The Up Group

"Having worked with a number of headhunting firms, The Up Group has been so far delivering the best results for Videoplaza. I believe this comes from a deep knowledge and network within our sector but also from the simple fact that they've done an excellent job building out their own team."

Sorosh Tavakoli - Videoplaza, CEO

"We engaged The Up Group in a search for a marketing director. They really “got” the brief and fielded candidates with not only the right skills but also of a good cultural fit. We ended up in the rare position of having to make a difficult choice between two great people and are very happy with the outcome. The team also understood the difficult line to tread of who does what in the process of selling the role to the chosen candidate and behaved with integrity throughout."

Giles Andrews – Zopa, CEO & Co-Founder

"I've worked with The Up Group over the last five years on both sides of the table. They have a fantastic network which means that they get the best of both candidates and opportunities. I've met many impressive and interesting people through their network and some of my most interesting opportunities from the last few years have come as a result of the connections they've made. On top of that the team are always very well versed and professional and it's always a pleasure to work with them."

Andy Cockburn – HomeAway, Senior Regional Director (ex-Wigadoo, MyFab, Bain)

"The Up Group is a very unique company and if you don’t know it yet, you should. I got to know Clare while at Bragster, inviting us to highly relevant events she have been putting together in London. On top of being incredibly smart and highly connected, Clare has always surrounded herself with a very professional, proactive and efficient team. What I like in particular about The Up Group team is that they are very entrepreneurial and get the sensitivies quickly. When putting people together, they clearly have a long term view on things, and know the space particularly well - which makes them trustworthy (i.e. I got the chance to work with Stephanie De Wangen while at Amazon, she is top class). They would be one of the first groups I would call for advice, on candidates or more broadly."

Bertrand Bodson – EMI Music, SVP Global Digital Marketing (ex-Bragster, Amazon & BCG)

"I've worked with the Up Group since 2008 from both sides of the recruitment fence. A great network; a personal, no-nonsense approach and honest practical advice make the Up Group stand-out from the tech recruitment crowd. Deservedly commended in The Kernel's report into technology recruitment, The Up Group are always on my list of people to talk to, whether it's to find talent, refer others looking for a new career challenge or to discuss my own professional development."

Nigel Whiteoak – ex-ShoeDazzle, General Manager (ex-Expedia & eBay)

"The Up Group has a combination of deep online sector knowledge, strong people judgement, and good professional integrity; this combination should be offered by every search specialist, but unfortunately is all too rare."

William Reeve – MediaIngenuity, Non-Executive Chairman & Paddy Power, Non Executive Director (ex-LOVEFiLM)

"I've used the UP group as both a client and a candidate, and have always been deeply impressed by their sector knowledge, network and courtesy. I look forward to using them for future senior hires"

Tom Valentine – Secret Escapes, Managing Director (ex-Seatwave & eBay)

"We have been working the The Up Group for a couple of years now. Since knowing The Up Group, we have found a very suitable partner for any senior level searches for our digital media technology portfolio. The Up Group is a fantastic partner for both, the investor as well as the VC backed company. They really understand what a growth company needs in terms of entrepreneurial skillset and they act highly professionally as well as are quick and hands-on. I highly rank The Up Group and team and think they are great value-add for a VC and start-up's network."

Sabine Scherer – Wellington Partners, Portfolio Talent Manager

"The Up Group curates talent like Time Out curates entertainment. Or you could spend all your time reviewing CVs and restaurants from people you've never heard of! The Up Group is a good investment for our senior exec needs. As a candidate, I appreciated the roles they offered me for consideration, and as a hiring manager they have brought great Marketing, Tech, and Business candidates for the last six years at Seatwave, eBay, and Time Out. They have always taken the time to understand the nuance of our searches, pre-screen all candidates for capability and culture fit, and send people I enjoy meeting. Many of the candidates end up becoming part of my network whether or not they happened to fit the particular job at the time."

Taylor Wescoatt – TimeOut, Product Director (ex-eBay, Seatwave, AOL)

"We've worked with The Up Group over several years and on a number of successful projects. As an investor our value lies in the quality of the introductions we make to our portfolio companies and ultimately we are happy to recommend The Up Group every time. We believe that recruiting the right talent is one of the most important and challenging things our portfolio companies will do and you need to work with a firm who have the right network and understand the high growth ecosystem."

Rory Stirling – MMC Ventures, Investment Director

"The Up Group are an incredibly talented team. I found the support and quality of management excellent throughout my interaction with every team member. I would highly recommend working with The Up Group whether you are looking for a job or you have an awesome job that needs and awesome person."

Rob Ollett – Crowdpark, CEO (ex-Bigpoint)

"The Up Group is fantastic. I have used them on several occasions to recruit key hires and always been very happy at the outcome. Their flexibility, perseverance, understanding of client needs and high quality candidate network is what makes them stand out. I also love that they proactively facilitate relevant industry introductions, always resulting in interesting and insightful meetings."

Sean Cornwell – eHarmony, VP International (ex-Google)

"The Up Group are a fundamentally different breed of recruiters. I count them as a key advisor not only on my own career, but on the development of my team. They have found me several needles-in-the-haystack candidates, against all odds, all because they get it. They truly understand the industry, and this allows them to match the expertise, skills, and culture of candidates and companies masterfully."

Nicole Vanderbilt – ex-MyDeco, CEO (ex-Bebo & Google)

"Finding smart, effective digital leaders who have the ability to make amazing things happen is always hard. But the Up Group makes it look easy. In particular, I have always been impressed with their ability to not only identify and find top-level digital talent but also to find people who fit with your organisation. The Up Group team takes the time to understand your business, your needs and the organisational culture. The result is always a shortlist of fantastic candidates."

Tanya Cordrey – Guardian, Digital Development Director (ex-Zopa & eBay)

"Over the last five years, I have worked with The Up Group from both sides of the table. I have found their knowledge of the tech and startup sector to be extensive – they have a fantastic network and a deep-seated understanding of the roles required in building out technical businesses. The service is high quality and the success rates with candidates have been excellent. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend The Up Group to anyone looking to build a team full of amazing talent."

Katy Turner – Videoplaza, VP Marketing (ex-Eden Ventures & Orange)

"I have always been impressed by The Up Group. Not only is their talent pool really strong but also their events are always high quality. They are involved, enthusiastic and a pleasure to do business with."

Tom Bradley – DN Capital, Partner (ex-DFJ Esprit, Partner)

"Fantastic results. That is all :-)"

Emi Gal – Brainient, CEO & Founder

"Having used The Up Group a couple of times, we cannot recommend them highly enough. Each member of the team that we have met is always extremely professional and the calibre of candidates is always exceptionally high. We value their rigorous process in really taking the time to understand our business model and stage of business to ensure that we only meet the most appropriate candidates."

Sarah McVittie & Donna Kelly – Dressipi, Co-Founders

"I have used The Up Group on a number of occasions and have been impressed by the quality of the service provided. The Up Group understand the digital space, they are results-oriented, and make suggestions that challenge your thinking, and your brief."

David Kelly – ex-Rackspace, SVP & MD International (ex-MyDeco, eBay, Lastminute, Amazon)

"I've worked with The Up Group on many different occasions in both established and start-up business environments. They work hard to understand the company culture, the nuances of the role and most importantly what success will look like for the role in which we're hiring. I value their honesty in evaluating candidates, their ability to place high calibre individuals and their advice in setting those individuals up for success within the new role. "

Jane Thompson – Fusion Labs, Co-Founder (ex-IAC, Match.com, Bain)

"The Up Group plays an active role in and understands the digital ecosystem and I’ve found that the quality of the candidates it presents and the networking events it organises reflect that knowledge and expertise."

Ed Bussey – iTrigga, CEO & Founder (ex-ClashMedia, ZYB, Figleaves)

"The Up Group is a company I put great faith in when I’m thinking about senior position hires for the paddypower.com structure. I’ve worked with The Up Group for a number of years now and in my review they are an excellent progressive company who work really hard to understand client needs and then work just as hard to ‘deliver the goods’ on work that they take on. The hallmark of a top company is one who repeatedly achieves high standards and, to date, in each dealing I’ve had with The Up Group then I can conclusively say that I have come away highly satisfied with the result. I would both (a) recommend The Up Group to others and (b) I fully intend to continue to work with The Up Group in the next years."

Christopher Coyne - Paddypower, Head of paddypower.com

"So often head-hunters do not truly understand what a particular position entails. This is the furthest from the truth for the team at The Up Group. They thoroughly understand product management and what MOO required.

In addition, to their expertise in product management, they also recognised the importance of getting the right cultural fit for MOO.COM. This saved a lot of needless hours interviewing the wrong people.

This combination makes it easy for me to recommend working with The Up Group to anyone."

Lisa Rodwell, Chief Revenue Officer, MOO.COM (ex-Yahoo!)

"We retained The Up Group to perform a search for a Managing Director, They did a fantastic job. The team listened extremely well, took my direction and pushed it to another level. They clearly used the feedback from each initial interview to refine their search. In the end we found the perfect candidate who has been going a great job...I would unequivocally recommend Clare & The Up Group."

Mike Sid - Mediamorph, Founder & CEO

"This was the first time Rackspace had sponsored an Up Group event, it was a fantastic evening and we were impressed by the calibre of the companies and the individuals attending. We made some good contacts and look forward to being involved in future events."

Scott White - VP of Sales for Rackspace Hosting Ltd

"As a 'fresher' to using headhunters, Clare and The Up Group team not only delivered on this project, but truely offered the benefits of using a headhunter: they 100% understood the brief and matched this with ideal candidates."

James Davis - Upad, Founder & CEO