Oakstone International | SaaS Executive Search

“𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 2024 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘵 𝘖𝘢𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦 – 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 2024 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦. 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘈 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 2025 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬. 𝘔𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥.” - Paul Rayner, Oakstone CEO. Find out more about Oakstone's 2024 award winners, team and achievements this year https://lnkd.in/emPvRsba

🎄 Wishing You a Merry Christmas from All of Us at Oakstone International! 🎄 As we wrap up the year, we wanted to take a moment to spread some holiday cheer! Today, the team is getting into the festive spirit with our annual Christmas jumper morning, followed by our Christmas party later this evening🎅✨ — a little tradition that brings us all together and keeps us feeling merry and bright. 2024 has been an incredible year, and we couldn’t have done it without the amazing people we work with — our clients, candidates, and team. From all of us at Oakstone, we wish you and your loved ones a holiday season filled with joy, laughter, and plenty of mince pies! 🥧🍷

Go-to-market (#GTM) strategies are the key to business success. From software companies to those innovating in artificial intelligence (AI), having a precise GTM approach can mean the difference between rapid growth and stagnation. But what exactly is GTM, and why is recruiting the right GTM talent essential for technology companies? https://lnkd.in/gA5Xg3gb

H2 in review 🔙 As we close out 2024, European tech’s outlook is a stark contrast to the optimism following H1’s bumper €49.9bn funding spree. Debt and equity financing slowed, funding rounds dipped to decade-lows, and megarounds fizzled. But what does the data tell us? Key takeaways:    💸 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗽 – with 2,221 deals in H2, a 29% drop from H1 and the lowest number since H2 2012. 📉 𝟯𝟮% 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 – driven by sharp declines in growth (-29%) and late stage (-55%) deals.  🌱 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆-𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 – Pre-seed, seed and Series A accounted for 38% of equity funding, up from 33% in H1. 💰 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 – Debt financing to European startups accounted for 36% of total funding in 2024 🧯 𝗠𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝘇𝘇𝗹𝗲 – Only 45 were recorded in H2, compared to 92 in H1 — a fall of 51% 🌍 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 – Attracting €5.4bn, driven by massive debt rounds. It finished just ahead of B2B SaaS (€5.3bn). 🌟 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 – UK (€5.5bn), Germany (€3.1bn), France (€2.6bn) and Switzerland (€1bn) each surpassed €1bn in equity funding, but all dropped 30%+ apart from Germany. The bottom line: it’s been a year of two halves for Europe’s tech scene. Curious about the biggest deals, H2 highlights and what’s next for European tech? Read the full report here 👉 https://lnkd.in/euzcjJwD #EuropeanTech #SiftedH2review #StartupEurope

We turned up the Christmas cheer by hosting our very own Christmas Bake-Off! 🎅🏼👩🍳 The team brought their A-game (and plenty of sugar!) to showcase their incredible baking skills. Congratulations to our star bakers, and a huge thank you to everyone who participated! Who knew we had so many hidden talents in the team? 🎂✨ #TeamOakstone #ChristmasBakeOff

Goal setting is a powerful tool that helps map journeys, providing direction, motivation, and a sense of accountability. Explore our comprehensive guide on how to set goals for 2025, ensuring that your aspirations are not just dreams but tangible milestones waiting to be achieved. https://lnkd.in/eJJ-mfvA

📰 Oakstone Weekly News Round-Up!   Coveo Named a Leader in IDC MarketScape for Worldwide Knowledge Discovery Software for External-Facing Use Cases 2024 https://lnkd.in/eRREwyVN   How Proofpoint Is Redefining Cyber Threat Defense https://lnkd.in/eHPRdGPU   HSBC invests in TechWolf to show its ‘commitment to skills intelligence’ https://lnkd.in/eHjGZWMn   Tekion Corp Files Lawsuit Against CDK Global's Anticompetitive Practices https://lnkd.in/e5djHSEn

🤖 Generative AI continues to captivate venture capitalists worldwide, setting new records for funding and innovation in 2024. The sector is thriving from the U.S. to Europe, fuelled by record-breaking investments, cutting-edge talent, and strategic government support. The scale of funding highlights generative AI's transformative potential, promising to reshape industries and drive global technological progress. Explore the 2024 record-breaking investments in our latest blog 📈 https://lnkd.in/e_fH7kTx

It’s that time of year again when Spotify takes over your social media. It’s only right to jump on the bandwagon with our own 'Oakstone wrapped'. From hosting thought-provoking 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 and industry-specific events to welcoming 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 to the team, 2024 has been a year of collaboration and impact. As we look ahead to 2025, we’re excited to continue evolving, innovating, and supporting the SaaS industry in reaching its ambitious goals. 💡 The year might not be over just yet, but what’s one highlight from your year that you’re most proud of? Let us know in the comments!

Sifted’s 250: Europe Leaderboard is out now! 👏 Selected from hundreds of applications, this ranking in partnership with Zoom, showcases the 250 fastest-growing startups across Europe in 2024 based on revenue growth. Across the year, Sifted has published seven leaderboards covering all corners of Europe from London to Athens and Berlin to Kyiv, to reveal the big themes across European tech in 2024. 🇬🇧 Congratulations to Allica Bank taking the #1 spot and all other startups featured. Our leaderboard is testament to the impressive European startup tech revival — thank you to everyone who applied over the year. Key takeaways unveiled ~ ~ Allica Bank from the UK tops the Sifted 250 Leaderboard with an impressive CAGR of 1438%, followed by Denmark’s kompasbank (1149%) and the UK’s Artios Pharma (697%). 🌎 London is home to 57 of these companies, followed by Paris (19), Stockholm (16), Berlin (13) and Milan (11). ~ B2B SaaS is the most represented vertical (75 companies), followed by fintech (64), climate tech (41), and consumer tech (38). ~ The 250 companies average €17m in annual revenue, contributing to a collective €4.2bn in revenue in their latest financial year.  📲 Digital banking is the top sector with 18 companies on the ranking Get to know the top 250 startups and investment teams backing them in our report here >> https://lnkd.in/e_FQaJyn Discover the full ranking here >> https://lnkd.in/ejq8PX2r #SiftedLeaderboards #EuropeanTech #StartupEurope