Why Deeptech Startups Choose Boutiques Over Global Search Firms

What global firms do well

Large search firms have international offices, established research teams and strong board-level relationships. For listed companies and large corporate leadership hires, that breadth is valuable.

Where startups feel the gap

Startup mandates are smaller, and at a large firm they can end up with junior researchers rather than the partner who pitched. Sector coverage is often broad technology rather than semiconductors or photonics specifically.

Fee structures and minimum fees built for corporate clients can also be hard to justify at seed or Series A.

What a specialist boutique changes

A boutique that works only in semiconductors and photonics already knows who leads which teams, which leaders have scaled a startup, and who might be open to a move. Searches start from an existing network instead of a blank page.

In a founder-led boutique, the person who takes the brief is the person who speaks to every candidate, so the technical and cultural nuance of the role is not lost in hand-offs.

How to decide

Ask any firm who will run the search day to day, how many comparable leadership roles they have filled in your sector, and how they will reach leaders who are not looking. The answers usually make the choice clear.