Founder and operator
Tereza Kirwan .
Founder and operator of LAUNCH. Responsible for sourcing over 50 recruitment and staffing business launches across the UK and US — and for staying in the room long after the first invoice.
50+
Business launches sourced
Recruitment and staffing founders taken from first conversation to trading business.
2
Markets run in parallel
United Kingdom and United States, with founders crossing between the two.
32k+
Recruitment network
A live audience of recruiters, owners and operators built over a decade in the sector.
£0
Cost to founders
Founders pay nothing to apply, be matched or go through readiness. Investors participate on a fee basis.
The operator
Fifty-plus launches, one judgement call at a time
Tereza Kirwan has spent her career on the two questions that decide whether a recruiter should own a business: can they bill without a brand behind them, and can they run the thing once other people depend on it. Over fifty times now, she has answered yes and been right.
She founded and runs LAUNCH. as a matching platform rather than an agency or a fund. Experienced recruiters come in on one side; exited founders, sector experts and investors on the other. Nobody pays for placement, which means the only reason a match happens is that it should.
Her network spans the UK and the US — including recruiters in Britain building for the American market, which is where most first-time founders get the structure, funding and compliance wrong. Tereza works through those decisions before they are expensive rather than after.
She also leads C-suite and leadership search for experienced recruiters. Sometimes the honest answer is that this is not the year to start up, and having a credible alternative to offer is why founders trust the advice when she says the opposite.
Track record
Where the experience comes from
Founder and operator, LAUNCH.
United Kingdom and United States · part of EQ Group
Tereza built LAUNCH. into a founder-first matching platform: experienced recruiters on one side, exited founders, sector experts and investors on the other. She personally sources, screens and briefs every match, which is why the standard of the network has held as it has grown.
50+ launches sourced
Contract, perm, healthcare, technology, industrial and professional services
Across her career Tereza has been responsible for sourcing more than fifty business launches — identifying billers with genuine owner potential, pressure-testing the plan before anyone commits capital, and pairing them with backers who have already built the thing they are about to attempt.
C-suite and leadership search, UK and US
Senior appointments across both markets
Alongside launches, Tereza partners with experienced recruiters to secure leadership roles when starting up is not the right move that year. Knowing both routes is what makes her advice on which one to take worth listening to.
Group operator
EQ Group portfolio of recruitment businesses
Tereza works across a portfolio of recruitment businesses on growth, marketing, sales enablement and internal hiring — so the guidance a LAUNCH. founder gets is drawn from businesses currently trading, not from theory.
Method
How a launch actually gets sourced
The success rate is not luck. It is a filter applied early and honestly.
01
Sourcing the right operator
Most billers who want to start up should not, and some of the best candidates have never considered it. Tereza spends most of her time on that judgement call before any introduction is made.
02
Pressure-testing the plan
Desk economics, funding runway, contractor pay cycles, realistic first-year billings. The numbers get taken apart before an investor ever sees them, which is why matched founders convert.
03
Matching, not brokering
Each founder is matched to operators and investors who have run the same model in the same market. No paid placements, no volume introductions, no lists.
04
Staying in it after launch
The first eighteen months decide whether an agency survives. Tereza stays close through them — hiring, cash, margin and the first difficult quarter.
Questions
About Tereza
Who is Tereza Kirwan?
Tereza Kirwan is the founder and operator of LAUNCH., a founder-first matching platform that pairs experienced recruiters with exited founders, sector experts and investors across the UK and US. She has been responsible for sourcing more than 50 recruitment and staffing business launches.
How many businesses has Tereza launched?
Tereza has been responsible for sourcing over 50 business launches, spanning contract and permanent recruitment across healthcare, technology, industrial and professional services in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
What does Tereza do at LAUNCH.?
She sources and screens founders, pressure-tests their plans and economics before capital is discussed, and matches them with operators and investors who have already built the same kind of business. She then stays involved through the first eighteen months of trading.
How do I speak to Tereza about launching an agency?
Apply through the LAUNCH. application form. Every application is read, and the first conversation is with the team directly rather than an intake process. There is no fee to be matched.
Start the conversation with Tereza.
Every application is read by the team. If launching is the right move, you will be matched with operators and investors who have already done it.