From First Hires to Publicis Acquisition:
Captiv8’s Growth Story with DK
https://captiv8.io/
Industry Influencer Marketing Platform
Hiring for: Sales, Account Management, Product, Strategy, Engineering, HR
Partnership model: Contingency, Retingency, Retainer
Location: Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY
Founded in 2015, Captiv8 is an AI-driven influencer marketing platform connecting brands with over 15 million creators. Backed by investors like United Talent Agency and Social Capital. Over the years, Captiv8 earned and maintained their industry-leading position, and was acquired by Publicis Groupe in 2025.
BUILT TO
LAST
7-year talent partnership spanning seed stage through acquisition by Publicis.
HIRED CORE
TEAMS
DK recruited 83% of Captiv8’s workforce—aligned to every growth phase and GTM evolution.
KEY LEADERSHIP
SECURED
Placed Talent, Product, and Engineering leaders 3 years pre-exit to steer final growth stage.
CHALLENGED
ASSUMPTIONS
Shifted thinking on hiring strategy—then built systems and internal teams to sustain it.
The Need
Our recruitment challenge
Rapidly scale Sales and Brand teams to sustain momentum with enterprise brands and top agencies.
Hire high-impact leaders across adtech and media to advance Captiv8’s SaaS offering: Head of Talent, Product, and Engineering.
Deliver stronger ROI and hiring outcomes than prior contingency firms and in-house efforts.
Run cross-functional recruitment with clarity and coordination across founders and key functions.
Build scalable hiring systems to flex with Captiv8’s cyclical growth patterns.
The Impact
Our solution
55+ critical hires placed —delivering high-performing, niche talent quarter after quarter across all levels.
Tripled Captiv8’s Client Services org with Sr. Brand Managers and Talent Strategists, then co-developed a career path and leveling system for these functions.
Recruited key executives to drive SaaS evolution, including Head of Talent, Head of Product, and Head of Engineering.
Diversified talent pipelines with hires from martech, adtech, and enterprise brands—beyond Captiv8’s prior reach.
Outperformed other recruiting sources on talent quality, time-to-fill, and cost—consistently delivering better ROI than in-house or industry-specific agencies.
Built processes and systems to streamline and standardize hiring —then hired Captiv8’s first in-house recruiter to sustain performance post-engagement.
Trusted recruiting and HR partner through every phase—from early growth to acquisition.
Krishna Subramanian Co-Founder/CEO, Captiv8
“DK is a huge part of our story. They’ve been an incredible talent partner over the years!”
Cassie Rosengren Managing Partner
“We are deeply grateful for the trust, commitment, and impact we’ve forged together with Captiv8. It’s been incredibly rewarding to play a part in shaping talent and culture throughout their journey.”
