Why build for an Exit? Twenty Recruitment Case Study Adrian Kinnersley – Managing Director Twenty Recruitment Group

Agenda  Lifestyle or Exit  Reality of a Start Up  Reality of Building for an Exit  Timing – some good news  Wheel of Fortune  Secrets of Silicon Valley  What’s your focus  Challenges for the Future  Conclusion  Questions

Lifestyle or Exit  What type of business are you in or thinking of starting?  Lifestyle ORExit / Valuable  What is the difference  Definition of success  Neither is right or wrong  As a founder / leader it is your responsibility to chose  What do you really want / need short term and long term  Every decision should get you closer to success

Decisive Leadership?

Reality of a Start up Human Institution designed to create a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty. Eric Reis  No Brand  No People  No Clients  No Infrastructure  No Office  No Revenue  No Suppliers  No Culture  No History  Nothing of Value  You and your vision is your only collateral

Reality of building to Exit Approximately 19,000 recruitment companies in the UK Roughly 12,000 recruitment companies employ less than 5 staff (62%) Only 10% employ more than 50 people 5.4% turnover more than £5m Average 0.05% chance of selling for more than £10m FTSE low 3287 March 03.com bust + Iraq war FTSE high 6732 June 07 pre credit crunch FTSE low 3500 Mar 09

Timing – some good news

Wheel of Fortune – Ground up StrategyBrandCultureTeamEarningsBack Office

Strategy BrandCultureTeamEarningsBack Office Growth Current Markets Adjacent Markets New Markets New Geographies Headcount =60+

Brand StrategyBrandCultureTeamEarningsBack Office External Awards PR / Social Media Networking Website Client perception Candidate perception Investor perception Values

Culture StrategyBrandCultureTeamEarningsBack Office Internal Induction Training Systems Appraisals Career Progression ISO & IIP Values Vision

Team StrategyBrandCultureTeamEarningsBack Office Management Skin in the game Stable Future proof Comp Control Next Gen Standards

Earnings StrategyBrandCultureTeamEarningsBack Office Strength Visibility Quality Contract : Perm PSL : Spot Diversification

Back Office StrategyBrandCultureTeamEarningsBack Office Discipline Forecasting Fin Management Debtor days Cash-flow Infrastructure Tax planning Documentation COO!!

Secrets of Silicon Valley Secrets of Silicon Valley: What Everyone Else Can Learn from the Innovation Capital of the World by Perry Piscione.  Value People – They are all team players and should all be able to gain an equity ownership in the business.  Value Ideas – Ideas are the prized commodity in Silicon Valley.  Take Risks and Accept Failure – This is part of the human experience that makes you smarter.  Innovate – Let go of old ideas and reach out to your customers for feedback.  Always think of yourself as a start up – they are lean, hungry and open and have no legacy to tie them down.

What’s your focus – Isaiah Berlin The fox knows many things the hedgehog knows one big thing

Challenges for the Future  Social Media / Mobile  Value of information / database completely changed  Candidate behaviour changes  RPO / in house recruiters  New competition  What are you doing to position your business appropriately  Margin pressure  What’s your plan  Globalisation  Global mobility of talent likely to increase  Regulation  Increasing barriers to entry  Increasing costs to business  Politics / Taxation

Conclusion  Exit =  lot of hard work for a 0.05% chance of exit in excess of £10m  Lifestyle =  Lot of hard work but much greater chance of success So why bother?

Questions ?’s