Denison Nunn

Why specialism matters

Jack and Tom firmly believe that the era of the generalist recruiter is fading. Their confidence in taking a specialist route has been rewarded with strong responses from their client base (private equity funds), who value the depth and focus they bring.

By positioning themselves as true specialists in interim technology and transformation, they’ve been able to stand out in a competitive market. For them, a specialism means deeper industry knowledge, stronger candidate relationships, faster response times, and the ability to build trusted, long-term client partnerships.

Tom reflects on their decision to set up on their own:

“Myself and Jack, we worked alongside each other for best part of a decade at a much larger organisation. And as they had evolved with new business lines and new practises, we both felt we wanted to remain specialists in our vertical of interim technology and transformation – we’re passionate about it.

So, it was a very organic and natural step for both of us to go and set up our own business Denison Nunn.”

Building with the right team

While their expertise has been central to their success, both Jack and Tom emphasise that the people around them are just as important. Jack believes a strong co-founder relationship is critical when starting out:

“I’d say to anyone looking at co-founding a business, whilst it's really important to have a co-founder that's well thought of, respected and highly skilled in the industry, not to make Tom blush, but you also need to get on well because you're going through a lot of highs and a lot of lows together.”

He goes on to explain that having a trusted colleague doesn’t just make business sense, it makes the journey far more rewarding. “And it's great to have someone share that experience and also awesome for us to have a wider team to go through that with too.”

Looking ahead, the pair have ambitious goals for their business, while making sure the culture remains enjoyable along the way. Jack said:

“Our ultimate goal is to be seen as the market leader when it comes to interim technology and transformation talent. It’s a long road ahead, but with the right people, culture and partners working alongside us, we are really confident we will get there.

At the same time, we feel that no matter what numbers we get to in terms of revenue or headcount, if we're not enjoying ourselves as we go along the way, then it won't really be worth it. So far it's been a challenging but also really enjoyable experience. We can really look forward to the next few years ahead.”

Choosing the right suppliers

From the outset, Jack and Tom knew that the value they added to their business had to stay in their day-to-day work and interim headhunting. Everything else, the back-office operations, compliance, and administrative tasks needed to be handled by the right suppliers. They approached this with careful diligence, recognising that choosing the right suppliers would allow them to focus on what really drives the business.

Don't rush supplier selection - it shapes success

Jack explains the challenge of selecting the right partners early on:

“For any start up founder, no matter what sector you're in, it's pretty overwhelming the amount of suppliers that you have to pick from and in recruitment especially your key decisions are really CRM providers, invoice financing, lawyers, accountants and there's just so much choice out there.

So, I would say each and every supplier decision is really important because it's going to be the backbone of your business. We went through a pretty rigorous process selecting them because essentially, we want all our clients and candidates as well as our employees to have a really high end and personable process when interacting with our third party suppliers.”

Tom adds perspective on what mattered most when choosing suppliers for back-office and invoice financing:

“I think when we were choosing back office and third party invoice financing, one thing that we had at the top of the list was actually communication, trust and speed of response.

Having worked with 3R for coming up to 10 months, we could not be happier. Our calls are always picked up almost within the first ring. There's always a solution orientated approach to any kind of creases that we need to figure out. We're speaking to human beings at the end of the day very, very quickly to help us out. And that's what we've got with 3R. So we're chuffed to bits."

The value of trusted relationships

Jack also emphasises the human side of working with a trusted supplier:

“They're also really enjoyable to work with. Founding a business can be quite an isolated place at times. So having a third party partner that is in it with you, is reliable, but also good fun and enjoyable to interact with is not to be overlooked. We definitely have that from 3R.”

He reflects on the practical impact of outsourcing operational responsibilities:

“In the first year you end up wearing every hat — it’s anything from marketing, finance, OPS to technology. I think me and Tom swapped the hats we were wearing many times. But the one area that really matters to drive growth in year 1 is commercial activities.

So having a reliable, trustworthy and compliant provider like 3R in the background has freed up loads of our time and given us peace of mind. They are the backbone of our business and operations and allow us to focus on all things commercial.”

Finally, Jack shares his advice for other start-up founders making supplier decisions:

“Once you have shortlisted your final one, two or three providers, just get as many references as you can, not just from other competitors or recruiters in the market, but from the clients and candidates that ultimately use that product and service as well.

I think if you do that and do your due diligence, the answer should come naturally. That 3R is the partner of choice for recruiters at our level.”