A stealth software startup in the fiercely complex national security arena, one year into its existence, numbered around twenty people, mostly engineers handpicked from among the country’s most elite computer scientists. Facing equally extraordinary opportunities and challenges, they had looked for months, without luck, for a Director of Business Development. This role required technical expertise rarely seen in business people, comprehensive product vision, and the confidence to sell to the leaders of some of the world’s most impenetrable organizations.
This search had to be a study in refined targeting. The pool of technologists who had expanded their skills to business while remaining technologists was narrow enough. Of these, few had a background in products that presented anywhere near the product development challenges the company faced. The security and risk management components of their technology suggested that we mine the international payments industry, while searching for records of progressive achievement that matched those of the founders themselves. It soon became clear that one candidate was uniquely suited for the role, and that any second choices were distant ones. At this point, our challenge became closing that candidate in the face of dozens of competing offers. Ultimately, we helped our clients beat the odds, and our candidate has been doing the same for them ever since.
