R.I.S.E
R.I.S.E. is a boutique retained executive search firm founded in 2022 that places senior leaders and key individual contributors at VC-backed early-stage startups, leveraging the founder's prior operating experience at Tesla, CloudKitchens, and Included Health.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersNashville, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What R.I.S.E does
R.I.S.E. (R.I.S.E LLC) is a boutique retained executive search firm headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, that specializes in placing senior leaders and high-impact individual contributors at VC-backed, early-stage startups. The firm was founded by Scott Ford after a decade of operating and recruiting roles at Aerotek, Tesla, CloudKitchens, and Included Health, and positions itself as 'previous operators' rather than traditional résumé-screeners, leveraging firsthand hiring experience to calibrate candidate evaluation.
The firm's core offering is a four-stage retained search engagement (Research, Incubate, Strategize, Execute) covering executive search, leadership placement, individual contributor placement, go-to-market team building, and interview systems design. The delivery team currently comprises the founder and at least two additional recruiters — Jen Gurvey, focused on Bay Area GTM hiring, and Mychal Bowling, a technical recruiter covering engineering, robotics, advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and emerging technologies. Client work spans roughly a dozen named engagements across robotics, AI/ML, clean energy, semiconductor, cybersecurity, healthcare, and consumer-facing startups, with select enterprise logos including Tesla and Samsung.
R.I.S.E. operates as a pure professional services business, charging market-rate retained search fees with no disclosed pricing tiers and no public financial information. Distribution is direct and relationship-led, relying on referrals, the founder's network, and a professional website rather than paid marketing. The firm maintains GDPR compliance via its privacy policy, serves clients globally from a 1–10 employee base, and has no disclosed funding, parent company, or acquisition history.
R.I.S.E firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- R.I.S.E
- Legal name
- R.I.S.E LLC
- Website
- https://rise-search.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- R.I.S.E. is a boutique retained executive search firm founded in 2022 that places senior leaders and key individual contributors at VC-backed early-stage startups, leveraging the founder's prior operating experience at Tesla, CloudKitchens, and Included Health.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
R.I.S.E industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Executive Search Services
- NAICS
- Executive Search Services (561312)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- C-Suite & Board Search (BPACAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Confidential/Replacement & Succession Search (BPACAAAK), General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry) (BPACAFAA)
Keywords
Where R.I.S.E is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nashville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
R.I.S.E business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Executive Search / Retained Search Fees: R.I.S.E. operates as a retained search firm, charging fees for executive and individual contributor placements. The firm is described as a boutique firm with rates that fall in line with market rates.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels1 record
R.I.S.E product offering
Product offeringCore offering
R.I.S.E. is a boutique retained executive search firm that partners with early-stage, venture capital-backed startups to identify, attract, evaluate, and close exceptional talent across individual contributor, senior leadership, and C-suite roles. The firm embeds with client teams from day one, working directly with founders and hiring managers through a four-stage methodology (Research, Incubate, Strategize, Execute) to design job descriptions, outreach strategies, and interview processes that accelerate calibrated hiring outcomes.
Product overview
R.I.S.E. is a boutique retained search firm that operates as a single unified service offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering combines executive search services, individual contributor placement, and leadership/executive placement, supported by go-to-market team building and interview systems design as specialized modules. Their process follows four stages: Research, Incubate, Strategize, and Execute, embedding themselves with clients' teams from day one to understand business needs and attract exceptional talent.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Executive Search Services Retained executive search services that partner with VC-backed companies from day one to identify and recruit exceptional talent for leadership positions, from individual contributors to C-suite executives. The service follows a four-stage methodology of Research, Incubate, Strategize, and Execute, embedding directly with client teams.
- Individual Contributor Placement Placement services focused on filling highly skilled individual contributor roles, particularly senior-level positions essential to a company's mission. Targeted at VC-backed startups needing to build out critical technical and operational talent below the executive level.
- Leadership & Executive Placement Executive search services for C-level and senior leadership positions, connecting companies with seasoned executives to build world-class leadership teams. Designed for early-stage VC-backed startups scaling their leadership bench.
- Go-to-Market Team Building Specialized retained search service to help VC-backed clients build out go-to-market teams, including sales, marketing, and revenue roles. Led by recruiter Jen Gurvey with focus on Bay Area startups and venture capital firms.
Quantifiable outcome
- Quality candidates ready for review days after deciding to work together
Companies that use R.I.S.E
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
R.I.S.E technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
R.I.S.E partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
R.I.S.E competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Heidrick & Struggles: Global publicly-traded executive search and leadership advisory firm offering retained C-suite, board, and senior executive searches across all industries — a much larger incumbent that competes for the upper end of R.I.S.E.'s market.
- Egon Zehnder: Global executive search firm with a significant technology and digital practice serving venture-backed and growth-stage companies — competes for senior technology executive placements that R.I.S.E. also targets.
- Spencer Stuart: Global executive search and leadership consulting firm placing C-level executives and board directors across industries and technology — overlaps with R.I.S.E. on senior technology and startup engagements.
- Korn Ferry: Largest global executive search and organizational consulting firm, operating a dedicated technology practice that competes for VC-backed executive placements — a dominant incumbent whose tech vertical overlaps with R.I.S.E.'s niche.
- Robert Half (Protiviti / RHI): Large public staffing and executive search firm (owner of Protiviti) that handles professional and executive placements across finance, technology, and operations — adjacent incumbent competing for parts of R.I.S.E.'s market.
Direct peers
- Riviera Partners: Boutique retained search firm focused exclusively on VC-backed and growth-stage technology companies, placing executives and senior leaders across engineering, product, GTM, and operations — directly overlapping R.I.S.E.'s target customer and service model.
- Daversa Partners: Executive search firm specializing in building leadership teams for high-growth technology companies backed by top venture capital firms — directly comparable in VC client base and executive placement focus.
- Sterling Martin: Boutique executive search firm focused on VC-backed technology and consumer companies, providing retained searches for executive and board-level roles — overlapping R.I.S.E. in customer type and engagement model.
- ON Partners: Retained executive search firm built specifically around venture-backed technology companies, placing C-level and VP-level executives across multiple verticals — a near-clone competitor in positioning and target market.
- True Search: Global executive search firm serving venture-backed technology and life sciences companies, with deep relationships with founders and investors — a close competitor in the startup executive search segment.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
R.I.S.E social profiles
Digital presenceR.I.S.E compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
R.I.S.E financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
R.I.S.E leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
R.I.S.E funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
R.I.S.E 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 R.I.S.E
What does R.I.S.E do?
R.I.S.E. is a boutique retained executive search firm that partners with early-stage, venture capital-backed startups to identify, attract, evaluate, and close exceptional talent across individual contributor, senior leadership, and C-suite roles. The firm embeds with client teams from day one, working directly with founders and hiring managers through a four-stage methodology (Research, Incubate, Strategize, Execute) to design job descriptions, outreach strategies, and interview processes that accelerate calibrated hiring outcomes.
Is R.I.S.E a public or private company?
R.I.S.E is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was R.I.S.E founded?
R.I.S.E was founded in 2022. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is R.I.S.E based?
R.I.S.E is headquartered in Nashville, United States, in the North America region.
How does R.I.S.E make money?
One revenue line is on record: executive Search / Retained Search Fees.
Who are R.I.S.E's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Heidrick & Struggles, Egon Zehnder, Spencer Stuart, Korn Ferry and Robert Half (Protiviti / RHI). Direct peers are Riviera Partners, Daversa Partners, Sterling Martin, ON Partners and True Search.
Does R.I.S.E have an API?
No public API is recorded for R.I.S.E.
What industry is R.I.S.E in?
R.I.S.E's product category is Executive Search Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAAAA, C-Suite & Board Search, with a secondary code of BPACAAAK, Confidential/Replacement & Succession Search. Its NAICS code is 561312 and its SIC code is 7361.