CEO Hunter: What Bad Hiring Costs You (w/ Kip Knippel)

Kip Knippel built Kip Search into a national C-suite recruiting firm by doing the opposite of what everyone else does — he never posts jobs.Get the FREE Exit Code Blueprint: http://exitcodeblueprint.com/This conversation between Jason Sisneros and Kip Knippel gets into what it actually takes to place the right leader in the right seat, why 93% of businesses that go to market never close, and what founders do to blow the deal before they get to close.What's covered:→ Why retained search firms never post jobs... and where the best C-suite talent is actually hiding (they're not looking)→ The AI hiring trap: companies are paying for tools nobody's trained to use, and the wave of overnight "AI experts" making it harder to find real ones→ What PE firms are paying a premium for right now... and how an AI-augmented team changes your multiple before you ever talk to a buyer→ The Arena: how Kip matches post-exit founders to high-growth companies through blind profiling and manifesto videos, without the 6-month search timeline→ The identity crisis that kills deals at the closing table... and why rock-solid founders blow up their own sale when they haven't figured out what's next→ The reticular activating system (RAS) exercise Kip uses with every candidate to get clear on what role they're actually looking forFind the Right Executive (or Your Next Role): https://kipsearch.comChapters0:00 – Intro0:51 – Who Kip is and what he built2:37 – Kip's career arc (law school, M&A, CBRE, executive search)4:04 – How KIPP Search works and what retained recruiting actually means9:46 – What companies look for in a C-suite hire (and why skill is the last filter)13:29 – How to hire a chief AI officer when you don't understand AI yourself18:02 – What PE firms want right now (AI-augmented businesses and the capacity)24:04 – What post exit life should look like29:33 – Blind profiling, manifesto videos, and AI-assisted matching32:44 – Work-life balance after 30 years in business and three kids37:52 – The golden nugget: how to find what you're actually looking for#entrepreneur #executivesearch #businessexit #builttoexit #privateequity