Stealth Web3 Startup
The numbers that mattered
A stealth-stage Web3 startup in Lisbon required a foundational leadership team to transition their vision from concept to market reality. Operating in a pre-launch environment, the company needed executives capable of defining technical and regulatory roadmaps while building entire departments from zero. The search focused on a rare profile: leaders who possessed the deep engineering pedigree to manage complex AI and infrastructure challenges alongside the legal foresight to navigate emerging Web3 regulations. We executed a targeted, hands-on search to identify pioneers willing to trade the stability of established firms for the high-impact opportunity of a seed-stage venture. By securing this core leadership, we provided the startup with the strategic direction and technical maturity required to exit stealth mode with a robust, scalable foundation.
Roles filled
Head of AI, Head of Legal, CTO
Time to shortlist
Days to a comprehensive technical shortlist
Still employed
All three remain with the company
Time to hire
All leadership roles completed
Operating in stealth, the startup’s roadmap was stalled by a critical leadership vacuum. They needed a rare tier of talent: leaders who could bridge the gap between high-level AI vision and complex Web3 regulatory execution. Every week lost to traditional, slow-moving recruitment was burned runway and a delayed market launch. Without the bandwidth to source at this level, the founding team faced a significant risk to their foundational scaling phase.
We built a search focused on elite technical and regulatory leadership
To support a pre-launch venture in one of the world's most complex sectors, we engineered a search designed to identify pioneers. Our strategy prioritized leaders who possess the rare intersection of engineering pedigree and regulatory foresight individuals capable of architecting AI and infrastructure while navigating the evolving digital asset landscape. By focusing on zero-to-one resilience and deep domain expertise, we ensured the founding team was equipped to move from stealth to market launch with absolute technical authority
We executed a comprehensive mapping of the European talent market, targeting executives from top-tier AI labs, Web3 ventures, and regulated financial institutions. Our process moved beyond basic sourcing to include rigorous screening for startup alignment, ambiguity tolerance, and cross-border compliance expertise. By providing competitive benchmarking on equity and compensation, we successfully secured a leadership core capable of de-risking the product roadmap and setting the strategic direction for the firm's global expansion.
A leadership team capable of taking a Web3 product from concept to launch
Within 12 weeks, we successfully engineered the executive core of the venture by securing a Head of AI, a Head of Legal, and a CTO. This leadership nucleus provided the specialized expertise required to architect early model frameworks, establish rigorous regulatory compliance, and lead a multi-chain engineering strategy from the ground up. By delivering this high-signal leadership team during a critical pre-launch phase, we enabled the founders to accelerate toward their MVP and reach key fundraising milestones with technical and operational authority. This wasn't just a series of hires; it was the construction of the company's strategic engine, de-risking their exit from stealth and setting the trajectory for global scale.
Accelerated the path to market by delivering a foundational leadership shortlist within 10 days.
Precision-mapped the European talent landscape to secure a rare intersection of deep-tech pedigree and regulatory foresight.
Secured the strategic nucleus of the firm, providing the technical and operational authority required to de-risk market launch and exit stealth.
Scaling our executive core at this stage felt like an impossible hurdle until Thyme stepped in. They didn't just find candidates; they navigated the ambiguity of stealth to secure the exact leadership required to shape our entire strategic direction.
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