sea-change
sea-change is a founder-led, West Palm Beach-based recruiting firm that places ophthalmologists and administrators with U.S. ophthalmic practices and surgery centers, using its proprietary S.E.A.S. candidate-assessment model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersWest Palm Beach, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What sea-change does
sea-change, inc. is a privately held, founder-led specialty recruiting firm focused exclusively on the U.S. ophthalmic market. Operating from West Palm Beach, Florida under President Diane McCabe — who brings 25+ years of ophthalmic recruiting experience — the firm serves ophthalmic practice owners, practice managers, experienced ophthalmologists, and new medical-school graduates seeking their first position. The company runs a relationship-driven, sales-led GTM in which McCabe personally conducts complimentary initial consultations, supplemented by attendance at ASCRS and AAO conferences and a content-marketing presence (website blog, LinkedIn, Facebook).
The firm's core offering is structured around four engagement tiers: Retained Search (fee distributed over the project), Contingent Search with Expenses, Contingent Search (highest fee, paid at hire), and Coaching (scope-based fees). All engagements are powered by the proprietary S.E.A.S. candidate-assessment model — a framework evaluating Skills, Environment, Attitudes, and Style — supplemented by a Four Candidate Types taxonomy (Gentle Captain, Master Perfectionist, Focused Specialist, Practice Promoter) and a Recruiting Quadrant Effectiveness/Efficiency matrix. A private candidate extranet at extranet.sea-change.com supports confidential listings and targeted database-mining campaigns. Customer testimonials cite outcomes including a candidate placed in under 90 days, 15+ physicians placed at a single client, and a claim that 95% of clients dominate their respective markets by a 2:1 margin.
The business model is fee-for-service professional services revenue across the four engagement tiers, with no disclosed funding, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed headcount beyond the President. The company is bootstrapped, founder-owned, and operates as an independent recruiting firm. There are no disclosed financial metrics, no patent or regulatory filings, and no M&A, partnership, or leadership-change history in the source data. Pricing is not publicly disclosed.
sea-change firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- sea-change
- Legal name
- sea-change, inc.
- Website
- https://sea-change.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- sea-change is a founder-led, West Palm Beach-based recruiting firm that places ophthalmologists and administrators with U.S. ophthalmic practices and surgery centers, using its proprietary S.E.A.S. candidate-assessment model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
sea-change industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Ophthalmic Physician Recruitment
- NAICS
- Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Ambulatory Surgery Centers (Ophthalmic/Outpatient Eye Surgery) (HLAKAKAO)
Keywords
Where sea-change is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- West Palm Beach
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
sea-change business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Retained Search: Client outsources entire recruiting effort to sea-change for a fee, typically paid over the course of the project.
- Contingent Search with Expenses: Client pays a slightly higher fee when they hire someone, plus pays marketing and other expenses up front.
- Contingent Search: Client pays the fee and reimburses sea-change's expenses at the time of hire. This has the highest fee because sea-change incurs all expenses up front.
- Coaching Services: sea-change coaches client staff on recruiting steps they don't have time or tools to execute. Fees based on scope of work.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Retained Search |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Multi-year contract | Contingent Search with Expenses |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Multi-year contract | Contingent Search |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Coaching |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
sea-change product offering
Product offeringCore offering
sea-change places ophthalmologists, surgeons, and administrators with ophthalmic practices and surgery centers through retained search, contingent search, and contingent search with client-paid expenses. It also provides scope-based coaching for practice teams that need support with recruiting steps they cannot execute internally.
Product overview
sea-change, inc. is a specialized recruiting firm serving the ophthalmic market, offering four service tiers: Retained Search, Contingent Search with Expenses, Contingent Search, and Coaching. The firm operates on a proprietary S.E.A.S. Model methodology for candidate-practice matching and a five-step hiring process. Their services are supported by a private candidate database accessible through their extranet portal.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Retained Search A full-service recruiting engagement in which sea-change manages the client's search effort and charges a fee typically paid over the course of the project.
- Contingent Search with Expenses A contingent recruiting engagement in which the client pays a slightly higher fee when a candidate is hired and covers marketing and other expenses up front.
- Contingent Search A contingent recruiting engagement in which the client pays sea-change's fee and reimburses its expenses when a candidate is hired; sea-change incurs all expenses up front.
- Coaching Services Scope-based coaching for client staff on recruiting steps they do not have the time or tools to execute, providing partial recruiting support as needed.
Quantifiable outcome
- 95% of clients dominate their respective markets by a 2:1 margin
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use sea-change
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
sea-change technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
sea-change partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
sea-change competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Merritt Hawkins: Largest U.S. physician search firm, placing specialists across medical practices and hospitals using retained and contingent models. Directly comparable to sea-change's specialty-recruiting business model, though Merritt Hawkins serves multiple specialties rather than just ophthalmology.
- Jackson Healthcare: Atlanta-based healthcare staffing firm with specialty-focused physician placement subsidiaries. Comparable to sea-change in its specialty-vertical model and relationship-based recruiting approach.
- CHG Healthcare: Healthcare staffing company operating brands like CompHealth and Weatherby that place physicians across specialties. Comparable business model (specialty physician placement with retained/contingent structures) though broader than sea-change's ophthalmology-only focus.
- CompHealth: Physician and advanced-practice staffing firm placing clinicians in permanent and locum roles across the U.S. Directly comparable in its specialist placement offering, though operates at significantly larger scale than sea-change.
- Weatherby Healthcare: Locum tenens and permanent physician staffing firm owned by CHG Healthcare. Comparable to sea-change in its physician-recruiting model and focus on practice placements.
- Hayes Locums: Healthcare staffing firm specializing in physician and advanced-practice locum tenens placements. Comparable in its relationship-driven, specialty-focused recruitment approach.
Broad incumbents
- AMN Healthcare: Large publicly traded healthcare staffing company with a physician placement division. Operates at much greater scale than sea-change across multiple healthcare segments, but overlaps directly in physician/permanent placement services.
- Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search firm placing senior leaders across industries including healthcare. Comparable retained-search methodology, but serves executive-level roles across all industries rather than specializing in physician placement.
- Spencer Stuart: Global executive search firm with a healthcare practice placing senior executives at hospitals, health systems, and large practices. Comparable consultative retained-search model but at executive level rather than practicing-physician level.
- Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm with a substantial executive search and healthcare practice. Comparable in its retained-search and consulting revenue model, though operates across all C-suite roles and industries.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
sea-change social profiles
Digital presencesea-change financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
sea-change leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
sea-change funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
sea-change 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 sea-change
What does sea-change do?
sea-change places ophthalmologists, surgeons, and administrators with ophthalmic practices and surgery centers through retained search, contingent search, and contingent search with client-paid expenses. It also provides scope-based coaching for practice teams that need support with recruiting steps they cannot execute internally.
Is sea-change a public or private company?
sea-change is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was sea-change founded?
sea-change was founded in -1.
Where is sea-change based?
sea-change is headquartered in West Palm Beach, United States, in the North America region.
How does sea-change make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Retained Search is the primary driver. The others are contingent Search with Expenses, contingent Search and coaching Services.
Who are sea-change's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Merritt Hawkins, Jackson Healthcare, CHG Healthcare, CompHealth, Weatherby Healthcare and Hayes Locums. Broad incumbents are AMN Healthcare, Heidrick & Struggles, Spencer Stuart and Korn Ferry.
Does sea-change have an API?
No public API is recorded for sea-change.
What industry is sea-change in?
sea-change's product category is Ophthalmic Physician Recruitment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAKAKAO, Ambulatory Surgery Centers (Ophthalmic/Outpatient Eye Surgery). Its NAICS code is 561312 and its SIC code is 7361.