This is the single most critical role in the business. Emilio describes the Partner as a portfolio manager for talent: the way a PM at a hedge fund is handed a pot of capital and runs their own little firm inside the firm, this person owns a portfolio of client companies end to end. That means onboarding the client, building the relationship, uncovering the intricate role details a job description could never capture, engaging the Rounds recruiter network appropriately for each role, advising the client as candidates move through the pipeline, gathering and relaying feedback between client and recruiters, and invoicing the client at close. As they perform, their book grows (more companies, more roles, higher-salary roles), and their commission rate can rise. Longer term, as Rounds builds out a venture arm and invests in the companies it works with, this person has the deepest insight into those companies and is positioned to become the GP deploying that capital, earning carried interest.
The spike is unambiguously the client side. This is not an account-manager seat. Clients pay Rounds to advise and lead them, the way a company pays an investment bank to advise on pricing a sale and cleaning up the data room, often paying to be told how to position themselves. The Partner needs the conviction and standing to advise and lead founders in building exceptional teams, including putting their foot down and telling a founder they need to spend far more time on hiring. The recruiter side matters (they must be able to talk shop, keep recruiters feeling heard, and make sure good candidates are not wrongly discarded), but if a candidate is a little weaker there, that can be caught up and Rounds is building technology around it. The client-facing advisory ability cannot be taught as easily and is the gap Rounds is hiring for.
The ideal persona has carried a managing-director-level or business-owner-level relationship with clients, not an executor seat. The strongest shape is someone who has run their own agency or an advisory-oriented business, or been an MD at a recruiting or executive-search firm: someone with the battle wounds to make their advice credible, who has sat on both sides (client-facing while also directing a team). What Emilio screens for underneath all of it is clear evidence of exceptionalism: an outlier track record (an unusual program or achievement matters more than the name of the school), a high-level athletic background (he has a deep affinity for athletes, especially tennis players at D1 or professional level, particularly paired with a sales background), and founders who built an advisory or service-oriented business into the high six, seven, or eight figures.
What You’ll Own
- A portfolio of client companies, run end to end like a portfolio manager
- Client onboarding, relationship, and the deep role discovery a JD cannot capture Advising and leading founders on how to build exceptional teams, setting the tone and expectations from the first call
- Engaging the Rounds recruiter network per role, keeping recruiters heard, and protecting good candidates from being wrongly cut
- Gathering and relaying feedback both ways, moving candidates through fast, and invoicing at close
- A growing book over time, with a path toward deploying capital as Rounds builds its venture arm
Requirements
- A real client-facing advisory track record at MD or business-owner level: owned the client relationship, set and managed expectations, led deals
- Ran their own agency or advisory/service-oriented business, OR was an MD at a recruiting or executive-search firm (business owner is ideal)
- Can advise with conviction and put their foot down with a founder, while being approachable and quick to instill trust
- Deeply charismatic people person, respectable enough that both clients and recruiters trust them
- Comfortable talking shop with elite recruiters and managing the recruiter side (can be caught up if slightly weaker here)
Who Will Thrive Here
- A former agency owner or MD who misses owning the client relationship and wants a portfolio to run and grow
- Someone who leads founders rather than taking orders from them, with the standing to correct a hiring manager
- A missionary for the people business who would do this even if money were not a factor
- Someone who favors equity and commission over a big guaranteed base (a green signal to Emilio that they believe in the vision)
- Opinionated with conviction and humility, extremely detail-oriented, with deep pride and ownership in their work