Ryze Team: Thank you for your time today. You have been an important client for years, even before Ryze Consulting was established. Recently, you hired a new employee. Before joining Amplitude, you were at Zoom and introduced us to your team through Francis Chan.

Aaron: I worked with them even before they founded Ryze. It was two companies ago. I had some connection with them in one of my earlier roles. But yes, our formal collaboration began while I was at Zoom. They were recommended to me through my network—not because of their company but because of Bill and David themselves. I spoke with them back then, but we didn't work together until years later at Zoom when they were with Morgan McKinley. So, essentially, I followed Bill and David's work, and later, they launched Ryze.

Ryze Team: Was your first engagement with them in Japan? What roles were you hiring for?

Aaron: Yes, it was primarily for go-to-market roles such as sales, sales engineers, and marketing positions in Japan.

Ryze Team: What roles do you anticipate hiring for?

Aaron: Mostly enterprise sales leadership and niche roles, which are particularly difficult to fill. This applies not just to Amplitude but to similar-sized companies with budget constraints.

Ryze Team: Do agencies typically find you, or do you actively seek them out?

Aaron: When I joined Amplitude, we had both the budget and an open role where we could use an agency. Ryze was my first call. Some agencies were already contracted with Amplitude before it was different at Zoomdifferent, which is when I started working with Ryze. We have about three active agencies we've worked with in the past six months, including Ryze. There are another two or three with agreements in place, but we're not actively using them.

Ryze Team: The candidates you're targeting aren't typically active job Seekers; they probably don't log in often, even if they have LinkedIn accounts. Is that why you rely on executive search?

Aaron: Absolutely. Japan is a unique market. In other regions, LinkedIn is ubiquitous, with one or two strong alternatives. LinkedIn is still the best option in Japan, but its penetration is minimal. Other job boards like BizReach and Rikunabi aren't great either. We could use them, but my team and I would require much manual work. Instead, I prefer to allocate that budget to a partner like Ryze, who can manage the process efficiently.

Ryze Team: Do you think candidates sourced through job boards tend to be less stable or qualified than those identified through executive search?

Aaron: Absolutely. Often, they lack the relevant background for the role as well.

Ryze Team: When choosing or continuing with an executive search firm, is quality over quantity your main priority? You don't want your inbox flooded with irrelevant resumes.

Aaron: Exactly. There are two main reasons we use an agency: speed and difficulty. If a role opens suddenly and we need to fill it quickly, or if it's a particularly challenging role to fill internally, that's when an agency is invaluable. The other key benefit is time savings. A good agency prequalifies candidates, saving me a significant amount of time. With Ryze, I know they won't waste my time—they understand what a strong candidate looks like and only present the best options.

That's a big difference from agencies that flood you with resumes without truly understanding the requirements.

Aaron: Exactly.

Ryze Team: Some agencies boast about having the "biggest database in Japan," but that doesn't necessarily mean much, right?

Aaron: Right. Their selling point is often a large database, but that's not always useful.

Ryze Team: Does Amplitude have head office-level relationships with recruiting firms, or do you have the flexibility to choose who you work with?

Aaron: It's an APAC. I'm the only talent acquisition for APAC, so I have some flexibility. However, sometimes, our country manager or APAC leader might introduce agencies from their network. Based on those connections, there are a few agencies we've worked with this year, even if they weren't my first choice.

Ryze Team: Did you have to justify your decision to work with Ryze, or was it left to your discretion?

Aaron: I had to justify it, especially given the lengthy procurement process. At Zoom, it took six months to onboard Antisera; it's about three to four months, even for standard agreements. We want to ensure that any agency we onboard is worth the effort. At Zoom, we also conducted periodic reviews to decide which agencies to retain, and Ryze consistently stood out.

Ryze Team: Is the lengthy process partly compliance-driven to prevent issues like kickbacks?

Aaron: Yes, but it's also a bandwidth issue. Procurement teams often prioritize sales agreements over recruitment contracts, which puts us at the back of the queue. It's a challenge.

Ryze Team: Any final feedback for Ryze?

Aaron: If I had to summarize Ryze's key strength, they don't waste my time. Many agencies flood you with resumes, but Ryze understands our needs and delivers only well-qualified candidates.

Thanks so much for your time, Aaron.

Aaron: Thank you. Have a great day.