Intelligent People
Intelligent People is a UK boutique recruitment consultancy founded in 2002, specializing in product management, UX/product design, marketing, and eCommerce placements at experienced and executive levels for enterprise and scale-up clients.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersSaint Albans, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Intelligent People does
Intelligent People is a UK-based boutique recruitment consultancy founded in 2002, specializing exclusively in product management, product design/UX, marketing, and eCommerce talent acquisition at experienced and executive levels. The firm operates three core service lines: contingency permanent placement (fees of 25-28% of candidate compensation), retained executive search (33% of fee in three stages), and contract/interim placement with published day rates ranging from £300-1,500 depending on seniority and discipline. Its technology stack centers on a proprietary recruitment CRM supporting a 70,000+ candidate database, which enables shortlist delivery within 24 hours for interim roles and 5-6 weeks for executive searches.
The company serves a diversified client base of 2,000+ brands, including enterprise clients (Tesco, Amazon, eBay, Sainsbury's, Peloton, Channel 4, Zoopla, OVO Energy), high-growth SaaS startups (Noom, Novata, Causaly, iProov), and nonprofits, across both B2B and B2C segments. Distribution is hybrid: enterprise field sales for executive mandates and retained search, inside sales for standard placements, and self-serve channels (job board, CV upload portal) for candidates. The firm is headquartered in St Albans with a registered office in London, and has extended executive search coverage to EMEA, North America, and select APAC markets.
Revenue mechanics are professional services–based with no subscription or platform recurring revenue. Supporting assets include the Partner Up product mentorship community program and a Tree-Nation environmental partnership (20 trees planted per placement). The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors, parent company, or funding rounds, operating as an independent founder/director-led firm with two named directors (Chris Mason, Doug Bates). No AI/ML capabilities, APIs, or technology integrations beyond a standard CRM are disclosed.
Intelligent People firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Intelligent People
- Legal name
- Intelligent People Ltd
- Website
- https://intelligentpeople.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Intelligent People is a UK boutique recruitment consultancy founded in 2002, specializing in product management, UX/product design, marketing, and eCommerce placements at experienced and executive levels for enterprise and scale-up clients.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Intelligent People industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Specialist Recruitment Services
- NAICS
- Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry) (BPACAFAA)
Keywords
Where Intelligent People is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Saint Albans
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Intelligent People business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Contingency Recruitment: Traditional contingency-based recruitment where fees are charged upon successful placement of a candidate. Typically 25-28% of the candidate's total salary and package.
- Retained Executive Search: Retained search engagements where the agency receives 33% of the fee at three stages: on engagement, on shortlist, and on placement. Typically used for C-suite and senior leadership positions.
- Contract/Interim Placement: Placement of interim contractors for short-term roles. Day rates vary by discipline and seniority level, ranging from £300-1500 per day depending on role type.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Contingency Recruitment - 25-28% of candidate salary |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Retained Executive Search - 33% total fee |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Contractor Day Rates 2025 - Product Management |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Contractor Day Rates 2025 - Marketing |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Contractor Day Rates 2025 - Product Design & UX |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Intelligent People product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Intelligent People is a specialist recruitment consultancy that places experienced and executive-level professionals in product management, UX/product design, marketing, and eCommerce roles for scale-ups and enterprises. Revenue is generated through contingency permanent placements (typically 25-28% of candidate salary), retained executive search (33% staged fee), and contract/interim placements with published day rates by discipline.
Product overview
Intelligent People is a boutique specialist recruitment agency offering a unified suite of talent acquisition services. The core offering comprises Executive Search (retained and contingency C-suite recruitment), Permanent Contingency Recruitment, and Contract/Interim Placement services across product management, product design & UX, marketing, and eCommerce disciplines. Supporting services include Recruitment Consultancy (salary benchmarking, employer branding, candidate assessment) and the Partner Up product mentorship community program. The company operates a job board platform for candidates and manages end-to-end recruitment projects from briefing through onboarding for employer clients.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Partner Up: Product management mentorship scheme launched to provide a place where product people of all levels can engage, network, access new resources and learn new skills. Part of their community support initiatives including endorsement of Women in Product.
Products and services
- Executive Search Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Deliver executive search shortlists within 5-6 weeks
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Intelligent People
Customer profileNamed customers20 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Intelligent People technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Intelligent People partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Tree-NationminorEnvironmental partnership where Intelligent People pledges to plant 20 trees for every candidate placement made. Supports Tree-Nation's mission to reforest the world and fight Climate Change by protecting biodiversity, restoring forests, creating jobs, and supporting local communities.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Intelligent People competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Aspire: Aspire is a specialist recruitment firm covering sales, marketing, digital and technology roles across the UK - directly comparable to Intelligent People on the marketing and digital leadership placement side.
- Salt: Salt is a specialist digital recruitment agency covering digital, technology, marketing and creative roles across the UK and internationally - a direct competitor in the same product/marketing/digital hiring niche as Intelligent People.
- Xcede: Xcede is a UK-based specialist technology recruitment firm covering data, engineering, product and digital disciplines - a comparable boutique recruiter competing in overlapping product and digital talent verticals.
- Harnham: Harnham is a UK-based specialist recruitment firm focused on data, analytics, technology and product hiring - directly comparable to Intelligent People in serving product and digital leadership mandates for enterprise clients.
- Stott and May: Stott and May is a UK specialist search firm focused on technology, digital and transformation leadership - a direct peer in executive search for product and technology leadership roles.
- Signify Technology: Signify Technology is a specialist tech recruiter covering product, engineering and digital roles with UK and international reach - comparable in niche focus and boutique delivery model.
- La Fosse Associates: La Fosse is a UK-headquartered specialist recruitment and executive search firm focused on technology, digital and transformation leadership - directly comparable to Intelligent People on executive search for digital/product leaders.
- Understanding Recruitment: Understanding Recruitment is a UK specialist recruiter covering technology, digital and product roles, operating across permanent and contract placements - a close peer to Intelligent People in the UK product/digital talent market.
Broad incumbents
- Adecco UK: Adecco is a global staffing leader with permanent placement and executive search capabilities that overlap with Intelligent People on professional and digital mandates, but operates across all sectors at significantly greater scale.
- Hays UK & Ireland: Hays is a global generalist staffing group with a UK technology and digital practice; it competes with Intelligent People on enterprise mandates but at much greater scale and across all professional disciplines.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Intelligent People social profiles
Digital presenceIntelligent People financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Intelligent People leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Intelligent People funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Intelligent People M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Intelligent People
What does Intelligent People do?
Intelligent People is a specialist recruitment consultancy that places experienced and executive-level professionals in product management, UX/product design, marketing, and eCommerce roles for scale-ups and enterprises. Revenue is generated through contingency permanent placements (typically 25-28% of candidate salary), retained executive search (33% staged fee), and contract/interim placements with published day rates by discipline.
Is Intelligent People a public or private company?
Intelligent People is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Intelligent People founded?
Intelligent People was founded in 2002. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Intelligent People based?
Intelligent People is headquartered in Saint Albans, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Intelligent People make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Contingency Recruitment is the primary driver. The others are retained Executive Search and contract/Interim Placement.
Who are Intelligent People's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Aspire, Salt, Xcede, Harnham, Stott and May, Signify Technology, La Fosse Associates and Understanding Recruitment. Broad incumbents are Adecco UK and Hays UK & Ireland.
Does Intelligent People have an API?
No public API is recorded for Intelligent People.
What industry is Intelligent People in?
Intelligent People's product category is Specialist Recruitment Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAFAA, General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry). Its NAICS code is 561311 and its SIC code is 7361.