We combine deep SaaS relationships and a personalized approach to find revenue leaders who can execute, not just strategize—often within weeks.
We only recruit for revenue talent for early-to-growth stage startups, giving us a competitive edge to identify leaders who thrive in fast-paced, high-growth environments.
Our hires have helped startups hit ARR milestones, expand markets, and build cohesive revenue teams, proving our ability to match the right leaders for every stage of growth.
We evaluate qualifications, cultural fit, passion, and versatility—ensuring alignment with your mission—while managing everything from role definition to final negotiations.
We’re not just invested in filling roles—we’re invested in your success, providing market insights and feedback to refine your hiring strategy as you grow.
We help you identify the right leader for your needs—whether that’s a player-coach or a strategic executive. From understanding your unique goals to finalizing offers, we partner with you every step of the way to deliver impactful leadership hires.
Discovery & Strategy:
Work directly with an experienced executive recruiter to align on your goals, culture, and needs, for one or multiple leaders.
Sourcing Top Talent:
Receive a curated list of active and passive candidates from our extensive network of revenue leaders to validate fit.
Thorough Screening:
Get candidates rigorously evaluated for technical skills, cultural fit, and readiness to excel in a fast-paced startup environment.
Collaborative Hiring Process:
Access a candidate tracker and work with us through every step, from interviews to offers, via Slack, WhatsApp, or email.
Check-In:
Receive strategic feedback to refine your startup's hiring approach and support your hire's long-term success.
Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)
VP of Sales
Head of Sales
Director of Sales
Chief Customer Officer (CCO)
VP of Customer Success
VP of Customer Experience
Head of Customer Success
Director of Customer Success
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
VP of Marketing
Head of Marrketing
Director of Demand Generation
Director of Product Marketing
VP of Revenue Operations
Head of Revenue Operations
Director of Revenue Operations
Director of Sales Operations
Finding the right revenue leader is critical for driving growth, aligning teams, and achieving your startup’s goals.
Whether you need a VP of Sales, a Head of Marketing, or a Director of Customer Success, identifying the right fit for your unique challenges and stage of growth is essential. Here’s what you need to know.
Determining which revenue leader to hire first depends on your startup’s current stage and goals.
If you're focused on building a predictable sales pipeline, a VP of Sales or a Sales Leader is often the top priority. They’ll define your sales strategy, hire initial sales reps, and set the foundation for scalable growth.
If marketing is your bottleneck—whether generating demand, building brand awareness, or launching new products—hiring a VP of Marketing can create immediate impact. They’ll help you attract and nurture leads, positioning your company in a competitive market.
For startups aiming to improve customer retention or maximize customer lifetime value, hiring a Director of Customer Success is essential. They’ll establish processes to ensure customers are supported, reducing churn and driving upsell opportunities.
If operational inefficiencies are holding you back, a RevOps leader can be transformational. They’ll align your go-to-market teams, streamline processes, and ensure consistent data-driven decision-making across Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success.
The “right” first hire depends on where your business is today and what’s required to hit the next major milestone. Taking a strategic approach ensures you invest in the leader who will drive measurable results from day one.
Hiring a specialized leader for each function—Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, or RevOps—ensures your startup has the expertise needed to navigate the unique challenges of each area. Each function plays a critical role in driving growth, and a dedicated leader can focus entirely on building a strategy, executing with precision, and scaling the team effectively.
Sales leaders bring deep expertise in building predictable revenue pipelines, closing deals, and scaling sales teams.
Marketing leaders, on the other hand, excel in creating demand, building your brand, and implementing multi-channel campaigns that resonate with your target audience.
Customer Success leaders ensure your customers are supported, driving retention, expansion, and overall customer satisfaction.
RevOps leaders bring it all together, aligning operations across Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success to optimize processes and leverage data for informed decision-making.
Specialized leaders also bring clarity to roles and responsibilities, avoiding overlap and inefficiencies. This focus allows your startup to maximize results in each area while ensuring collaboration across functions. For high-growth startups, investing in specialized leadership sets the foundation for achieving ambitious revenue and ARR goals.
You might need to hire multiple leaders at once when your startup is experiencing rapid growth or preparing to scale after securing a significant funding round.
Expanding your leadership team ensures you have the right strategic minds in place to maintain momentum, especially during periods of high demand or organizational change.
For example, if you're scaling across multiple markets or launching new products, you may need a VP of Sales to lead revenue generation, a Marketing leader to drive demand, and a Customer Success leader to manage retention and expansion. Similarly, adding a RevOps leader can optimize cross-functional alignment and operational efficiency to support growth.
Hiring multiple leaders simultaneously also fosters alignment across departments from the start, ensuring your strategy is cohesive and your goals are met efficiently. By investing in strong departmental leadership, you build a foundation to scale sustainably while keeping your competitive edge.
In the early stages of a startup, it’s common to combine leadership roles—such as a VP of Sales and Marketing—to maximize resources.
While this approach can work temporarily, it often becomes unsustainable as your company grows. Blended roles stretch leaders across multiple functions, making it harder for them to dedicate the time and expertise needed to drive success in each area.
For startups with ambitious growth plans, having dedicated leaders for each function is critical. A VP of Sales can focus entirely on revenue generation and pipeline management, while a Marketing leader can craft and execute strategies to build brand awareness and drive demand. Similarly, a Customer Success leader ensures your customers receive exceptional care, and a RevOps leader aligns processes and systems to optimize performance across all go-to-market teams.
By investing in dedicated leaders, you avoid bottlenecks, create more accountability, and enable specialized strategies that support scalable growth. This structure allows each function to operate at its highest potential, ensuring your company is prepared for the challenges of rapid expansion.
Revenue leaders are the architects of long-term SaaS growth, each shaping a critical component of your revenue engine.
A Marketing leader refines your brand identity, builds top-of-funnel demand, and ensures your company resonates with the right audience.
A Sales leader optimizes sales cycles and strategies, driving consistent pipeline growth and ARR expansion.
Meanwhile, a Customer Success leader creates roadmaps to maximize customer retention and lifetime value, ensuring your clients are not only satisfied but advocates for your product.
A RevOps leader ties it all together by aligning processes, data, and tools across teams, removing silos, and optimizing overall efficiency.
Together, these leaders build a unified go-to-market strategy that not only drives revenue but creates a seamless, authentic experience for your customers.
By working in unison, these leaders empower your startup to scale sustainably, adapt to market shifts, and deliver innovative, category-defining products that thrive in the competitive SaaS landscape.
They don't just hit short-term milestones—they lay the foundation for enduring growth and market leadership.
See how we’ve helped early-stage SaaS companies build high-performing revenue teams. From individual contributors to leadership placements, our tailored approach delivers results that drive growth and impact.
Our Executive Search Team has more than 50 years of experience in identifying exceptional revenue leaders for SaaS startups.
With deep industry expertise and a personalized approach, we find the right executives to match your growth stage, company culture, and long-term goals.
From C-suite roles to departmental leadership, our team ensures every hire drives impact from day one.
Find answers to the most common questions about our executive search recruiting services.
Yes. While our emphasis here is on C-suite roles and senior leaders, we do recruit individual contributors for revenue teams across Sales, Marketing, CS, and RevOps as well.
We typically present a curated candidate pool in just a few days. Our vast network of executives in SaaS and strong partnerships within the revenue community let us move fast.
Absolutely. Our recruiting services are flexible enough to manage multiple key hires at once, ensuring each role is filled without compromising speed or quality.
Yes. We provide competitive insights, market analysis, and offer-structuring guidance so you can confidently present compelling packages that attract exceptional talent.
We maintain a high-touch process, so if you need to pivot—perhaps you decide a combined Sales/Marketing leader is better—we adapt to ensure the perfect candidate is always the priority.
We also have a go-to-market team in case your needs shift towards an individual contributor instead of a leadership hire.
We focus on early-to-growth stage SaaS companies. Our client base stretches coast to coast and even includes international companies that are expanding to the US.
We're here to help!
Don’t let leadership gaps hold you back.
Partner with Captivate Talent to secure exceptional executives and departmental leaders to drive revenue growth.