How a $4M Recruiting Firm Rebuilt After a Brutal Year | Josh Volinsky

Josh Volinsky and his partners launched Synergy Search in 2020, and the accounting and finance firm has reached up to $6M in revenue. When the market changed, transactional recruiting became harder, a run of hires didn't work out, and the founders recognized that their relaxed culture lacked accountability. In August 2025, a breakfast conversation became the start of a company reboot. That October, three recruiters each billed over $100K in a single month. Josh joins Mark Whitby to explain what they changed: shared office days, activity tracking and a phone system connected to Bullhorn. He also shares how they hire and train accountants to recruit, the blueprint for rookie years of $600K, and why even experienced billers keep practicing. Connect with Josh Volinsky LinkedIn:   / joshvolinsky   Synergy Search: https://synergysearch.com/ Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:24 Hiring accountants and training them to become recruiters 07:28 Leaving an established firm and taking 10 months without income 11:55 Building a financial cushion before launching your business 16:25 Three early hires and first-year revenue of roughly $2.5M to $2.8M 18:11 Dividing responsibilities between three founders 22:32 Creating a practical recruiting blueprint for new hires 25:29 Role plays that keep the whole team involved 29:51 Bringing the team together through shared office days 38:21 Celebrating $100K months and rewarding top producers 43:58 The market shift that exposed transactional recruiting habits 48:31 The breakfast conversation that started the reboot 54:06 The three recruiting metrics Josh prioritizes Podcast Partners Recruiterflow: The AI-native ATS and CRM built for serious recruiting businesses. https://recruitmentcoach.com/recruite... Juicebox: The modern AI platform for recruiting search, outreach and pipeline management. https://recruitmentcoach.com/juicebox Free Resources Take the 7-Figure Freedom Scorecard: https://recruitmentcoach.com/scorecard Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: https://recruitmentcoach.com/strategy... Connect with Mark Whitby LinkedIn:   / mwhitby   Twitter:   / markwhitby   Facebook:   / therecruitmentcoach   Instagram:   / recruitmentcoach   Know an agency owner rebuilding after a difficult year? Share this episode with them. What would you change if you could start your recruitment firm again today? Let us know in the comments. Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter: https://plinkhq.com/i/1489513354 #RecruitmentBusiness #RecruitmentAgency #RecruitmentTraining #AccountingRecruitment #RecruitmentLeadership #TheResilientRecruiter