Building founding teams for Europe and the GCC
I partner with VC funds, venture studios, and accelerators to hire the first people a new company needs.
- Retained across the portfolio
- European and GCC networks
- Assessment designed per role
Founder-led by Neo Nabeel · 500+ hires · 7+ fintech founding teams · 10+ countries
Founding engineer
Scorecard
- Ships without a spec
- Owns the first architecture
- Can hire the next two
Shortlist · Berlin
- Screened
- Interviewing
- Offer
Roles I hire
- Founding engineers
- Backend
- Frontend
- Mobile
- Platform and DevOps
- Security
- ML engineers
- AI researchers
- LLM specialists
- Data engineers
- Data scientists
- Product managers
- Product designers
- UX researchers
- CTOs
- VPs of Engineering
- Heads of AI
- Engineering managers
- Staff engineers
- First commercial hires
- Sales
Where I've done this
Before starting ZeroEleven Talent, I built and led hiring teams in-house.
7+
founding teams built for fintech ventures
Berlin
500+
engineering and product hires across Europe and Asia
Europe · Asia
10+
countries hired in at the same time
Europe · Asia
6
recruiters led in a global team
Berlin
5,000+
hours of structured candidate interviews
Berlin
15+
years of hiring across 3 continents
US · APAC · DACH · GCC
How it works
From the first conversation to a hired team
- What they're building
- Where the hiring risk is
Understand
What the fund, studio, or company is actually trying to build, and where the real hiring risk is.
- Role
- Market
- Scorecard
Design
A hiring plan and assessment approach specific to the role and market, not a generic template.
- Europe · Berlin
- GCC · Dubai
Source & Close
Using my European and GCC networks, whichever side the talent actually sits on.
- Hires
- Playbook
Hand Off or Stay On
I deliver the hires and a playbook, or continue as an embedded or retained partner.
Why both markets
Both markets, one partner
Most recruiters doing this know one side. They have built teams in Europe, or they know how hiring actually works in the GCC. I've done both, from inside the companies doing the hiring.
- Funds and studios. VC funds and venture studios building out portfolio companies
- Founders. Startups hiring their founding or first technical team
- Cross-border. European companies opening a UAE or KSA presence, and GCC companies hiring in Europe
BerlinDubai
Services
Four ways to work with me
ZeroEleven Talent is not a recruiting agency. It's a founder-led talent partner for the people who found and fund startups.
- Core service
Venture & Portfolio Talent Partner
Funds and studios with several early-stage companies that need hiring done right, without building an internal function yet.
A retained relationship with a fund, studio, or accelerator. I build founding and first teams across the portfolio, not one company at a time.
Executive & Leadership Search
Later-stage portfolio companies scaling into their next chapter.
Retained search for senior leadership hires, such as CTOs, VPs of Engineering, and Heads of AI, once a portfolio company has outgrown its founding team.
AI/Tech Hiring Sprint
A company, or portfolio company, with a specific hard-to-fill gap to close fast.
A fixed-price, fixed-timeline engagement to fill one to three urgent technical or AI/ML roles, built around a structured assessment method.
Embedded TA Partner
Companies too big to improvise hiring and too early to build an internal TA team.
A monthly retainer. I act as a company's talent function as it scales past the founding team.
Questions
What founders and funds ask first
Who do you work with?
VC funds, venture studios, and accelerators building out their portfolios, and founders hiring their founding or first technical team.
Who will actually run my search?
I will. You work with me directly from the first conversation to the offer: no account handoffs, no junior recruiters running your search.
Can one person run several searches at once?
Not many, and that's deliberate. I sequence engagements so each search is done properly, rather than running five at once and doing them poorly. If I can't give yours full attention straight away, I'll tell you when I can.
Which markets do you hire in?
Europe and the GCC. That includes European companies opening a presence in the UAE or Saudi Arabia, and GCC companies hiring in Europe. I source on whichever side the talent actually sits.
What kinds of roles do you fill?
Founding and first technical teams, AI/ML and other hard-to-fill technical roles, and senior leadership such as CTOs, VPs of Engineering, and Heads of AI.
How is this different from a recruiting agency?
Rather than filling one role at a time, my core service is a retained relationship with a fund, studio, or accelerator that covers hiring across the portfolio. Each role gets its own hiring plan and assessment approach, and I can stay on as an embedded partner once the hires are made.
What does an engagement cost?
It depends on the engagement. The AI/Tech Hiring Sprint is fixed-price and fixed-timeline, and the Embedded TA Partner is a monthly retainer. I don't publish pricing, so the first step is a conversation.
Where do most engagements start?
With the core service or the Sprint. The other pieces follow once there is trust.
What happens once the hires are made?
I hand over the hires and a playbook, or stay on as an embedded or retained partner.
Let's talk about your first hires
Whether you're about to make your first few hires or supporting hiring across a portfolio, I'd like to hear what you're building.