$50M A Year Proves Elite Recruiters Don't Chase Clients.
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Audible Key Takeaways
- Matthieu Beaurain built a €50M search group by adopting a radical talent agent model where consultants follow people rather than companies, eliminating the need to chase clients every month.
- Lincoln measures success using Talent Lifetime Value, tracking each consultant's portfolio of talent over a five-year period much like a SaaS company measures customer lifetime value.
- After selling a 55% stake in the firm in 2020, Matthieu and his team successfully bought it all back by the end of July, returning Lincoln to 100% independent ownership.
- Expanding internationally requires deep trust and resilience, demonstrated by Matthieu moving his family to Shanghai and running offices in China for six years without speaking Mandarin.
- Lincoln successfully maintains fully retained fees at 25 to 28 percent by focusing heavily on top-tier talent relationships rather than buckling to contingency pressure.
Registration is open for the Firm Leaders Summit, three days built for recruiting firm owners and leaders, November 16 to 18. Hiring and training recruiters, growth, BD, and becoming the rainmaker for your firm: https://firm-leaders-and-owners-recruiting-summit-2026.heysummit.com
This episode is brought to you by Atlas, the CRMx that captures every call, email, and message automatically and tells you the next action to take: https://recruitwithatlas.com/
Most agency owners chase clients every single month. Matthieu "Matt" Beaurain built a $50M a year search group by doing the opposite.
Matt has led Lincoln for 26 years, taking over the firm when it was four people and growing it to roughly 230 people across more than 10 countries and four brands, with about €50M in annual revenue, as he tells it. His model is simple and radical: every consultant is a talent agent. Lincoln follows people, not companies, and the business follows the talent.
In this conversation, Matt breaks news he held back from our pregame. In 2020, Lincoln sold 55% of the firm to join a larger European talent representation project. At the end of July, they bought it all back. Lincoln is 100% independently owned again, and Matt explains what that means for the next chapter.
He also introduces a metric most firm owners have never heard of: Talent Lifetime Value. Lincoln measures each consultant's portfolio of talent over five years, the way a SaaS company measures customer lifetime value. Build it well and you stop starting every month from zero.
Matt shares how he started in recruiting part-time at Robert Half while running a bar with his wife, why he moved his family to Shanghai after visiting a struggling office, and how he built trust in China for six years without speaking Mandarin. He walks through Lincoln's international expansion, from a small acquisition in Belgium right before the 2008 crash to Cooper Fitch in the Middle East, and why one rebrand after an acquisition probably destroyed value. He also explains why he brought in an outside CEO so he could keep doing the work he loves, how Lincoln holds fees at 25 to 28% on a fully retained model, and why the US may finally be on the map.
What You'll Learn:
- How the talent agent model replaces traditional BD
- What Talent Lifetime Value is and how to measure it
- Why Lincoln keeps acquired brands instead of rebranding
- How to defend retained fees when clients push for contingency
- What it takes to hand your firm to an outside CEO
- Why Matt believes AI won't replace the trust you build with talent
Connect with Matthieu Beaurain:
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthieu-beaurain-743609/
🌐 Lincoln: https://lincoln-group.com
🚀 Firm Leaders Summit: https://firm-leaders-and-owners-recruiting-summit-2026.heysummit.com
⚙️ Atlas: https://recruitwithatlas.com/
🎯 Join the Elite Recruiter Community: https://elite-recruiters.circle.so/checkout/elite-recruiter-community
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Matthieu Beaurain on The Elite Recruiter Podcast?
Matthieu Beaurain is the leader of Lincoln who grew the firm from four people to roughly 230 employees across more than 10 countries with about €50M in annual revenue.
What is the talent agent model in recruiting?
The talent agent model is an approach where recruiters focus on following and representing top talent instead of traditional business development and chasing client companies.
What is Talent Lifetime Value?
Talent Lifetime Value is a metric used by Lincoln to measure a consultant's portfolio of talent over a five-year period, similar to how SaaS companies measure customer lifetime value to avoid starting from zero each month.
What is Lincoln's ownership status?
After selling a majority stake in 2020, Lincoln bought the shares back and is once again 100% independently owned.