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Search Reinvented: The Bespoke Executive Index

A Conversation with Adam Boone, CMO of Bespoke Partners

by Eric Walczykowski​, Adam Boone

March 4, 2025,,,
executive index, top-down search

Remember how searching the internet felt like you were trying to find a needle in a haystack before Google? That's exactly where executive search has been – fragmented, incomplete, and inefficient. Until now.

We've just launched the Executive Index, a game-changing technology solution that maps 670,788 software executives across North America. After three years of development and testing, we've proven that our team has fundamentally transformed how executive search works.

In our recent vodcast episode of Tailored Talent, we explored all the details and impacts of the Executive Index and why it matters. Here’s the rundown.

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Bespoke’s Executive Index: From the Universe to the Unicorns™ – Part 1

Watch my full conversation with Adam

Bespoke's Executive Index: From the Universe to the Unicorns™ - Part 1

From Bottom-Up to Top-Down

Traditional executive search is like trying to fill a pool with a garden hose – slow and cumbersome . Executive search teams have historically built candidate pools from the ground up: checking our networks, making calls, and piecing together market intelligence over weeks.

The Executive Index flips this model on its head giving you a comprehensive, top-down view of every qualified executive in the software and SaaS market. Like Google transformed searching the web, we have transformed discovery of software leadership talent.

The Numbers Don't Lie

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    The results? They're staggering:

    • 50% larger candidate pools than our previous industry-leading approach.
    • 84% scorecard hit rate, meaning the Index identifies candidates who are a validated fit to the scorecard 84% of the time. That’s triple the accuracy of tools like LinkedIn,
    • 15% reduction in our already industry-leading 90-day close time.
    • Maintaining our 95% success rate for executives still in chair after 12 months.

Beyond the Obvious

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    As if those stats weren’t enough to thrill you, we're not just aggregating LinkedIn profiles. We've built an AI-powered platform that:

    • Provides the first comprehensive view of the full talent market
    • Includes proprietary intelligence from our 35+ recruiters
    • Correlates executive tenure with private equity firm hold times
    • Validates self-reported data against multiple sources
    • Maps executives across 28 software subsectors
WATCH THE INTERVIEW

Why This Matters for Private Equity

When you're placing executives who can impact hundreds of millions in value creation, you can't afford to miss anyone in the search. The Executive Index ensures you don't. Whether you're in due diligence or looking to upgrade your leadership team mid-hold, you now have unprecedented visibility into the entire market of qualified executives and a team they will answer the phone for.

The Future of Search is Here at Bespoke

From standardizing thousands of title variations to correlating executive impact with company outcomes, we're just scratching the surface of what's possible. This isn't just another tech tool – it's a fundamental reshape of how executive search works in private equity software.

As we like to say, at this point, you're either doing search with Bespoke, or you're not seeing the whole market. Simple as that.

From the Universe to the Unicorns™ – we've got the market mapped.

Want to learn how the Executive Index can transform your next search? Let's talk.


Reach out to our team today.

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top-49-search-firms-2-years-in-a-row-bespoke-partners

Bespoke Partners Named in Top 10 of the “Top 49 Retained Executive Search” 2-Years Running by C-Suite CV Secure.

Authored by:

  • Eric
    Chief Executive Officer

    Eric is passionate about building high-performing teams that value doing their best, working together, overcoming adversity and learning.

    As a proven growth executive, Eric has served as CEO, President, Board Member, Investor and Advisor for technology companies that achieved over $4.5B in successful exits.

    Eric brings to Bespoke Partners significant professional services experience from Deloitte and Andersen, as well as the high-growth client executive perspective for private equity-backed technology companies.

    Eric earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BS in Business from Fresno State University.

  • Boone
    Chief Marketing Officer

    Boone”has orchestrated strategy, launches and marketing programs for more than 100 products, services and ventures generating billions of dollars in revenue and many multiples of enterprise value. Sequoia Capital, Goldman Sachs, Greylock, Bessemer Ventures and other top tier private capital investors have backed Boone's companies in a range of sectors including software, telecommunications, cybersecurity, and networking.

    Boone has led marketing, demand generation, branding, product management, services marketing, or alliances marketing programs for numerous successful companies including Avaya-acquisition Sipera, Sequoia start-up Syndesis, Subex, CoManage, and others. He has driven joint marketing programs and go-to-market initiatives with iconic industry leaders including Microsoft, IBM, GE, AT&T, Oracle, Comcast, Cisco, Ciena and Samsung.

    Boone holds an MBA in Business Strategy from the WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and completed the Competitive Marketing Strategy Program at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

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