In this episode of the Unicorn Leaders podcast, Fahd Alhattab sits down with Adam Gellert, founder of Linkus Group and Hypo, to talk all things hiring—from building high-performing teams to breaking outdated recruitment myths.
Adam shares what it really takes to find top-tier talent in startups, why the "hire slow, fire fast" mantra is broken, and how founders can avoid costly mis-hires by aligning on the real business problem behind every role. He opens up about the grit behind building two companies, what top candidates are actually looking for, and how to avoid culture-breaking overhiring.
Whether you're scaling a team, hiring your first exec, or wondering why your dream candidate said no—this one’s packed with practical insights for startup leaders who want to hire fast and hire well.
Adam Gellert
On a mission to build the greatest hiring marketplace of exclusive, pre-vetted, diverse, high-potential candidates and companies. Reshaping the job application process with a unified candidate experience and helping companies hire their most passionate teammates from 1-250 employees - Bootstrapped-Series B.
I eat, sleep and breathe recruitment. I can talk for hours about anything to do with the growth of an organization from a people standpoint; attraction, retention, culture fit, alignment and best practices in a modern world.
I’m an entrepreneur at heart; I noticed the gap in the industry as the Founder of Linkus Group, a top-rated Recruitment Search firm well-known for delivering high-quality work and supporting startups and SMBs in Canada and the US; our typical client starts with us under 1-50 people. I started the company with the intent to disrupt the recruitment industry, and we are doing just that. I’ve got a fantastic team and we work very hard to help build championship teams for our clients that can sustain a winning outlook again and again.
The job application process is out-dated for both companies and candidates so we took matters into our own hands and created Hipo (formerly) HiredHippo, a hiring marketplace for top performing candidates and companies based on mutual interest, like a dating-app and saying goodbye to resumes.
Since 2002, I have been instrumental in building teams both at the corporate and recruitment agency levels. I am known for building strong relationships with my clients as an honest, driven and progressive individual with major organizations across Canada and the United States. With a passion for delivering cost-saving and efficient business results, I took the next step in offering clients an alternative to traditional hiring.
