Contingency-based technical recruiting built exclusively for seed through Series B startups. No retainers. No risk. Just results.
Average time-to-fill
Offer close rate
Candidate retention
Startup recruiting
Startups deserve recruiting that is faster, smarter, and leaner than anything the traditional agency model can offer.
We move at the pace of your business, not ours. Through AI-driven sourcing and a structured pipeline built around your timeline, we deliver qualified candidates in days, not months. Time-to-fill reduced from 40 to 14 days.
Volume is not a strategy. Every candidate is sourced with intent, screened with rigor, and evaluated against your team, stage, and culture. You get a shortlist worth your time — not a stack of maybes.
No bloated retainers or 20–25% placement fees. Our contingency model means you pay nothing until you hire, and our sliding-scale fees get cheaper as the relationship deepens.
Two pillars: top-of-funnel talent acquisition plus recruiting infrastructure that makes your hiring function stronger.
We start with a deep-dive intake call to understand your team, tech stack, culture, and exactly what "great" looks like for this role. No generic job specs.
AI-driven sourcing identifies top passive talent. Personalized outreach — not spray-and-pray — brings them to the table. We target candidates your internal team can't reach.
Every candidate is rigorously screened for technical fit, cultural alignment, and career motivation. You receive a curated shortlist, not a resume dump.
We help you build structured interview loops, scorecards, and evaluation frameworks. Better process = better hires and better candidate experience.
We manage the offer process end-to-end — comp benchmarking, candidate expectations, and close strategy. Our 95% close rate speaks for itself.
Greenhouse expertise, ATS hygiene, workflow design, and intake frameworks. You're not just filling roles — you're building a hiring function that scales.
Christopher Waye brings over 10 years of technical recruiting and talent leadership experience, built entirely inside high-growth startups. He is not a generalist recruiter who decided to go independent — he is an operator who has built recruiting functions from scratch, scaled teams through hypergrowth, and designed the exact infrastructure he now offers to clients.
When a startup engages OneWay Recruiting, they get someone who has sat in the same seat as their Head of Talent — who has built offer approval workflows, designed structured interview loops, cleaned up Greenhouse from scratch, built headcount models for a board, and scaled a company through the exact stage they are in now.
Every company on Christopher's resume was a high-growth startup. He understands the pace, the constraints, and what good looks like at Seed, Series A, and Series B.
Leading TA strategy across MANTL business unit. Managing 5 recruiters, 234+ headcount workforce planning, executive reporting, and AI-driven recruiting automation.
Scaled company from 20 to 150+ employees across Series A through Series B and into acquisition. Built recruiting infrastructure and AI-driven hiring workflows from scratch.
40+ engineering and GTM hires. Reduced time-to-fill from 40 to 14 days. 95% close rate. Candidate NPS 5/5. Two company awards for recruiting excellence.
$300K+ monthly revenue. 190+ hiring manager partnerships. 40+ placements, 100% retention rate.
These aren't projections. These are results from a decade of building recruiting functions inside high-growth startups.
Grew MANTL from 20 to 150+ across Series A through acquisition
Cross-functional relationships built across engineering, product, and GTM
Reduced average fill time by 75% at Button through process optimization
Perfect candidate experience score — because process matters on both sides
Not all recruiting partners are built the same. Here's what makes the model different.
| OneWay Recruiting | Traditional Agencies | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee structure | 8–15% sliding scale | 20–25% flat rate |
| Payment model | Contingency — pay on hire only | Often retainer or hybrid upfront |
| Startup experience | 10+ years inside Seed–Series B | Generalist across industries |
| Interview process | Included: structured loops, scorecards, ATS | Not included — "that's your job" |
| Candidate quality | Curated shortlist of 3–5 vetted candidates | Resume flood of 20+ unscreened |
| ATS hygiene | Greenhouse expertise built into every engagement | Not offered |
| Time-to-fill | 14 days average | 45–60 days industry average |
| Replacement guarantee | 30 days at no additional cost | Varies — often 30 days with conditions |
Contingency only — no retainers, no upfront costs. The fee is due upon your new hire's first day of employment.
If a candidate exits voluntarily or is terminated for performance within 30 days, we replace them at no additional cost.
Invoice is due 30 days from your new hire's start date. Simple and predictable.
Work with us alongside your internal team or other firms. No exclusivity required unless negotiated.
Any candidate we introduce is protected for 12 months. Fair and transparent ownership.
We work with some of the most exciting seed through Series B companies building in engineering and product. Here's what working with us looks like.
Frontend, backend, full-stack, infrastructure, data, and machine learning engineers at companies solving hard problems. We know the technical bar and what teams are actually looking for.
Product managers, directors, and VPs who thrive in ambiguity. Early-stage companies need PMs who can operate without a playbook — we find them.
No resume blasting. We take the time to understand your career goals, comp expectations, and what kind of environment brings out your best work.
You'll know what the role pays, what the team looks like, and what the interview process is before you commit your time. We don't waste yours.
"Christopher doesn't just fill roles — he helped us completely rethink how we interview engineers. Our close rate went through the roof after he redesigned our loop."
"We were drowning in unqualified resumes from three other agencies. Christopher sent us four candidates. We hired two. That's the difference."
"The contingency model was huge for us at our stage. No upfront risk, and the fee structure actually got better as we kept working together. Exactly how it should work."
Immediately. After a 30-minute intake call to align on the role, team, and what "great" looks like, I begin sourcing within 24 hours. Most clients see their first shortlist within the first week.
You're covered by a 30-day replacement guarantee. If the candidate leaves voluntarily or is terminated for performance within 30 days, I replace them at no additional cost. No questions, no hassle.
No. The default is non-exclusive — you can work with your internal team, other firms, or both alongside me. Exclusivity is only by mutual agreement, never required.
Engineering and Product roles at seed through Series B startups. That includes frontend, backend, full-stack, infrastructure, data, and ML engineers, plus product managers, directors, and VPs. I don't do generalist recruiting — this is the only thing I do.
I'm a solo operator with AI-driven workflows and zero overhead — no office, no layers of account managers, no bloat. I pass those savings directly to clients. The sliding scale (12% first hire, 8% subsequent) rewards the relationship, not the transaction.
Every engagement includes structured interview design, ATS hygiene (Greenhouse), intake frameworks, and workflow optimization. You're not just hiring for one role — you're building a process that scales. This is included in the placement fee, not an add-on.
Whether you have an open role today or want to think through your hiring strategy for the next quarter, the first conversation is always free.
Thanks for reaching out. Christopher will get back to you within 24 hours.
30-minute call · No commitment · No pitch