From Solo Recruiter to 11 Heads in 19months | Dan Payne (EP 81)

What does it actually take to go from solo recruiter to building a real recruitment business?

In this episode, I’m joined by Dan Payne, founder of a fast-growing recruitment agency that has gone from just himself to 11 heads in only 19 months, with the business now approaching the seven-figure mark.

Dan first came on the podcast when he had just launched the business and was operating alone. At the time, he spoke about his ambitions to scale quickly and build a high-performing team. Fast forward less than two years, and those targets are becoming reality.

In this conversation, Dan shares the real story behind that growth, the roadmap he created from day one, the hiring triggers he used when scaling the business, and the mistakes he made along the way that nearly slowed everything down.

If you’re a recruiter thinking about launching your own agency, currently building a team, or trying to scale your business without overcomplicating things, this episode is packed with honest insights and practical lessons.

We cover:

✅ Dan’s journey from solo recruiter to 11 heads in 19 months
✅ Why “doing the basics well” still wins in recruitment
✅ The roadmap he created to scale the business from day one
✅ Hiring triggers founders should consider before scaling
✅ Risk appetite and backing yourself as a founder
✅ The biggest mistakes Dan made while growing the business
✅ Getting lost in tech stacks and overspending
✅ Why strong early hires make or break a business
✅ Building a team culture while scaling quickly
✅ The relationship between headcount growth and revenue growth
✅ Lessons learned from scaling fast in recruitment
✅ Dan’s 1 Percent Better tip for recruiters and founders

⏱ Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro and episode context
02:00 – Dan’s journey since the first podcast
06:00 – From solo recruiter to scaling a team
12:00 – Setting the roadmap for growth
20:00 – Hiring triggers and when to scale
30:00 – Mistakes made during the growth journey
40:00 – Tech stacks, spending, and lessons learned
48:00 – Building the right early team
55:00 – Scaling challenges and leadership lessons
01:02:00 – Dan’s 1 Percent Better tip

🐋 Podcast Sponsor – SourceWhale

This episode is sponsored by SourceWhale, the multi-channel outreach platform I personally use and recommend to recruiters and founders.

SourceWhale helps you combine email, LinkedIn, calls, and tasks into one structured, consistent BD workflow, without relying on spray-and-pray automation. If you want better conversations, not just more activity, this is worth a look.

👉 Book a demo here:
⁠https://sourcewhale.com/book-demo/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=&utm_term=charles_kyriakou&utm_content=book_a_demo⁠

Mention The 1 Percent Better Recruitment Podcast or my name, Charles Kyriakou, when you book.

🔗 Connect with Dan Payne
💻 LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-payne-26a458218/⁠

🔗 Connect with Charles Kyriakou
💻 LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskyriakou1/⁠

📲 TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@charles.kyriakou⁠

🎙️ Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/46LjJfw⁠

📰 LinkedIn Newsletter: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7244346543967731712/⁠

🌐 Website: ⁠https://www.inf1nitelearning.com/⁠

👇 If this episode resonated, follow the show and share it with a recruiter who’s thinking about starting or scaling their own agency.