🎙️ From 50 to 800: Hard Truths and Smarter Hiring in Hypergrowth

Guest: Dixie Vargas | Host: Michael Doran, Founder of TeamSourced & Talent Grind

Welcome to Meet My Network — the show where top recruiting minds share raw insights, real growth stories, and unfiltered lessons from the field.

In this episode, Dixie Vargas shares what it really takes to scale a company from 50 to 800 employees, what most people get wrong about hypergrowth hiring, and how to stay strategic and sane during explosive company expansion.

📈 Whether you’re a recruiter, talent leader, startup founder, or ops pro — this one’s packed with must-know takeaways to survive and thrive in scaling environments.

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: Meet Dixie Vargas

02:04 – The early days: Scrappy beginnings in recruiting

06:30 – Scaling from 50 to 800: What changed and what broke

11:55 – Hiring under pressure: Lessons from startup chaos

15:40 – Building trust with hiring managers

20:18 – The mental side of recruiting in hypergrowth

24:10 – Redefining recruiter value: Business partner vs. order taker

29:15 – Navigating burnout and building sustainable teams

32:42 – Technology, AI & what’s next for TA

36:00 – Final advice: Recruiting is human work

👀 What You’ll Learn:

- How to scale recruiting systems without burning out

- Why talent leaders must influence beyond headcount

- What it takes to keep quality high when speed is everything

- How AI and empathy can coexist in modern recruiting

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📌 Follow Michael Doran

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldoran

📌 Learn more about Talent Grind

Website:Talent Grind Substack

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