In this episode, Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich interview Troy Sultan who shares his journey from Google to founding Guide, an AI-powered recruiting coordination platform. Sultan challenges traditional recruiting assumptions, arguing modern candidates prefer transparency, speed, and self-service options that let them control their hiring experience.

*Email us your questions or topics for Kelli & Nolan: hrheretics@turpentine.co

For coaching and advising inquire at https://kellidragovich.com/

HR Heretics is a podcast from Turpentine.

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KEEP UP WITH TROY, NOLAN + KELLI ON LINKEDIN

Troy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/troysultan/

Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/

Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/

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LINKS

Guide: https://www.guide.co/

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(01:10) Troy's Exit from Google

(01:44) The Cookie-Based Sales Strategy

(02:54) Resource vs. Gem

(03:33) Product vs. Go-to-Market Lessons

(05:23) Selling to Gem

(07:31) The Acquisition Strategy

(09:25) Working with Brokers

(11:46) Marketing to HR Leaders

(14:05) Sponsor: Planful | Metaview

(17:05) The Value of Candidate Experience

(19:42) Company Priorities vs. Actions

(22:20) Guide: AI-Powered Recruiting Coordination

(24:35) AI Adoption Challenges

(26:18) Authors vs. Editors Framework

(27:44) How Aria Works

(30:18) World-Class Candidate Experience

(31:31) The Self-Service Revolution

(34:03) Customer Industries and Use Cases

(37:20) Human Experience Across Job Types

(40:03) The Cultural Shift to Self-Service

(42:47) Wrap

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Troy Sultan: How Guide Turned RCs into Iron Man

“HR Heretics” | How CPOs, CHROs, Founders, and Boards Build High Performing Companies

Troy Sultan: How Guide Turned RCs into Iron Man