Founder@ Interview
Interview with Emma Freivogel
“Test the waters first; see if there’s a need or desire for your product or services. If there is, be tenacious, be passionate and be fearless!.” – Emma Freivogel
Today we feature Emma Freivogel, the founder at Radical Recruit. We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges, and their insights.
Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
I founded Radical Recruit simply because I believe it’s the right thing to do. We’re a not-for-profit recruitment consultancy that exists to help place those at a disadvantage, in particular people who have been made homeless, into employment.
A great introduction and start to this interview. Can you please tell us, how did you start, from what age, and what made you decide to change direction and start?
Radical Recruit was born exactly one year ago. I’m still in my early 30s but have over 15 years’ professional experience making a positive impact on society.
I’ve been a support worker for disabled people, a service coordinator for a charity supporting people with alcohol and drug-related brain injuries, and was COO of Working Chance, an organisation that works with female ex-offenders and prison-leavers to help them find employment and secure lifestyles.
During my time at Working Chance, I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel about what’s possible when the third sector and business worlds unite in purpose.
I was joined by my candidate Chanel who shared her story about life from state ‘care’ to prison (the only place she had ever felt safe) and then out into the world on her own. She told how the power of work transformed her life and had the potential to transform the lives of others who experienced a disadvantage as she had.
It struck a chord and got me excited about what could be achieved if the commercial and third sectors unite in purpose.
Thank you for that insight. So can you tell us…What does your business do and where is your company based?
We’re based in London where we do the majority of our work but have been branching out across the UK.
Our candidates are from a huge range of backgrounds including ex-offenders, those who’ve been through the care system, those who’ve been made homeless, and those who have fallen upon hard times due to illness or bereavement and have lost their main source of income. Our aim is to improve people’s life chances at the same time as reducing the burden on local authorities and public services.
We provide a wrap-around service to our candidates offering everything from CV workshops to confidence-building, interview prep, and talking therapy. We stay with them for as long as they need us – that’s even after they’ve started work.
We also train and educate employers about diversity and inclusion in the workplace and work closely with them to design and implement corporate social responsibility pledges.
What’s the story behind your success? What led to your aha moment? how did you get to where you are now?
Despite our relative newness in the recruitment arena, having only been founded a year ago, our commitment to doing social good was picked up by the homelessness charity St Mungo’s who contacted me in the middle of the first lockdown about a new project.
St Mungo’s had helped place 100 homeless people into accommodation so they could isolate themselves safely. With no recourse to public funds, these people were at serious risk of being returned to the streets if they couldn’t find employment. As a one-woman band, I really didn’t think my little business would be able to help, especially knowing the time and support needed for this to be a success.
But I couldn’t get it out of my head, so I wrote a proposal detailing how I thought it could work and the funding needed to make it happen. And that was the start of the Radical Futures project.
I’ve been lucky enough to be able to recruit a crack team of experienced recruiters and marketers who are working against the clock to get 100 people into employment in under 100 days.
We’ve had to hit the ground running and that’s no mean feat for a brand-new team, all working in isolation at home. But we’re driven. Really driven. If we fail our candidates, they could be back sleeping rough in a matter of months.
It’s not about us saving face, it’s about the need to not abandon a group of people with no recourse to public funds.
The project is coming to an end at Christmas but we’ve built up such momentum amongst employers and our social media followers, that we want to keep going and helping more and more people. We have ambitious plans for 2021 and some big businesses wanting to use our services.
Thank you for sharing that. What’s been your life’s biggest lesson so far?
I’ve learned pretty fast that scaling-up at speed needs a very competent team to support you.
I’ve had to learn to trust the experts I’ve hired and let them feel as much ownership in the business as I do. Listening to new ideas and letting people run with them has been a revelation.
I was working on my own for the first nine months of trading, so seeing how far we’ve come in such a short time has blown my mind.
That I can’t do everything myself. I still struggle with this one and spare time has become a rarity. That said, I love what I’m doing, so it doesn’t feel like work.
If you were to go back in time, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
Listen to your gut. If you feel passionately enough about something, you can make it happen.
We’re nearly halfway through our interview so it’s a great time to ask how does your business run. What three tools make your business run better?
Marketing and comms – it doesn’t have to cost a lot and you can do a lot for free on social media. The design website Canva has been a godsend. You have to get your message out there.
Networks – if you’ve been working for any length of time, you’ll have built up a good network of people who generally want to help.
Linkedin – it doesn’t all have to be dry corporate comms: you can really make an impact on your company page.
What do you know now that you wished you had known before?
That I can’t do everything myself. I still struggle with this one and spare time has become a rarity. That said, I love what I’m doing, so it doesn’t feel like work.
What has been your greatest or proudest achievement or moment?
There’s no one single moment, but each time a candidate gets a job offer feels like a triumph.
What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?
I want to expand the Radical offering throughout the UK and be able to help as many people out of poverty and off the streets as possible.
I also want to take our training courses to more employers, helping to change misconceptions about people from disadvantaged backgrounds – increasing their diversity, empathy, and productivity in the process. Radical has grown from one person (me!) to a team of seven in a year. The ‘Radical way’ has proved we can achieve big things in a short time and we have no plans of stopping.
To finish our inspire questions…” We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” If there was one positive thing you would say to someone to inspire and empower them what would it be and why?
Test the waters first; see if there’s a need or desire for your product or services. If there is, be tenacious, be passionate and be fearless!
“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and Radical Recruit”
To learn more about Radical Recruit Visit https://radicalrecruit.co.uk/
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