For scouts, recruiters and agencies
Refery is where scouts, recruiters and recruiting agencies introduce people they would vouch for. We bring the clients, the contracts, the invoicing and the guarantee. You bring the person, and keep 70% of the fee.
Proposed to you
Ridgeline
Why you: three of your last four introductions were New York fintech engineers, and two of them are interviewing there now.
to you on placement · 15% of $200–300k base · you keep 70%
12% of $150–200k base · you keep 70%
Northwind AI · San Francisco · On-site · Mid
Everyone you have put forward, across every search, and exactly where they are. When something moves, the note that explains it moves with it.
With the Refery team for review.
We agree. Being packaged for the client.
In front of the hiring manager, waiting on their read.
In the company’s own process.
An offer is on the table.
Hired. Your payout is on its way.
Illustrative desk with made-up people and clients.
Our clients are seed to Series B startups backed by
Index Ventures
What you earn
Each search shows its own fee and your share before you decide. This is the worked example from a real search shape.
Fees are usually 10 to 20% of first-year base and differ by role. Paid once the client has paid us, which under our standard terms is 30 days after the hire starts.
Two ways in
Founders, engineers, operators and investors who know exceptional people and would stake their name on them. Refer someone when the moment is right.
Recruiters and agencies who are good at finding people and tired of winning clients, negotiating terms and chasing payment. We hold the client relationship. You work the searches.
Proposed to you
Cobalt Bio
New York · Hybrid · Senior · $220,000–260,000
to you on placement
Shortlisting · Refery has agreed on one candidate
Why you: you placed two applied-ML engineers into health companies this year.
How it works
Placed. Hired. Your payout is on its way.
The division of labour
This is the whole deal in one table. If a line ever moves from the right column to the left, we have broken our side of it.
| The work | Doing it alone | With Refery |
|---|---|---|
| Winning and holding the client | You | Refery |
| Terms, contracts and the fee negotiation | You · weeks per client | Refery · signed before the search reaches you |
| Screening, committee calls and references | You | Refery |
| Presenting the candidate and chasing feedback | You | Refery · the read lands in your Pipeline |
| Invoicing, collection and your payout | You · net 60 if you are lucky | Refery |
| The 90-day guarantee, including any replacement search | You | Refery |
| Knowing someone worth backing | You | You |
| Making the introduction | You | You · that is the entire list |
Who we place
Seed to Series B startups, mostly San Francisco and New York, onsite. Knowing what we cannot place is worth as much as knowing what we can.
| Search | Client | City | Stage | To you on placement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founding Engineer | Series A fintech | New York | $21,000–31,500 | |
| Applied AI Engineer | Series A health | New York | $15,400–18,200 | |
| Founding AE | Seed, AI infrastructure | San Francisco | $12,600–16,800 | |
| Forward-Deployed Engineer | Series B, industrial AI | San Francisco | $16,800–21,000 | |
| Enterprise AE | Series B, industrial AI | New York | $11,200–14,000 |
Questions
Our client fee is 10% to 20% of the hire’s first-year base salary, depending on the search, and 70% of that fee is yours. You are paid once the client settles, and there is no cap on how many introductions you make.
No. Most of our scouts have never recruited. If you know people worth backing and are willing to put your name to them, that is the job. Recruiters and agencies get a second track, with live searches at companies we are already retained by.
That is fine, and it is the common case. There is no quota, no exclusivity and no obligation to keep going. One exceptional introduction is worth more to us than a batch of maybes.
We read every profile. If they are a fit we speak to them, take them through our talent committee, and represent them to the founders we work with. Your claim on that candidate stands for 24 months, whether they are placed next week or next year.
No. Introduce anyone you would vouch for and we match them against the searches we are running now and the ones that come next. Waiting for a perfect role to appear is how good people get missed.
No. The candidates you introduce stay yours, client names stay confidential, and nothing about a person reaches a company until they have agreed to it.
Hands-on builders and sellers at the individual contributor level, usually two to five years in, for seed to Series B startups in San Francisco and New York. Engineering and go-to-market. We do not place people who mainly want to manage, remote-only candidates, or candidates who need new visa sponsorship.
Nothing. There is no fee to join, no subscription and no software to buy. We only make money when a placement happens, which is the same moment you do.
Get started
Sign up in about three minutes. We review every application by hand and come back to you either way.
Introduced 12 Aug · interview 28 Aug · offer accepted 5 Sep · starts 6 Oct · paid once the client pays