What if one wrong leadership hire could quietly cost you 10 months of growth?

In this episode of Leaders in Talent, Adriaan sits down with talent advisor Puren Ucar (ex–Head of Talent Advisory at VC fund Earlybird) to unpack how founders should really approach leadership hiring, why she’s obsessed with retention rates, and how to use your calendar as a strategic tool instead of a stress factory.

If you’re a founder, TA leader, or VC operator making senior hires, this one will hit close to home.

Timecodes:

01:38 – Meet Puren Ucar?

03:45 – Inside VC: What a Head of Talent Advisory actually does

08:35 – Scaling a VC talent function & how success is measured

13:17 – What “good leadership” looks like: depth, clarity & retention

15:38 – Common founder mistakes + fea ...