<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[IAN STAMMERS. FREC]]></title><description><![CDATA[Talent Advisory & Recruitment Solutions for Global Tech and Space SMEs]]></description><link>https://www.ianstammers.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2026 07:51:55 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.ianstammers.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[The Real Cost of a Bad Hire at a Startup (And How to Prevent It)]]></title><description><![CDATA[Every founder has a story about the hire that did not work out. The engineer who looked perfect on paper but could not operate without constant direction. The commercial lead who talked a great game in the interview but could not close. The programme manager who had the CV but not the judgment to make decisions under pressure. What most founders underestimate is how much that single wrong hire actually cost them. Not just the salary they paid for three or six months before the situation...]]></description><link>https://www.ianstammers.com/post/the-real-cost-of-a-bad-hire-at-a-startup-and-how-to-prevent-it</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2abd742a318009889f6566</guid><pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:56:20 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3aff11_34bb837f068847c3b1fafeed61e5ecce~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_628,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nick Rudnyk</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Talent Capacity Planning for Space and Satellite Startups in 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Setting compensation at a space or satellite startup is one of the hardest decisions founders and HR leaders face. Pay too low and you lose candidates to defence primes and big tech. Pay too high and you burn through runway that should be funding product development. Get it wrong repeatedly and you end up with a team that is either underqualified or unsustainably expensive. The challenge is that reliable salary data for the commercial space sector is surprisingly difficult to find. Generic...]]></description><link>https://www.ianstammers.com/post/talent-capacity-planning-for-space-and-satellite-startups-in-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2abb6c8d10dcf6288d281f</guid><pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:50:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3aff11_234b309410544e379d92f8a578f3c808~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nick Rudnyk</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[How to Structure a Hiring Process That Scales from 10 to 100 Employees]]></title><description><![CDATA[At 10 employees, hiring is personal. The founder knows every candidate by name, runs every interview, and makes every offer. It works because the stakes are high and the volume is low. At 30 employees, cracks appear. Different interviewers evaluate candidates differently. Decisions take longer because nobody is sure whose call it is. Roles stay open for weeks because the founder is too busy building the business to run a proper search. At 60 employees, it breaks. The same ad hoc approach that...]]></description><link>https://www.ianstammers.com/post/how-to-structure-a-hiring-process-that-scales-from-10-to-100-employees</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a203204c9d8b2a0564ec0ee</guid><pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:13:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3aff11_598e01f18ac843e580ae9c542ba7bcfd~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_628,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nick Rudnyk</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[How to Hire Engineers for a Deep Tech Startup When You Are Competing with SpaceX]]></title><description><![CDATA[SpaceX just announced another wave of hiring. Amazon Leo (formally known as project kuiper) is scaling up. Defence primes are offering retention packages that look more like ransom payments. And you are sitting in a 40-person space startup trying to hire a systems engineer who has actually seen a full spacecraft programme from requirements through to operations. Welcome to deep tech recruitment in 2026. I have worked in this space for over 25 years, helping companies across satcoms, Earth...]]></description><link>https://www.ianstammers.com/post/how-to-hire-engineers-for-a-deep-tech-startup-when-you-are-competing-with-spacex</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a1970f5145da5e383092cdf</guid><pubDate>Fri, 29 May 2026 10:59:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3aff11_f246c20d8b9b423494907a73b36a83e1~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_628,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nick Rudnyk</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Does a Talent Advisor Actually Do (And When Do You Need One)]]></title><description><![CDATA[If you have been hiring for any length of time, you have probably come across the term talent advisor. Maybe an investor mentioned it. Maybe a founder in your network told you they were working with one. Maybe you searched for help with hiring and the term kept appearing alongside recruiters, RPOs, and headhunters. The problem is that nobody seems to explain what it actually means in plain language. So let me fix that. I have spent over 25 years working as a talent advisor to tech, space, and...]]></description><link>https://www.ianstammers.com/post/what-does-a-talent-advisor-actually-do-and-when-do-you-need-one</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a116d59b883334b04e502e1</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 09:11:17 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3aff11_b168229c7e0e4a909e4a479434fa84d4~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nick Rudnyk</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Investors Look for in Your Talent Strategy Before They Write the Cheque]]></title><description><![CDATA[Most founders walk into fundraising conversations ready to talk about product, market size, and revenue projections. Very few walk in ready to talk about how they plan to build the team that will deliver on all of it. That is a mistake. And it is one I have seen cost founders term sheets, valuation leverage, and in some cases entire rounds. Over 25 years of working with tech and space companies from pre-revenue through to valuations north of $6 billion, I have watched the investor lens shift...]]></description><link>https://www.ianstammers.com/post/what-investors-look-for-in-your-talent-strategy</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a06dea09f0dce7b5991ef32</guid><pubDate>Fri, 15 May 2026 08:52:27 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3aff11_76b0d782740a462ebf20c75f21a581af~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_820,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>igstammers</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Hiring Problem Nobody Warns Space and Deep Tech Startup Founders About]]></title><description><![CDATA[You raised the round. You have the roadmap. You know exactly what needs to be built. But the engineers who can build it are not answering your LinkedIn messages. This is the reality for most founders running space and deep tech startups between Seed and Series C. Satellite communications, Earth observation, propulsion, space hardware. The technology is cutting-edge, the mission is compelling, and the talent pool is painfully small. The people you need are either locked inside SpaceX, absorbed...]]></description><link>https://www.ianstammers.com/post/the-hiring-problem-nobody-warns-space-and-deep-tech-startup-founders-about</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69fdb9e5ecab90113750604d</guid><pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 10:32:18 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3aff11_2c41bd45637d49d58ca2e6c153191816~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Nick Rudnyk</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why Flexible, Ad Hoc Recruitment Support Works for Start-ups]]></title><description><![CDATA[Start-ups move fast. Priorities shift, product roadmaps pivot, and every hire matters. Yet, many early-stage companies struggle with traditional recruitment models: agency contracts are expensive, permanent in-house recruiters can be a drain on resources, and founders often end up doing too much themselves. That’s where flexible, ad hoc recruitment support comes in, providing the right expertise exactly when you need it. 1. Scale Hiring to Match Your Needs Start-ups don’t hire at a constant...]]></description><link>https://www.ianstammers.com/post/why-flexible-ad-hoc-recruitment-support-works-for-start-ups</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69a0851edd752dedab922fad</guid><pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 17:43:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1ca2144072994fb2a1fa6c973a122075.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>igstammers</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why Talent Playbooks Are Vital for Scaling Businesses]]></title><description><![CDATA[Scaling a business is hard. You’re not just hiring more people you’re building repeatable systems that ensure growth is sustainable, efficient, and consistent across teams, regions, and geographies. One tool that often separates successful scale-ups from those struggling to maintain quality is the Talent Playbook . 1. Ensures Consistency Across Teams As organisations grow, hiring decisions often become fragmented. Different teams interpret roles differently, interview candidates using varied...]]></description><link>https://www.ianstammers.com/post/why-talent-playbooks-are-vital-for-scaling-businesses</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69a080b2aac6e7cda9142f1d</guid><pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 17:27:46 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_7e0cf2aaac754d328347a7edaea74fa2~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>igstammers</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Scaling Talent Acquisition for IPO Success: Lessons from the Frontline]]></title><description><![CDATA[An IPO isn’t just a financial milestone, it’s an organisational transformation. When a company prepares to go public, every system is scrutinised, every process stress-tested, and every leader evaluated. Yet one critical enabler often gets overlooked: Talent Acquisition (TA). As someone who has partnered with a PE-backed venture from start-up to post-IPO with a valuation exceeding $6B, I’ve seen first-hand how TA can make or break IPO readiness. Here’s what CEOs, CHROs, and investors need to...]]></description><link>https://www.ianstammers.com/post/scaling-talent-acquisition-for-ipo-success-lessons-from-the-frontline</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699dcb048f4f3ef74a9ba38e</guid><pubDate>Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:07:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_96e2a4f9f2504d35a0c061b835f5374b~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>igstammers</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>