Scaling: How to Build a $65M Recruiting Business That is Sellable, with Mike Kelly

For the first five to six years of his first recruiting business, Mike Kelly did everything himself. Cold calls, interviews, client meetings, even payroll. He began handing off the work when he asked himself: what's the highest and best use of my time?

Mike is the Founder and CEO of Conexus Advisors and has grown and exited three professional services businesses. In this conversation, he shares how Conexus reached $65M in revenue, with 50 internal team members and 230 consultants working on client projects. The firm generates over $750,000 in gross profit per desk, including researchers.

About 85% of the business is project consulting and interim advisory. Mike explains how that revenue supports growth and walks through the division of work between researchers, screeners, recruiters, and account executives. Two people work on the database all year so fee earners can spend their time talking to clients and candidates.

Mike also explains how he develops managers who can take over coaching and grow their own teams. He shares why top billers don't always make good managers, how overrides and equity reward leadership, and what allowed him to hand over his own book of business for the first time in 28 years.

In this episode:

How to identify the work you should hand off first

Why Mike and his partners went nine months without a paycheck

How a split desk works from research through to offer

Why account executives personally prepare candidates for interviews

How staying within a clear niche improves desk productivity

The conversion targets Mike uses to assess recruiting performance

How to develop and reward team leaders