Industry
Logistics/Supply Chain
Location
NYC, Mexico City
Team Size
20
Funding
Seed
Nuvocargo: VP Product hired in 6 weeks
Nuvocargo is a venture-backed startup focused on helping companies seamlessly move cargo across the Americas, starting with US-Mexico trucking (the biggest trade lane in the world!).
They recently closed their $5.3M seed round from YCombinator, NFX and ALLVP, a top Latin American VC firm.
The company was founded by Deepak Chhugani, a former investment banker who previously founded professional networking startup The Lobby, and Sam Blackman, who previously led Engineering & Product at Common, a tech-enable real estate startup.
Not your typical Executive Search
Head of Product is a critical hire for any company, but Nuvocargo had some special requirements that made the role even more unique. They have offices in NYC and Mexico City, so they needed someone who was fluent in Spanish and had an understanding of the LatAm market. Additionally, they were looking for someone with a stellar background and track record of leadership and excellence at a top Silicon Valley company.
Deepak had considered working with a traditional executive search firm but they were expensive. On the other hand, he was incredibly busy and could not take on the heavy lifting of an involved executive search on his own. Hoping to solve for both these issues, Nuvocargo began working with Dover to fill this key role.
Key #1: Targeted outreach is key when looking for a niche executive.
Dover estimated the size of the candidate pool with Deepak. As expected, only a very limited number of candidates were an ideal fit for the role.
Dover’s expert team partnered with Deepak to calibrate extensively and to craft compelling outreach messaging. Moreover, Dover's technology personalized every outreach for each candidate. This enabled highly targeted outreach to a small pool of top-tier candidates who had a Silicon Valley DNA and a LatAm connection and Spanish fluency.
Dover was able to generate fantastic Director & Group-level PMs from top companies who were excited to chat with Deepak about the company's mission.
“Dover offered quick, reasonably priced results. I could quantify the impact in terms of my time. Plus, the other options were absurdly expensive.”
Key #2: CEOs are busy. Dover gets that.
By taking over sourcing for Nuvocargo and only surfacing candidates who were interested and qualified, Dover helped cut down recruiting noise for Deepak and his team.
Dover made it easy for Deepak to share his feedback through biweekly check-ins and a joint Slack channel where he could share post-interview feedback.
“Dover's better because you only spend your time with interested candidates. Dover gets them on the phone automatically and in a personalized way, which gave me time back in my life. This made for a much more enjoyable experience on our end.”
Results
Nuvocargo was able to sign their Head of Product within 6 weeks of starting outreach through Dover.