Speakers

Alan Furley is the co-founder and CEO of ISL Talent, a UK recruitment business specialising in hiring for venture-backed startups and scale-ups. Over the past 15 years he has helped hundreds of founders build their early teams across technology, commercial and leadership roles, working closely with investors and high-growth companies from seed to Series B. Alan has led his own business through several shifts in the recruitment market, including a move away from the traditional contingency and % fee model towards fixed-fee, staged and retained work. This change has given him first-hand experience of the opportunities and the pitfalls that come with rethinking how agencies charge. Alongside running ISL Talent, Alan delivers hiring workshops for accelerators, VCs and scale-up communities, and regularly hosts founder roundtables focused on growth, hiring and leadership. His work gives him a clear view of what clients now expect from recruitment partners - and how agencies can adapt to build deeper trust and more predictable revenue.