About the firm
We place the leaders who
define category.
Zero to One Search is a retained executive search partner for enterprise teams building in AI and deep tech. We work with founders, boards, and CHROs on the leadership hires that determine whether the next five years of the roadmap will ship.
Our story
We started Zero to One Search because the market for AI and deep tech leadership talent was being served the same way as everything else — generic agencies, recycled shortlists, and recruiters who couldn't speak the language of the work.
The hires that move a category aren't on job boards. They're already shipping at the companies you compete with, advising the labs you read about, or quietly running the research group you wish you could hire from. Reaching them takes a different practice: slower, more conviction-led, and run by people who've operated inside the kind of companies you're building.
Today we run mandates across Europe, the US, and Brazil for Series B through enterprise clients. Most of our work comes from referrals. Most of the people we place never applied to a role — they had a conversation.
Mission
The leaders who
build what's next.
To be the partner enterprise teams trust for their most consequential leadership hires in AI and deep tech — the searches where the wrong appointment costs years and the right one defines the company.
01
Conviction over volume
We submit fewer candidates, deeply diligenced. A three-person shortlist beats thirty CVs every time.
02
Confidential by default
Every mandate is run off-market. Your roadmap, your comp design, and the people we approach stay private.
03
Long-horizon partnership
We stay engaged through offer, onboarding, and the first 90 days. The placement isn't done when the contract is signed.
04
Honest market intel
Comp benchmarks, competitive landscape, candidate motivation — we tell you what we see, not what you want to hear.
Founders & partners
Operators who
turned to search.
Every partner has shipped product or led a function before joining the firm. We don't hire pure recruiters — we hire people who've been on your side of the table.
Founding Partner
Executive Search · AI & Deep Tech
Fifteen years placing technical leaders across European and US enterprise teams. Background in operating roles at category-defining startups before moving to search.
Partner
Research & ML Platform
Specializes in research leadership, applied science, and ML infrastructure mandates. Former ML engineer with a network across the top European AI labs.
Partner
Go-to-Market & Commercial
Leads search for revenue leadership in technical B2B — CROs, VPs of Sales, and the GTM hires that scale category-defining product.
Principal
US Coverage
Anchors our San Francisco presence. Runs cross-Atlantic mandates for European founders hiring senior talent in the US, and vice versa.
Where we work
Five offices, one practice.
Berlin
Germany
Munich
Germany
Lisbon
Portugal
San Francisco
USA
São Paulo
Brazil
Accepting Q3 mandates