Thank you to Josh Simpkins, Co-Founder of Future Talent Group, for providing us with this guest blog as part People Month at techSPARK.
In your own words – what do you do?
Recruiting high-quality talent for your business is hard work, especially in the innovation-focused markets that we specialise in such as autonomous systems, robotics, quantum, AI, biotech, and cyber security.
We work with business leaders and founders to help them grow their teams. This takes many forms, but in most cases, it involves a data-driven approach: mapping the market to verify that hiring plans are achievable, helping to set up processes and strategies to achieve the best hiring outcomes, and of course, engaging our extensive network to help customers find the best talent in the market.
What’s the most exciting thing about what you’re doing?
I think we’re in a very lucky position to support some industry-leading innovators to build teams that, in many cases, will genuinely change the world we live in. Seeing some of the products and solutions being built by the teams we help grow is incredibly exciting.
What are you most proud of so far?
Culture and Values – From the outset, we made it clear that we want to deliver social value as well as be recognised as brilliant recruiters. We’ve managed to deliver on this commitment through our community fund, which has supported many local charity projects including funding for Bristol Homeless Meal Service, St Paul’s Community Basketball Hub, Science Creates Outreach, local tech meetups, Laptops for Schools, and more. Since 2023 we’ve had opportunities to grow faster, but we’ve really wanted to focus on sustainable growth taking our time to get the initial hires right and embedding a culture that is outcome-focused. Giving the team rewarding yet sustainable recruitment careers has been really important to us, and so far, it’s worked really well.
What have you found most difficult about being a startup?
Operations – You can be great at the core job, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re good at running a lean business efficiently. Luckily, my co-founder Scott has been brilliant on this side leading everything from systems integration and HR policies to contracts and even building an automated billing system (we never knew he had those skills when we started!).
What would you do differently if you started now?
Maybe stress a little less. You need to work hard to get things off the ground. The first six months we were living on savings, and my wife was pregnant with our first child at the time, certainly a stressful period, but we made it through. I often wonder, if you knew everything would turn out fine, would you have worked as hard? Maybe feeling that make-or-break pressure is what drives things forward, especially at the beginning of a startup journey.
Where do you think you’ll be in 12 months?
We’ll be going to market for another director hire before the end of the year. I’m very excited about this, and I think it will be a brilliant opportunity for someone who wants to help build a business. We have some great customer relationships, and several of our key clients have ambitious growth plans for 2026. So mainly, we’ll be working to keep up with them and ensure we can support them on that journey.
What excites you most about the future of recruitment?
While AI and automation are already having a big impact across the industry, I still think human interaction will continue to play a key role. Taking a new job is both an emotional and logical decision. You need to believe in the company, its mission, and its values. While AI will certainly support the process, that personal, human element in decision-making will remain important for most people.
What tools/people/services/organisations from the cluster have helped you most?
By sponsoring events and tech meetups within the cluster, we’ve had a great opportunity to bring in people from our network who are doing amazing things but aren’t necessarily shouting about it. We’ve been able to shine a spotlight on some of that great work. The overall collaboration across the network has also been really helpful as we navigated our own growth journey. The TechSPARK team is so integrated within the ecosystem they really do know people who can advise or help with almost any business challenge you may face as a startup.
What’s the best thing about the Bristol & Bath tech cluster?
The cluster is very collaborative. Having lived and worked in London for many years, it definitely has a different feel. The history of innovation and industrialisation here gives it a real sense of purpose and creativity and across the network we have received a lot of support.
Where can we find out more about you?
Start building the future, today. Partner with Future Talent for better hiring outcomes.
Website: https://www.futuretalent.io/
