Industry segment
What an executive search firm's records are worth to AI buyers
Executive search produces some of the most careful written judgment in hiring: position specifications, market maps, candidate assessments and the proposal that won the search.
Most of it already sits in a search CRM, Word and PowerPoint, and partner email. Buyers want the written trail of how your team actually does the work, so most owners lead with SOPs and training material, then add day-to-day records once personal details are dealt with.
- Key figure
- 715
- Buyers' published range
- $100K to $2M+
- Time to a written offer
- Days to 2 weeks
- Owner time, per buyers
- 1 to 3 hours
01 / What buyers value
Records a buyer will look for at a search firm
Position specifications
Where it lives
Word
Why a buyer wants it
What a role really requires
Raise first
Client strategy
Candidate assessments
Where it lives
CRM and Word
Why a buyer wants it
Deep written evaluations
Raise first
Candidate identities
Market maps and target lists
Where it lives
Excel
Why a buyer wants it
Research method
Raise first
Named executives
Proposals and engagement letters
Where it lives
Word
Why a buyer wants it
How searches are sold
Raise first
Fees
Assessment frameworks
Where it lives
Shared drive
Why a buyer wants it
The firm's method
Raise first
Usually nothing
| Record | Where it lives | Why a buyer wants it | Raise first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position specifications | Word | What a role really requires | Client strategy |
| Candidate assessments | CRM and Word | Deep written evaluations | Candidate identities |
| Market maps and target lists | Excel | Research method | Named executives |
| Proposals and engagement letters | Word | How searches are sold | Fees |
| Assessment frameworks | Shared drive | The firm's method | Usually nothing |
02 / Value
Putting a number on a search firm's data
No buyer publishes a price list by industry. What they do publish is a range for a whole company: micro1, Polyshares and Ventra each advertise deals from roughly $100K to $2M or more, and Pewter's licensing partner cites examples between $350K and $650K. Read those as the buyers' own marketing figures, not offers.
For a search firm of about 18 people, three things move the number most: how many years of history you have, how much of the work is written down in one place, and how cleanly client and employee details can be removed. Try the worth estimator for a range based on your size.
03 / Buyers
Which buyers take executive search firms
Troveo's intake form has no category for this industry, so it falls under "something else", which sits in its third tier, which it describes as standard demand. Polyshares accepts staffing and recruiting, though it does not mark it as premium.
Published size rule
Asks for at least 30 staff, with no upper limit
A 18-person search firm
Too small at 18
Published size rule
At least 20 full-time US office employees, or 10 for accounting and 6 for law
A 18-person search firm
Too small at 18
Published size rule
At least 20 W-2 staff in the US and three years of history
A 18-person search firm
Too small at 18
Published size rule
At least 20 people and three years, with a higher bar in some sectors
A 18-person search firm
Too small at 18
Published size rule
At least 30 US staff and three years of data
A 18-person search firm
Too small at 18
Published size rule
Around 30 people or more
A 18-person search firm
Too small at 18
Published size rule
No headcount floor; it weighs how deep the record goes
A 18-person search firm
No size floor
Published size rule
Publishes no minimum
A 18-person search firm
No size floor
Published size rule
Publishes no minimum (its calculator begins at 20)
A 18-person search firm
No size floor
| Buyer | Published size rule | A 18-person search firm |
|---|---|---|
| micro1 | Asks for at least 30 staff, with no upper limit | Too small at 18 |
| Mode | At least 20 full-time US office employees, or 10 for accounting and 6 for law | Too small at 18 |
| Nyne | At least 20 W-2 staff in the US and three years of history | Too small at 18 |
| Pewter | At least 20 people and three years, with a higher bar in some sectors | Too small at 18 |
| Ventra | At least 30 US staff and three years of data | Too small at 18 |
| Endless | Around 30 people or more | Too small at 18 |
| Polyshares | No headcount floor; it weighs how deep the record goes | No size floor |
| Mercor | Publishes no minimum | No size floor |
| Troveo | Publishes no minimum (its calculator begins at 20) | No size floor |
Some buyers pay us a referral fee. It never changes your price, and it never changes the order of our rankings.
04 / Typical week
What one ordinary week produces
- Monday: a position spec agreed with the board chair.
- Tuesday: a market map of forty targets.
- Wednesday: first-round candidate assessments written.
- Thursday: a progress report to the client.
- Friday: a proposal for a new CFO search.
Illustrative. Multiply one week by every year you have kept, and that is the record a buyer is looking at. The written decisions matter more than the totals.
05 / Segments
More on staffing agencies
06 / Process
How a deal works
- 1
Check the fit
Answer a few questions about headcount, years of records and the systems you use. No files change hands.
- 2
Inventory call
A buyer walks through what you hold and what it wants. Most say the owner spends one to three hours in total.
- 3
Written offer
Buyers usually send terms within days to two weeks: price, scope, term and whether the deal is exclusive.
- 4
Clean and deliver
Personal details are removed under the agreed method, then a copy is exported. Your originals stay where they are.
micro1
What it asks for
Procedures, internal wikis, project and task history, CRM activity
Offer and payment
Up to 30 days to review, then paid within 30 days of invoice
Ask about
Its master terms describe a perpetual license. It says it strips personal details "when relevant", so ask exactly how.
Ventra
What it asks for
Mainly inboxes, recorded calls and helpdesk tickets
Offer and payment
Offer in 3 to 7 days, then net 30 or 60
Ask about
Its terms warn it may be unable to erase data after delivery.
Polyshares
What it asks for
Inboxes, recorded calls, helpdesk tickets and ERP extracts
Offer and payment
Offer in 1 to 2 weeks, paid in 30 to 60 days
Ask about
Licenses are exclusive by default.
Pewter
What it asks for
Operating records for the industries on its list
Offer and payment
No fee to the owner, it says
Ask about
Launched October 2026 by a Florida sales agency. Its licensing partner, not Pewter, signs and pays.
| Buyer | What it asks for | Offer and payment | Ask about |
|---|---|---|---|
| micro1 | Procedures, internal wikis, project and task history, CRM activity | Up to 30 days to review, then paid within 30 days of invoice | Its master terms describe a perpetual license. It says it strips personal details "when relevant", so ask exactly how. |
| Ventra | Mainly inboxes, recorded calls and helpdesk tickets | Offer in 3 to 7 days, then net 30 or 60 | Its terms warn it may be unable to erase data after delivery. |
| Polyshares | Inboxes, recorded calls, helpdesk tickets and ERP extracts | Offer in 1 to 2 weeks, paid in 30 to 60 days | Licenses are exclusive by default. |
| Pewter | Operating records for the industries on its list | No fee to the owner, it says | Launched October 2026 by a Florida sales agency. Its licensing partner, not Pewter, signs and pays. |
07 / Timing
If you are selling or winding down
A data license can sit alongside a sale or a wind-down. If you are selling the business, agree with the acquirer who keeps the right to license the archive. If you are closing down, keep the workspace and inboxes alive until a buyer has seen them. A closed company is not out of options: SimpleClosure reports more than 150 completed sales of shut-down startups' archives.
FAQ
Questions, answered
We have 18 people. Who would take us?
Buyers with no published minimum, such as Polyshares, Mercor and Troveo. Most others start at 20.
Is a 18-person search firm big enough?
3 of the 9 buyers in our size check take a search firm that size, going by their own published rules. Below 20 people your options narrow to the buyers with no stated minimum.
Do we lose our records if we license them?
No. A license gives the buyer a copy for agreed uses and your originals stay put. Read the term and deletion clauses closely: micro1's master terms describe a perpetual license, and Ventra warns it may be unable to erase data after delivery.
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Keep reading
Sources
Every number on this page links back to one of these.
- 1onetonline.org: 4.C.1.a.2.honetonline.org
- 2Troveo: Business data programtroveo.ai
- 3Polyshares: Sell company datapolyshares.com
- 4micro1: Company referral programmicro1.ai
- 5Beri: micro1 enterprise data partnerships, terms and risksberi.net
- 6Mode: Data program requirementsdata.mode.inc
- 7Nyne: Sell company datanyne.ai
- 8Pewter: Company data licensingpewterdata.com
- 9Pewter: Partner examplespewterdata.com
- 10Ventra: Company datajoinventra.com
- 11US Census Bureau: Statistics of US Businesses, 2022www2.census.gov
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