Kaleb Dumot
(Photo Credit: Kaleb Dumot)
Name: Kaleb Dumot
Occupation: CEO at Integrity Power Search & Angel Investor
Favorite Restaurant in Town? Luca West!
My wife and I are suckers for a great patio. They have the best in town.
What's something useful, magical, or wonderful about Cleveland?
The snow...just kidding! It's hard to pick just one...We have 3 major sports teams, a great brewery and foodie scene, the 11th largest lake in the world, a marvelous arts scene, and world-class healthcare.
If I had to pick one, it would definitely be the Cleveland people. In general, we are authentic, kind, easy-going, down-to-earth, and hard-working.
Q. Kaleb, you are the founder of Integrity Power Search (IPS). What exactly is IPS and why does it exist?
Integrity Power Search is a 20 person boutique retained search firm for high-growth startups & technology companies across North America.
I started the company out of my parent's basement here in Cleveland back in 2012. Since then, we’ve successfully executed 2,000+ searches & our clients have collectively raised over $10B in venture funding and counting.
We have three main practice areas; executive search, technical search, and sales, marketing, and customer success search.
The internet has only been around for 25 years or so but look at how far we've come. We have self-driving cars and robots that can literally paint a room or grow produce. The crazy thing is, the internet is still so much in its infancy.
IPS exists to support the next wave of technology companies that create the future we live in.
Q. When IPS was founded in 2012, Ohio wasn't the growing hotbed of innovation it is today. Why was Cleveland the right place to start and grow IPS?
Cleveland is a great city to start a business. You have access to a smart and highly motivated talent pool at the fraction of the coast of the coasts.
Q. How should startups think about the tradeoff between hiring fast and hiring the perfect person? Does it vary by stage?
There is no such thing about hiring a "perfect person". No one is perfect. Hiring is hard at every stage. It takes times time, energy, and a well-thought-out and designed interview process. Hiring fast is fine as long as the interview process is thorough and you do not cut corners.
Q. So often we hear that "access to talent" and "talent density" are key issues with growing a Company outside of the top hubs. Is there truth to this? If so, what's changing? If not, why is that the narrative?
With the world moving to a remote-first approach, I don't see this as an issue anymore. Yes, of course, there are way more engineers in Austin or SF than Cleveland but that's not the full story.
We have so much talent here in Cleveland, you just have to look in untraditional places to uncover top talent.
Q: Where is your first vacation post-COVID?
We're heading to Hawaii in a few weeks! Maui, we're coming for ya!
