Rhum
Rhum is a Montreal-based HR consulting firm specializing in talent acquisition, HR advisory, and learning & development for creative and innovative industries such as VFX, gaming, marketing, VR/AR, and entertainment, serving clients including Cirque du Soleil, Ubisoft, Method Studios, and Framestore across offices in Montreal, Vancouver, and Barcelona.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersPula, Croatia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Rhum does
Rhum - ressources et humains is a private HR consulting firm founded in 2017 by Pierre-Luc Labbée and headquartered in Montreal, with additional offices in Vancouver (opened May 2018) and Barcelona (opened January 2025). The company serves creative and innovative industries — including VFX, gaming, marketing, VR/AR, technology, design, TV production, event planning, and advertising — through three interconnected service lines. Its Talent Acquisition offering covers recruitment marketing, recruitment operations, and project-based sourcing for clients such as Cirque du Soleil, Ubisoft, Method Studios, Framestore, Rovio, 2K Games, and Felix & Paul Studios. Its HR Services offering provides HR audits and roadmaps, outsourced HR team functions, an HR hotline, and best-practices development. Atelier Rhum, launched in June 2024, is a dedicated workshop and learning & development sub-brand built around a Hands (technical skills), Head (leadership/soft skills), and Heart (coaching) framework.
The firm's go-to-market is sales-led, built on long-term direct partnerships with clients' internal teams rather than transactional placements. Revenue is generated via professional-services fees under a transparent consultancy structure, with annual billing and quote-based engagements rather than disclosed tiered pricing. Rhum uses third-party ATS providers (Humanify, Sourcinc) for recruitment workflow and discloses that some internal systems are built on machine-learning technology to recommend jobs and career-development options to candidates. The company has obtained B Corp certification (February 2024) and CGLCC certification (April 2024), reflecting a stated commitment to ESG, equity, diversity, and inclusion. As of mid-2024 the team numbered approximately 15–20 members across Montreal, Vancouver, and Barcelona.
The business model is a specialist boutique consultancy: a small senior team of Talent Acquisition Partners, HR Specialists, certified coaches (Concordia University, HEC Montreal-trained recruiters), and an employer-branding expert delivers embedded, human-led services to enterprise creative clients while incrementally expanding into recurring advisory (HR Hotline) and learning (Atelier Rhum) revenue streams. There are no disclosed external investors, funding rounds, or parent entities, and growth has been funded organically from inception, supported by geographic expansion from Canada into Europe in early 2025.
Rhum firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Rhum
- Legal name
- rhum - ressources et humains
- Website
- https://rhum.hr
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Rhum is a Montreal-based HR consulting firm specializing in talent acquisition, HR advisory, and learning & development for creative and innovative industries such as VFX, gaming, marketing, VR/AR, and entertainment, serving clients including Cirque du Soleil, Ubisoft, Method Studios, and Framestore across offices in Montreal, Vancouver, and Barcelona.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Rhum industry classification
Industry- Product category
- HR Consulting Services
- NAICS
- Human Resources Consulting Services (541612)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Industry-Specific RPO (e.g., Healthcare, IT, Engineering) (BPACABAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Enterprise RPO (End-to-End Program Management) (BPACABAA), RPO Technology, ATS Administration & Recruitment Operations (BPACABAN), Sourcing / Talent Research & Pipeline RPO (Sourcer-as-a-Service) (BPACABAM)
Keywords
Where Rhum is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Pula
- HQ country
- Croatia
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Rhum business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Talent Acquisition Services: Recruitment marketing, recruitment operations, and projects on demand for creative and innovative industries including VFX, gaming, marketing, VR, AR, technology, design, TV Production, Event Planning and advertising.
- HR Services: Building HR Audit and Roadmap, HR Hotline, developing best HR practices, becoming client's HR team, and talent development and training.
- Atelier Rhum - Training and Development: Customized training, individual and group coaching, team building, leadership development programs, conferences and workshops. Services include talent development, technical skills training, leadership programs, heartbox training, and executive retreats.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Annual | Transparent consultancy fee structure - no specific tiers disclosed |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Rhum product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Rhum is a specialized HR consulting firm that delivers talent acquisition (recruitment marketing, recruitment operations, projects on demand), comprehensive HR services (HR audit and roadmap, HR hotline, best HR practices, outsourced HR team functions), and customized training and development programs through its 'atelier rhum' sub-brand. The firm focuses exclusively on creative and innovative industries including VFX, gaming, marketing, VR, AR, technology, design, TV production, event planning, and advertising.
Product overview
Rhum is a specialized HR consulting firm focused on creative and innovative industries, offering three interconnected service lines: Talent Acquisition (recruitment marketing, operations, and project-based sourcing), Human Resources Services (HR audits, hotlines, best practices, and outsourced HR team functions), and Atelier Rhum (customized workshops and learning & development programs). The company recently launched Atelier Rhum (June 2024) as its workshop and training sub-brand and HR Hotline (September 2024) as an on-demand advisory add-on. Services are delivered by a team of talent acquisition specialists, HR advisors, talent development specialists, professional coaches, and employer branding experts across Montreal, Vancouver, and Barcelona offices.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- atelier rhum: Customized training, coaching, team building, and talent development services for managers, teams, and individuals. Offers programs in technical skills learning, soft skills and leadership, and individual/group coaching.
- Hotline RH
Products and services
- Talent Acquisition Full-cycle recruitment and talent sourcing services specialized in creative and innovative industries (VFX, gaming, marketing, VR, AR, technology, design, TV production, event planning, advertising). Includes Recruitment Marketing, Recruitment Operations, and Projects On Demand. Targets enterprise and mid-market clients such as Cirque du Soleil, Ubisoft, Method Studios, and Framestore.
- Human Resources (HR) Services Comprehensive HR consulting services including HR Audit and Roadmap, HR Hotline (on-demand advisory), best HR practices development, becoming an outsourced HR team, and talent development and training for clients in creative and innovative industries.
- Atelier Rhum Customized workshop and learning & development sub-brand offering experiential learning for managers, teams, and individuals. Three pillars: Hands (technical skills), Head (leadership/soft skills), and Heart (individual/group coaching). Includes team building, leadership programs, individual and group coaching, conferences, workshops, and executive retreats.
- HR Hotline On-demand HR advisory service providing small creative and innovative businesses with access to an HR team via phone or email using a bank-of-hours model. Covers hiring, termination, onboarding, compliance questions, and manager training.
Companies that use Rhum
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Rhum technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature1 record
Rhum partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Equalis (Marie Garel)corePartnership with Marie Garel's legal firm Equalis to develop the heartbox training program combining legal concepts (harassment, complaints) with communication skills for managers at Cirque du Soleil. Marie serves as the 'box' (legal concepts) while Diana Hountondji serves as 'heart' (coaching and moderation).
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves11 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Rhum competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- 24 Seven Talent: 24 Seven Talent specializes in staffing for creative, marketing, and digital industries including gaming, fashion, and beauty — a direct peer to Rhum's niche in placing creative professionals.
- Vitamin T: Vitamin T is a creative staffing agency focused exclusively on marketing, creative, and digital talent, directly overlapping with Rhum's creative-industry talent acquisition niche.
- Creative Circle: Creative Circle is a creative staffing and consulting agency focused on advertising, marketing, and digital talent, comparable to Rhum's creative-industry talent acquisition and consulting services.
- Onward Search: Onward Search provides staffing and talent solutions for creative, digital, marketing, and technology professionals, overlapping directly with Rhum's core verticals of VFX, gaming, marketing, and design recruitment.
- Aquent: Aquent is one of the largest staffing and RPO firms dedicated exclusively to marketing, creative, and design talent — directly comparable to Rhum's creative-industry specialization in talent acquisition and HR consulting.
Broad incumbents
- Hays plc: Hays is a global recruiting and RPO firm with strong presence in technology, creative, and media verticals; broader than Rhum but competes for the same enterprise mandates in creative industries.
- Robert Half International: Robert Half is a large global staffing and consulting firm with dedicated creative and HR consulting practices that compete with Rhum at the enterprise end of the market.
- The Creative Group (Robert Half): A division of Robert Half focused on placing creative, marketing, and design professionals; overlaps with Rhum's creative-industry niche but operates as part of a much broader staffing portfolio.
Emerging players
- Toptal: Toptal is a marketplace for top freelance creative, design, and technology talent, representing a platform-based competitive threat to traditional creative recruiters like Rhum.
- PeopleCaddie: PeopleCaddie provides on-demand creative and marketing talent solutions with an enterprise focus, comparable to Rhum's HR Hotline and project-based talent acquisition offering.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses3 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Rhum social profiles
Digital presenceRhum compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Rhum financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Rhum leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Rhum funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Rhum 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 Rhum
What does Rhum do?
Rhum is a specialized HR consulting firm that delivers talent acquisition (recruitment marketing, recruitment operations, projects on demand), comprehensive HR services (HR audit and roadmap, HR hotline, best HR practices, outsourced HR team functions), and customized training and development programs through its 'atelier rhum' sub-brand. The firm focuses exclusively on creative and innovative industries including VFX, gaming, marketing, VR, AR, technology, design, TV production, event planning, and advertising.
Is Rhum a public or private company?
Rhum is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Rhum founded?
Rhum was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Rhum based?
Rhum is headquartered in Pula, Croatia, in the Europe region.
How does Rhum make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Talent Acquisition Services are the primary driver. The others are HR Services and atelier Rhum - Training and Development.
Who are Rhum's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are 24 Seven Talent, Vitamin T, Creative Circle, Onward Search and Aquent. Broad incumbents are Hays plc, Robert Half International and The Creative Group (Robert Half). Emerging players are Toptal and PeopleCaddie.
Does Rhum have an API?
No public API is recorded for Rhum.
What industry is Rhum in?
Rhum's product category is HR Consulting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACABAF, Industry-Specific RPO (e.g., Healthcare, IT, Engineering), with a secondary code of BPACABAA, Enterprise RPO (End-to-End Program Management). Its NAICS code is 541612.