What does Saiyō actually do?

Saiyō is a subscription headhunting partner for SaaS scale-ups. We embed senior headhunters into your team and ATS on a flat monthly fee, going proactively after passive senior talent rather than waiting on inbound. One partner replaces a panel of agencies.

How is this different from a recruitment agency?

Agencies charge 20–25% of salary per hire and are incentivised to close fees, often briefing 3–5 vendors against the same role. Saiyō charges a flat monthly subscription with no per-hire fees, which typically delivers a 65% lower cost per hire and aligns incentives to long-term fit.

How fast do you deliver shortlists?

First headhunted shortlists land in under 10 working days from kickoff. Each candidate is qualified, calibrated against your scorecard and delivered into your ATS with notes, motivations and salary calibration.

What guarantees come with a placement?

Every placement is backed by a 45-day delivery guarantee and a 100-day free replacement guarantee. If a hire leaves or is exited inside that window, we restart the search at no additional cost.

Who is Saiyō built for?

VC-backed SaaS scale-ups hiring 5 to 50 specialist GTM, product or leadership roles a year, across the UK, EU, US, APAC and MEA. We work with companies from Series A through pre-IPO.

Built differently. For teams that can't afford to wait.

The best candidates
don't apply.

So we go and get them. Embedded headhunters inside your team, on a flat monthly subscription.

Faster time to hire. Higher-quality candidates. 65% lower cost per hire.

Book a demo How it works

Trusted by world-class SaaS scale-ups

BoomiBazaarvoicePeripassArtisanWflowPowwrProject36RelexJedoxSpareTechUpp.aiE2openFundamentalHerohunt.aiHiBobSkeepersDeelManhattan AssociatesBlue RidgeBoomiBazaarvoicePeripassArtisanWflowPowwrProject36RelexJedoxSpareTechUpp.aiE2openFundamentalHerohunt.aiHiBobSkeepersDeelManhattan AssociatesBlue Ridge

4 continents

global hiring

Boomi

<10 days

to shortlist

Relex

4:1

interview-to-placement

Skeepers

>60%

lower cost-per-hire

Peripass

The problem

Most hiring models optimise what comes in.

Most hiring teams are built to manage applicants. Saiyō is built to hunt. We embed into your business like an internal team, but every search is powered by proactive headhunting.

Internal teams
Stretched thin. Focused on process and inbound, not reach.
Agencies
Expensive. Reactive. Transactional. And gone the moment the role closes.
RPO & Embedded
Strong on process and ops. Weak on reach. Still dependent on inbound and job ads to fill the funnel.
Saiyō
The embedded TA model, with the hunt built in.
We run your process, your ATS, your hiring manager rhythm, and every search is powered by proactive headhunting.

What makes us different

Embedded talent acquisition. Powered by headhunting.

We don't wait for candidates to come to us. From a single hub, we reach directly into the companies where the best talent already works, then bring qualified shortlists back to you.

Proactive headhunting

We go directly after the talent others can't reach, senior, passive, in-demand. No job ads. No waiting.

Embedded TA, with headhunting built in

Everything an embedded TA partner does: your brand, your ATS, your stand-ups, your process. Plus proactive headhunting on every role. One partner, two engines.

65% lower cost per hire

A predictable monthly subscription replaces inflated agency fees. Scalable as you grow.

Shortlists in under 10 days

Headhunted, qualified candidates in hand, fast. 4:1 interview-to-placement ratio proves the accuracy.

Guaranteed delivery

45-day delivery guarantee. 100-day free replacement. Shared incentive, zero risk.

Global reach, specialist focus

UK, Europe, North America, APAC, MEA. Go-to-market and CxO talent under one model.

Outcomes

Faster hires. Higher quality. Predictable cost.

If your team is relying on inbound, or leaning on agencies to bail you out, you're already behind, and paying for it. Saiyō changes that.

<10days

to a qualified, headhunted shortlist

94%

offer-to-acceptance vs 78% industry avg

4:1

interview-to-placement ratio

65%

average reduction in cost per hire

Cost per hire

Based on 24 hires/year — average mid-senior SaaS GTM role

saved

£0

Traditional agency

20–25% of salary

£0

Saiyō

Subscription

Indicative pricing based on a 24-hire annual subscription. Your per-hire cost varies with hiring volume and scope — model your own figures.

In their words

Trusted by SaaS leaders who've scaled with us.

Exceeding Expectations

"
Saiyō deliver an unparalleled level of service, allowing us to scale at pace, with the right people, while exceeding expectations.

Cedric Vandervynckt

Chief Sales Officer, Skeepers

Great Partner

"
The team at Saiyō are a trustworthy and reliable partner for all of our hiring needs. They also operate in a truly conscientious manner, acting as an extension to our brand.

Ashley Jones

Global Talent Leader, E2open

Executive Search

"
The Saiyō team are extremely talented and insightful professionals, having helped me source top-notch talent to fuel the growth of the company.

Michael Parrela

Chief Executive Officer, Powwr

World-class Executive Talent

"
Through a well defined and thorough search process, the consultants at Saiyō are able to identify and secure world class executive talent. Their hyper focus on customer experience is a differentiator.

Santhosh Srirambhatla

Chief Technology Officer, Blue Ridge Global

Services