Dragon Steven Bartlett invests in tech talent agency Chapter 2

Entrepreneur Steven Bartlett has invested in disruptive recruitment tech and talent agency Chapter 2.

The BBC Dragons’ Den star and ‘Diary of a CEO’ podcast host today [10 July 2024] announced that he wanted to part invest in Chapter 2 “to maximise and modernise the current outsourced recruitment model – reflecting the true hiring needs of today’s and tomorrow’s businesses”.

Combining the pace and flexibility of an agency with the cultural understanding of an in-house team, Chapter 2’s model is delivered via three key pillars: People, Process and Technology, tailored to an individual client’s specific needs, according to the company.

Leo Harrison founded Chapter 2 just before the Covid pandemic at the start of 2020. He wanted to solve the problem of costly talent acquisition, which he said he had experienced in his previous role as COO at OLIVER Agency. 

Bartlett comments: “The issue I’ve found is that typical recruitment companies are expensive, have misaligned incentives and don’t understand our company’s culture. Then I discovered Chapter 2… led by Leo who is one of the best entrepreneurs I’ve ever met.”

Bartlett decided to invest in Chapter 2, identifying the company as a pioneer within the recruitment space. “The definition of the word ‘company’ is a group of people. Hiring a great group of people is the single, most important, fundamental objective of any company that has the potential to be great. I’ve spent years trying to build a talent solution that would allow my companies and I to find, attract and recruit the world’s best talent.

“I knew we had to join forces to power my company’s [Flight Group] talent needs, but also to help high potential companies all over the world to meet their talent needs.”

Based in the UK, the US, South Africa, India and Germany, Chapter 2 will join Bartlett’s business ecosystem. The teams will combine expertise to build a future-proof recruitment platform and accelerate the pace of growth for the best businesses worldwide.

Harrison, founder and CEO of Chapter 2, adds: “I genuinely believe that the recruitment and talent acquisition space is slow, expensive and ripe for disruption. Attracting and retaining the top 0.1% is harder than ever in a saturated market. 

“With Steven’s collaboration, Chapter 2 will amplify our reach for our business and our clients. Together we can ensure Chapter 2 provides our current and prospective clients with a first-class talent solution that delivers results.”

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