Your first US hire is your US strategy.
You're a French scale-up opening the US. The first person you hire there, usually a country manager or a head of sales, will sign your first American clients, set your prices and hire the next ten people. We find that person, then the team they build.
25% of first-year total cash compensation. 20% engagement fee, credited against the final invoice. 90-day replacement.
The person who opens the market
Your first US leader is not a sales director with an American accent. For the first year, they are your company in the US. They sell personally, they recruit, and they tell a head office in France what doesn't translate.
Look for someone who has opened a market, not someone who has managed one.
Country manager
Runs the US business end to end. Sells the first deals, sets up the team, reports to the CEO in France. The hire when the US is a market of its own.
Head of sales or VP Sales
Carries the number from day one and builds the sales team behind them. The hire when the product already sells and the US needs a closer who can also recruit.
And the team after them
Account executives, SDRs, customer success. A sales leader who arrives builds a team within six months. It's the same search that continues, with the context already in hand.
Between your head office and the US market
We work with your head office in France and with the market in the US. That's usually where a first US hire gets stuck. Head office wants someone who knows the product and the culture. The US market wants someone who has already sold there. The search has to hold both from the first call.
So we start by writing down what the person must have achieved at 3, 6 and 12 months, and by testing your budget against the US market. Before anyone is approached.
Opening countries is a large part of our work
In the US, we hire for Yooz in Dallas and for Wavestone in New York. Over the past twelve months, recruiting took us to twelve countries, the US included.
Yooz, Dallas
Finance automation software, headquartered in France, with an office in Dallas. 166 hires with mad in four years, in France and abroad.
Wavestone, New York
The consulting firm has hired with mad for five years: 196 hires, in France, in the US and in Asia.
Opening other markets
For Keewe, we hired the head of the Polish market. For Yooz, SDRs in Spain and in the UK. For Bio-UV, sales people in the UK and a site manager for its Scottish subsidiary.
Step by step, from kickoff to the first 180 days
Speed is the single biggest factor in losing a strong candidate. This is the timeline you can hold us to.
Kickoff
One hour with you, and with your future US manager if there is one. We test your budget against the US market and we write down what the person must have achieved at 3, 6 and 12 months.
Direct approach
People in post, contacted one by one. No job ads, no mass messages. Every approach explains your product, your stage and why the US now.
First profiles
The first qualified profiles reach you early, so the target can be adjusted while the search is running. Nancy makes the first call with every candidate.
Shortlist
Three to four candidates who are qualified, available and genuinely interested. Each one comes with a written assessment.
Interviews and references
Your team in France and your managers in the US can follow the search from the start. We take references early, with the candidate's consent, and we ask for numbers on what they actually did.
Offer
A US package has its own structure: base, variable, equity and benefits. We negotiate it with market data in hand.
Visa, move, family
If the person moves from France, we coordinate the visa with partner immigration lawyers, along with the move, spouse employment and schooling.
Onboarding follow-up
Structured check-ins at 30, 90 and 180 days, on both sides. This is where a first hire succeeds or quietly fails.
The people who run mad run your search
Jean-Charles Martinez
Your point of contact from kickoff to signature. He founded the firm in 2019, and it has made more than 800 hires since.
Nancy Brieux
Runs mad with Jean-Charles and takes part in every US search, as she does in France. She makes the first call with every candidate, before anyone reaches your shortlist.
Published before you call us.
25%
Of the hire's first-year total cash compensation: base salary plus target bonus or commission.
20%
Engagement fee at signature, credited in full against the final invoice. The balance is due when the candidate signs.
90 days
Replacement guarantee. If the hire leaves within 90 days, we run the search again at no charge.
Not ready for a full search? Our US market test gives you five real candidate conversations and a compensation benchmark in ten business days, for €9,900, credited against the search if you sign it within six months.
Our fees, line by lineQuestions we get before a US search
Should our first US hire be an American or someone from our French team?
Both can work. A local hire already knows the market and needs no visa. Someone from head office knows the product and the culture, but needs a work visa: an L-1A transfer, for instance, requires at least one continuous year with your group in the three years before the petition. Our guide compares both routes.
Do you have an office in the US?
Not yet. We're preparing a base in Miami. Today, US searches are run from Paris by direct approach, which is how you reach people already in post anyway. In the US, we hire for Yooz in Dallas and for Wavestone in New York.
How long does a US search take?
We present the first profiles within 10 to 15 days and a shortlist in two and a half weeks. In the US, two weeks' notice is customary, so a local hire can start soon after the offer. A move from France adds the visa timeline.
How do you charge for a US search?
25% of the hire's first-year total cash compensation, meaning base salary plus target bonus or commission. A 20% engagement fee is paid at signature and credited in full against the final invoice. If the hire leaves within 90 days, we run the search again at no charge. Fees for a US role are calculated and invoiced in US dollars.
Do you handle visas and relocation?
We coordinate them with partner immigration lawyers, together with the move, spouse employment and schooling. We don't give legal or tax advice ourselves: we bring in the right specialists and stay your single point of contact.
Do you only work with French companies?
Our US work is for French scale-ups and mid-sized companies opening the US. That's where our references, our network and our language are. In France, we hire for startups and scale-ups, French or foreign.
Opening the US in the next six months?
Tell us about the role in three lines. We reply within the day, New York time, with a first read: feasibility, profile to target, realistic package range.
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