Founder Simon Swan exits Hiring Hub to explore opportunities in AI
Simon Swan has left Hiring Hub, the recruitment marketplace business he founded in 2010 and is keen to explore new opportunities in AI.
He told TheBusinessDesk.com this morning (23 January 2025) that his decision to leave the Manchester-based business was entirely his and he said it was time for him to look at new opportunities.
“Hiring Hub started as a five year plan, but it’s definitely time for me to move on.”
“I’ve got a few opportunities ahead of me, I’m fascinated by the velocity of AI and how it is shaping society, the tech industry and how that might impact software businesses.”
He sits as a part-time board member of Agent Academy, the social enterprise arm of Liverpool-based Agent Marketing.
He has had different investors on his journey to build the business including entrepreneur John Laithwaite, Maven and most recently in 2023 he secured a multimillion-pound investment from European private equity fund, MonacoSol, the family office of Manchester software entrepreneur, Richard Beaton.
Swan described the whole experience as “an epic adventure that’s taught me so much.”
“Fortunately, I can step away confident the business is in safe hands under MonacoSol’s ownership, with Mark Rothwell at the helm.
“While the timing felt right, I have no grand plan; I don’t know what’s next and want to take some time to figure that out. (This may involve lots of cycling.)
“In Hernan Cortés’ words, sometimes you have to ‘burn the boats!’ to ensure you keep moving forwards.
“So many good people have helped me over the years, for whom I’ll be eternally grateful. I appreciate all the encouragement and every leg-up.
“And to the folks that joined me on this ride, believed it was possible, rolled-up their sleeves and showed up every day to make it count, or invested to make it happen, thank you.”
MonacoSol’s investment has been used to scale the sales and customer operations in the UK and internationally, including the creation of more than 20 jobs.
Clients of Hiring Hub include On The Beach, London & Partners, SSE, Henkel and Sega.
Hiring Hub links businesses with top-rated recruitment agencies to find quality candidates quickly. Its marketplace platform provides organisations with an on-demand network of peer-reviewed, specialist recruitment agencies, with a view to taking the pain out of recruiting for HR managers and heads of departments alike.
MonacoSol’s portfolio of companies also includes Furza and OpenECX in Manchester, another local investment WebContractor was sold to Payapps in 2023.
