Most recruitment agency owners hit a wall around 10-20 people. The culture that made you successful starts to crack. The personal touch gets lost. And you’re left wondering if scaling was worth it.
Nicholas Barton didn’t just avoid that wall he redefined what scaling could look like.
He started packing boxes in a warehouse before falling into recruitment. No business plan, no backers. Eighteen years later, The Barton Partnership operates across London, New York, and Singapore with around 100 people. They’ve been recognized by Forbes as one of the world’s best management consulting firms three years running and ranked in Recruiter magazine’s Hot 100 for GP per employee.
But here’s what makes Nicholas’s story different: he scaled internationally without losing what made the business work in the first place. While competitors chased quick growth and watched their culture implode, Nicholas played the long game. He built a platform before the headcount. He kept his early hires for 18 years. He opened offices in three countries without losing the cohesion that made the business special.
In this episode, Nicholas breaks down exactly how: the infrastructure he built first, why he gave away 35% through share options, his “present don’t sell” approach that keeps turnover low, and how he cracked international expansion without losing his shirt or his culture.
If you’re an agency owner thinking about your next phase of growth, this conversation is essential.
Episode Outline and Highlights
- [3:40] How Nicholas fell into recruitment and found his niche in strategy consulting, a market no one else was serving in the late 90s.
- [10:50] The spray and pray moment: sending one Bain consultant’s CV to 80,000 contacts and getting an overwhelming response.
- [13:04] The first critical milestone: making early hires who are still with the business 18 years later.
- [15:07] The “art of the possible”: why Nicholas built for an exit rather than a lifestyle business.
- [18:33] How offering share options from the beginning became a powerful retention tool.
- [23:38] What Nicholas looks for when hiring: no ego, no arrogance, just work ethic and cultural fit.
- [29:08] The “airport test,” involving the whole team in hiring, and why they never oversell the opportunity.
- [35:20] Building the platform: investing in marketing, finance, operations, and people from day one.
- [42:43] How an ex-Bain consultant helped launch their interim practice, now 50% of revenue.
- [46:43] The three pillars for a scalable firm: niche specialization, 50/50 perm-contract split, and one profitable international office.
- [48:40] Cracking the U.S. market: monthly trips, client building from the UK, and finding the right leader on the ground.
- [56:56] Pivoting from 100% office-based to fully virtual during COVID with zero drop in productivity.
- [1:04:42] Nicholas’s core principle: great customer service beats great selling every time.
Build Your Platform Before You Scale Your Headcount
Here’s where Nicholas did something different. While his friends who started recruitment companies were taking home bigger dividends and growing faster, Nicholas was building infrastructure. Marketing capability. Finance support. Operations. Learning and development. CRM systems. The whole back office.
“I don’t believe in building a house without a solid foundation,” he says. “A lot of recruitment companies just invest in the front end, sales and hiring, then think about their back end later. We kept them in touch with one another as we built.”
His competitors were the hare. Nicholas was the tortoise.
Today, he can plug new hires into a fully functioning ecosystem: marketing, finance, systems, and training that get people productive faster and keep them longer.
His approach was simple: one hire at a time. Every profitable hire funded the next. No fancy business plan. No private equity. Just disciplined growth, even when it meant sailing close to the wind.
“The payoff? A business that’s navigated the 2007 crash, Brexit, COVID, and the recent slowdown and hasn’t blanked a single month in 18 years.”
Give Away Share Options to Keep Your Best People
Nicholas has given away about 35% of his business through EMI share options one of his most impactful long-term decisions.
“I’d rather have 50% of a larger pie than 100% of a smaller pie.”
Several of his earliest hires are still with him 18 years later. Almost unheard of in recruitment.
Share options at The Barton Partnership aren’t handed out like sweets. They’re earned through contribution, loyalty, and going above and beyond.
“Someone who walks in at 8:30 and leaves at 6 probably isn’t going to qualify,” Nicholas says bluntly.
The mechanics are smart: options over shares mean no voting rights, not dividend bearing, and if someone leaves, the options fall back into the pot. But when a transaction happens, they convert to equity at a favorable tax rate.
The result? His team thinks and acts like owners because they are.
Present, Don’t Sell, And Watch Your Culture Get Stronger
Nicholas has a rule: they don’t sell.
“We are who we are, and we do what we do. That’s either going to work for you, or it isn’t.”
No false promises, no overselling, just transparency. Candidates meet multiple team members over breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Everyone gets to know each other. The goal isn’t persuasion, it’s alignment.
“Where a lot of companies go wrong is they sell,” he explains. “Someone joins and quickly realizes everything they were told was a pack of lies.”
By presenting, not selling, The Barton Partnership keeps its culture strong and turnover low. The same principle applies to clients. It’s about service, not sales.
“If you have a vision, a niche that distinguishes you, and great customer service at the heart of it, you’ve got the key ingredients for success.”
Vision. Niche. Service. That’s the formula.
Nicholas’s journey proves that sustainable growth isn’t about speed. It’s about building the right foundation, keeping the right people, and staying true to your principles. Whether you’re a solo recruiter or running a 50-person firm, the lessons here apply.
