Silverdrum
Silverdrum is a London-based, founder-led boutique headhunting firm specializing in mid-to-senior digital media, ad-tech, and data-driven marketing placements for agencies, ad-tech companies, and digital-first brands across the UK, EMEA, and APAC.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Silverdrum does
Silverdrum is a London-based boutique recruitment and executive search firm founded in 2015 by Tom Horne, specializing in mid-to-senior level placements (Manager through Managing Director) within the digital media, ad-tech, and data-driven marketing sectors. The firm's core service is true headhunting — proactively identifying passive candidates who are not actively seeking new roles — for media agencies, advertising technology companies, fast-growing digital-first brands, and client-side marketing organizations. Service delivery is consultative and bespoke, with supplementary offerings including candidate career consulting, salary benchmarking reports, and in-house project work for larger hiring initiatives.
The business operates on a contingency or retained professional services model, earning placement fees typically calculated as a percentage of the placed candidate's first-year compensation. Underlying technology is minimal: Silverdrum does not develop proprietary software, APIs, or platforms, and all candidate and client interactions are handled via direct communication channels (email, phone, website forms). The company's competitive basis is its human-network moat — founder Tom Horne's decade-plus relationships across the UK digital media talent pool — rather than technology differentiation.
Go-to-market is sales-led and founder-driven, with Tom Horne operating as the primary consultant and engaging directly with hiring organizations. Marketing is content-driven across the company website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, email newsletter, and YouTube, supported by an industry interview series and annual salary benchmarking reports. The firm is privately held, bootstrapped, and founder-owned, with stated operational reach across the UK, EMEA (including the Netherlands), and APAC. Revenue, headcount, and financial performance are not publicly disclosed.
Silverdrum firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Silverdrum
- Legal name
- Silverdrum
- Website
- https://silver-drum.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Silverdrum is a London-based, founder-led boutique headhunting firm specializing in mid-to-senior digital media, ad-tech, and data-driven marketing placements for agencies, ad-tech companies, and digital-first brands across the UK, EMEA, and APAC.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Silverdrum industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Executive Search & Recruitment Services
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sales, Marketing & Customer Success Direct Hire (BPACAFAD)
Keywords
Where Silverdrum is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Silverdrum business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Recruitment and Executive Search Services: Contingency-based recruitment fees, typically earning a percentage of the placed candidate's first-year salary. As a headhunting firm, they fill mid-senior level positions across digital media, ad-tech, and client-side organizations. Revenue is generated through successful candidate placements.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Executive Search for Mid-Senior Level Roles |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Silverdrum product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Silverdrum is a digital media headhunting and recruitment firm that places mid-senior level professionals (Manager through MD level) across media agencies, ad-tech companies, fast-growing digital brands, and client-side marketing teams. The firm's core service is sourcing passive candidates not visible in the active job market, supported by candidate placement consulting and annual salary benchmarking reports.
Product overview
Silverdrum is a digital media headhunting and recruitment services company. It offers a unified service portfolio centered on finding hidden talent for the digital media and data-driven marketing industry. The core offering consists of recruitment and headhunting services for mid-senior hires (Manager through MD level) across agencies, ad-tech companies, fast-growing digital brands, and client-side teams. Supplementary services include candidate career consulting, salary benchmarking reports, and in-house project work for larger recruitment initiatives. All services are delivered as bespoke consulting engagements rather than a software product or platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Digital Media Recruitment Services Headhunting and recruitment services specialising in finding hidden talent for mid-senior hires (Manager through to MD level) in the digital media and data-driven marketing industry.
- Client Hiring Solutions Talent search services for clients ranging from digital start-ups to multinationals, including in-house project work, joint first-round interviews, and access to an extensive existing candidate network.
- Candidate Placement Services Consultative career placement services for candidates not actively seeking new roles, offering personalized advice and connections to ideal opportunities in the digital media industry.
- Salary Benchmarking Reports Annual salary benchmarking reports providing market intelligence on compensation across key digital media and recruitment roles.
Companies that use Silverdrum
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Silverdrum technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Silverdrum partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Silverdrum competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- EMR Recruitment: EMR is a specialist London recruitment firm covering digital, marketing, media, and communications roles. It serves many of the same agency and brand clients as Silverdrum with comparable mid-senior placement focus.
- Digital Gurus: Digital Gurus is a specialist UK recruitment firm focused on digital marketing, ad-tech, and media technology hires. It overlaps with Silverdrum's core ad-tech and digital media agency placement territory.
- Handle Recruitment: Handle is a London-based specialist creative, media, and marketing recruiter placing mid-senior candidates across agencies and brands. It is closely comparable to Silverdrum in boutique, vertical-specialist positioning.
- Aspire: Aspire is a specialist recruitment firm focused on digital, marketing, media, and technology roles across the UK and globally. It directly competes with Silverdrum in placing mid-senior digital media professionals at agencies, ad-tech, and brands.
- Salt Recruitment: Salt is a global specialist recruitment firm focused on digital, marketing, sales, and technology roles. It overlaps with Silverdrum on the digital marketing and ad-tech placement side, though Salt operates across more geographies and verticals.
- The Right Click: The Right Click is a London-based boutique digital recruitment specialist serving agencies, ad-tech, and digital-first brands with mid-senior placements. It mirrors Silverdrum's boutique, vertical-focused, headhunting-led approach.
- Gabriele Media Recruitment: Gabriele is a specialist UK media and digital recruitment firm placing mid-senior professionals across agencies and brand-side teams. Its media-vertical focus and London footprint make it a comparable boutique to Silverdrum.
- MCG Media Recruitment: MCG is a London-based specialist media recruitment firm focused on digital, marketing, and communications hires. It competes directly with Silverdrum for mid-senior agency and brand-side digital media talent.
Broad incumbents
- Robert Half UK: Robert Half is a large global staffing and recruitment firm with a dedicated digital, marketing, and creative practice in the UK. It overlaps with Silverdrum on mid-senior digital and marketing placements but serves a much broader professional services portfolio.
- Hays UK: Hays is a major global staffing firm with a broad digital and marketing recruitment practice in the UK. It competes with Silverdrum for mid-senior digital media placements but operates at vastly greater scale across many sectors.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Silverdrum social profiles
Digital presenceSilverdrum financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Silverdrum leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Silverdrum funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Silverdrum 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 Silverdrum
What does Silverdrum do?
Silverdrum is a digital media headhunting and recruitment firm that places mid-senior level professionals (Manager through MD level) across media agencies, ad-tech companies, fast-growing digital brands, and client-side marketing teams. The firm's core service is sourcing passive candidates not visible in the active job market, supported by candidate placement consulting and annual salary benchmarking reports.
Is Silverdrum a public or private company?
Silverdrum is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Silverdrum founded?
Silverdrum was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Silverdrum based?
Silverdrum is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Silverdrum make money?
One revenue line is on record: recruitment and Executive Search Services.
Who are Silverdrum's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are EMR Recruitment, Digital Gurus, Handle Recruitment, Aspire, Salt Recruitment, The Right Click, Gabriele Media Recruitment and MCG Media Recruitment. Broad incumbents are Robert Half UK and Hays UK.
Does Silverdrum have an API?
No public API is recorded for Silverdrum.
What industry is Silverdrum in?
Silverdrum's product category is Executive Search & Recruitment Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAFAD, Sales, Marketing & Customer Success Direct Hire. Its SIC code is 7361.