into recruitment, moving from being a debt advisor to starting out in a freezing cold, high-pressure agency, and eventually breaking out on her own to build Kitson Associates. She talks about the realities of being a solo founder, the isolation that comes with the job, and why she leans into the "small business" narrative when pitching to clients.But this episode isn't just about recruitment. We take a massive detour into Becky’s property investments, including her wild experiences managing an HMO, finding some questionable items left behind by tenants, and the unbelievable story of accidentally renting her first house out to a brothel.We also get serious for a moment. Becky talks passionately about the lack of women in construction, the discrimination pregnant women still face from hiring managers, and why 70% of her job currently involves acting as a counsellor for burnt-out senior executives in the construction industry.Finally, we dip into Lee's Lunchbox to answer a question left by Jeremy Snell: What is the number one thing in recruitment that pisses you off, that you would make illegal if you could?This is one of the funniest, deepest, and most chaotic episodes we’ve ever recorded. Enjoy!Links & Resources:🏗️ Connect with Becky Kitson: https://kitsonassociates.co.uk/📈 Check out Giig: https://giighire.com/