Episode Details

Logan Naidu runs Kernel Global-a multi-brand recruitment group with 200 people across London, Hong Kong, Charlotte and New York.

We first spoke in April 2021. He had 180 people. The market was about to explode.

2021: £7 million EBITDA. 2022: £10 million EBITDA. Headcount doubled to 300.

Then March 2023 hit. Logan closed a second PE deal. Paid out over £30 million to staff. The biggest individual payout? Multiple millions.

One month later, he started making cuts.

"I remember talking to my father-in-law saying I'm really embarrassed by this. I've just taken on a load of money from new investors and we're already talking about making cuts and the business shrinking."

By the end of 2023, Logan had cut 100 heads—a third of the business.

But here's what makes this story different: he saw it coming.

December 2022. Their Christmas party. Logan stood up and said: "I think we've forgotten how hard this industry can be. We've had a record year, but we're cutting corners. We're taking clients for granted. That's going to bite us if we don't get back to it really quickly."

It was poorly received. Then 2023 happened.

This week on The RAG Podcast, Logan breaks down the full story.

We cover:

1. Scaling from £4.9M to £10M EBITDA in three years during the boom
2. Why he warned his team in December 2022 that they'd "forgotten the basics"
3. Closing a PE deal on a Saturday morning hours before Silicon Valley Bank collapsed
4. Making 100 cuts across two waves (and why the second wave was harder)
5. The criteria he used to decide who stayed: character, work ethic, client treatment
6. Why his sleepless nights dropped from 2–3 per week to 2–3 per year
7. Rebuilding to 2022 levels by 2025 with a completely different foundation
8. His approach to AI, offshoring, and why he won't chase every new tool
9. Why he still hires graduates despite the cost and cultural shifts
10. The plan to double the business again by 2029

This isn't about avoiding pain.

It's about a founder who moved fast, made hard decisions early, and came out the other side with a business built to last through cycles.

If you've ever wondered how the best operators stay level when everyone else is drinking their own Kool-Aid, this episode is the blueprint.

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