What does it take to completely reinvent a recruitment business that's already successful?

In this episode of Recruiting Alchemy, Andy Simpson sits down with Elliott Manning, Founder of Kayman Recruitment, to unpack a journey that's anything but conventional.

From leaving school at 15 to become a chef, to building a thriving recruitment business across the UK, US and South Africa, Elliott shares the lessons he's learnt from taking risks, making mistakes, and constantly adapting to a changing market.

The conversation explores entrepreneurship, international expansion, outsourcing, offshoring, and why sometimes the biggest opportunities come from tearing up the original plan and starting again.

Whether you're a recruitment founder, agency leader or simply interested in building businesses differently, there's plenty to take away from this one.

Timestamps

00:00 – Highlights from Elliott's journey
01:00 – Sponsor: ryvr.ai
02:00 – Introducing Elliott Manning
04:00 – Growing up in East London and life before recruitment
07:00 – Becoming a chef and working in Michelin-starred kitchens
10:00 – First steps into recruitment
13:00 – Building a successful healthcare recruitment desk
16:00 – Why entrepreneurship always felt inevitable
19:00 – Taking the leap and starting his own business
20:00 – Accidentally discovering rec-to-rec recruitment
22:00 – Growing the business and early leadership lessons
25:00 – Expanding into the US market
30:00 – Why South Africa became the next big move
36:00 – Building an outsourcing and offshoring business
40:00 – Launching new ventures and changing direction
42:00 – Scaling internationally and helping recruitment firms hire globally
45:00 – The future of recruitment and offshore talent
50:00 – Advice for founders looking to scale internationally
55:00 – Final thoughts and key lessons

Connect with Elliott Manning

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliott-manning-4b3b6b7/
Kayman Recruitment: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kayman-recruitment/

Connect with Andy Simpson

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andyhsimpson/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyhsimpson/

This episode is proudly sponsored by ryvr.ai

Find out more:

Website: https://ryvr.ai/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryvr.ai/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ryvrai/

Produced by Vertical Drop

Find out more:

https://vertical-drop.com/