Meet the Team: Anders Sundquist (CEO)
Every recruiter seems to have an interesting story of how they got into recruiting. In this series of posts, you’ll learn how our team found their way here, how they approach recruiting, and other fun facts. To kick us off, we have a conversation with our Founder and CEO, Anders Sundquist. Anders flawlessly (see what we did there) embodies what it means to be a people-oriented leader, and loves to see his team learn, grow, add value, and thrive! See more in the interview below.
How did you fall into recruiting?
I think I got into recruiting the same way that many people get into recruiting … unintentionally. I went to Western Washington University and studied Economics and Education, and just before graduation there was a career fair where they were talking about recruiting, and I thought, “This sounds perfect!” I am passionate about people, and a natural connector who is data-driven and loves analyzing markets. So when they told me about recruiting, I was sold!
“ I am passionate about people, and a natural connector who is data-driven and loves analyzing markets. ”
I soon joined Aerotek where I loved the training and learned recruiting fundamentals. But I did not enjoy the “work hard, play extra hard” mentality that seemed to be embedded in the culture. After about a year, I moved to Harvey Nash, a Seattle-based IT recruiting firm, and fell in love with technical recruiting and the concept of hyper-growth, talent acquisition, and strategy. I went from a recruiter to a recruiting lead, to Talent Acquisition Director and I discovered that I loved partnering with talent acquisition teams! I learned everything about start-ups, like time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, and more.
Why did you start Flawless?
I was handcuffed by the business model and felt like the transactional nature could not scale or prevail. Harvey Nash also had the “work hard, play hard” culture and I was left with a lingering feeling of wanting more.
I set out to start a talent acquisition firm that was rooted in mindfulness, and I wanted to create a culture that did things differently. I wanted to disrupt the industry as we knew it. I started Anders Tech Consulting and worked with Seattle startups where I found success in the old contingent model.
“I set out to start a talent acquisition firm that was rooted in mindfulness, and I wanted to create a culture that did things differently.”
In the early years, we made 33 hires in just over a year for one client, and they complimented our level of partnership and production. He said that the experience had been “flawless”, and that's when our current name was born!
What else did you hope to achieve with Flawless?
We wanted to disrupt the contingent business model. We aim to provide embedded talent acquisition as a service (TAaaS) on demand.
That sounds a lot like a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) model. Is Flawless an agency and/or an RPO?
We are not an agency. We are not an RPO. We are a talent consultancy.
“We are not an agency. We are not an RPO. We are a talent consultancy.”
The classic models have fixed markup hiring and contingent recruiting. The incumbent RPO firms have archaic pricing and inflexible solutions. Our embedded TAaaS solution is flexible in pricing and delivery, to allow our clients to expand and contract as their needs change. This really has the client in mind. It is a customer-focused pricing model.
What is the future of Flawless?
Flawless as a company seeks to empower people to build community. Over time, as we build our internal community, we will continue to do virtual and in-person events that build community in the talent acquisition space.
“We believe that the future is the embedded consulting model, which is why we are pioneering it. ”
In-person events?
Potentially! Stay tuned.
Is it sustainable?
Absolutely. Moving forward, we will see continuous disruption in the talent acquisition space. We believe that the future is the embedded consulting model, which is why we are pioneering it.
Well, there you have it! We hope that you have enjoyed getting inside the mind of our CEO and we can’t wait for more conversations with our leaders. If you have a question that you would like to “Ask Anders”, put it in the comment below! And join us next time as we meet with Chris Gootherts, Senior Vice President here at Flawless.