CLIENT CASE STUDYFinding Una AI’s
Match in 6 weeks
"Working with Mikenna at VL Talent Collective was a fundamentally different experience from what I have experienced with other recruiting partners. She came to the table with real domain expertise in the EPM/SaaS space - she understood our product, our buyers, and what makes a great AE for a company at our stage. The candidates she submitted were thoughtfully vetted and very strong; she never padded the pipeline just to show activity. Throughout the search, Mikenna was transparent and communicative - inclusive of weekly syncs, proactively flagging market dynamics, managing candidate expectations, and keeping us aligned every step of the way. She acted like a real partner invested in us getting it right. We'd work with her again without hesitation."
- Clayton Ramnarine, CRO & Co-Founder, Una Software
TIME TO FILL
6 Weeks
CANDIDATES CONTACTED
650+
OFFER ACCEPTANCE
100%
THE CLIENTAn EPM SaaS company building the revenue team that will win the market.
Una AI is a fast-growing, AI-native EPM platform — built by the founding team behind some of the most recognizable names in the space. With exceptional momentum, Una AI came to VLTC with a high-stakes hire: their next Account Executive to further accelerate their growth.
The role required a rare combination — deep EPM/CPM domain expertise, a track record of top performance, and the maturity to operate inside a fast-moving startup. The Una AI team had a clear gold standard.
THE CHALLENGEA niche market. A candidate pool that knows its worth.
EPM/CPM-experienced AEs are some of the hardest revenue talent to find in B2B SaaS. The pool is small, the best performers know their value, and most aren’t actively looking. VLTC didn’t wait for inbounds — we went directly to them.
Niche ICP knowledge required
3+ years of EPM/CPM SaaS sales experience was non-negotiable. The qualified talent pool was narrow, and success in the role required a deep understanding of the buyer, sales cycle, and category dynamics.
A high-conviction hiring bar
Una AI had a precise picture of their ideal hire and that clarity raised the bar and sharpened every sourcing decision.
Fiercely competitive candidate market
Many top EPM/CPM performers weren’t actively exploring. Winning their attention required speed, sharp positioning, and real domain credibility — not generic outreach nor a generic recruiter.
Assessment beyond the resume
Every contacted candidate had the experience. It was how they think, how they operate, and whether they would actually win in Una AI’s environment that needed to be assessed.
THE APPROACHQuality-first sourcing, with the domain credibility to open doors.
VLTC & Una AI began with discovery — not just to capture role requirements, but to build a precise picture of the person who would thrive in Una AI's environment. That context was loaded directly into the VLTC Platform, shaping the custom scoring matrices and candidate evaluation criteria used throughout the entire search.
From there, VLTC executed a deliberate, tiered outreach strategy. Every candidate who progressed was assessed using the VLTC Assessment Framework — ensuring both technical fit and cultural alignment.
Interview coordination, live shortlist review, score comparisons, and candidate lifecycle tracking all ran through one unified system — from first outreach to placement close. Una AI always had full visibility.
WHY IT WORKEDThe differentiators that made this search possible.
Domain expertise that opened doors. VLTC's founder spent nearly 8 years as a top-performing AE in the EPM/CPM space. Passive candidates engaged because the outreach was credible, specific, and spoke their language.
A genuine read on fit — beyond the resume. Every candidate was qualified across communication, presence, domain knowledge, and cultural alignment — ensuring only genuine matches reached the client's desk.
Quality-first submission philosophy. 19 submissions from 650+ contacted candidates isn't a low number — it's a deliberate standard. VLTC never submits candidates to show activity. Every name on the shortlist had earned it.
Proactive candidate management. In a competitive market, losing a great candidate is a real risk. VLTC managed the pipeline with weekly client update calls, diligent candidate communication, and expectation-setting throughout.
Client Testimonials
TESTIMOnialWhat makes Mikenna unlike any recruiter we've worked with is her background. She has lived in the software sales world herself — she knows the role, the pressures, the skills that translate, and the red flags that aren't always obvious on paper. That expertise gave us a level of trust and confidence in her judgment from day one.
From the very first conversation, working with her felt different. Every candidate she presented had been thoughtfully vetted, and she was refreshingly honest about each person's strengths and potential gaps, which made our decision-making process easier. She also pushed back thoughtfully on our job description, reviewed our internal candidates, and never once pressured us — every recommendation came from a place of genuine care.
If you're looking for a recruiter who combines real industry expertise with genuine integrity, Mikenna is the real deal.
- Steve Borg, VP Sales, Wired360
TESTIMOnial