Taco

Taco

TACO is a remote digital agency focused primarily on SEO. Led by founder Chirag Kulkarni, the agency is known for:

• high quality SEO delivery
• a flexible, remote-first work culture
• a founder well connected in SEO mentorship circles, Slack communities and industry groups
• growing demand from clients and an urgent need for internal structure

TACO had matured quickly, moving from solo delivery to managing a growing roster of clients and specialists.

The next stage required strong Account Managers who could remove bottlenecks, strengthen relationships and elevate delivery.

The brief

As TACO evolved from freelancer-led delivery to a more structured agency model, they recognised the need for Account Managers who could do far more than keep clients satisfied, hybrid operators who understood SEO execution, could confidently manage client relationships, grow accounts, and coordinate internal specialists.

This is the story of how Search For Hire helped TACO secure three outstanding hires, advised on their team structure, and became a trusted strategic partner in their scaling journey.

“SEO For Hire is one of the most solid Organic Search focused firms we’ve worked with.

Firstly, they do NOT spray and pray.

They take a super methodical approach to first aligning on what a 10/10 hire looks like, then search their vast network to find the most suitable candidates.

They take feedback super well, and strategize with you things like org charts, what would set the hire up for success.

Lastly, even post hire they are supportive, spending time checking in with the new hire and making sure things are going well. I was pretty shocked to learn they have a 1 year guarantee (good luck getting anyone to agree to 6+ months) but that speaks to the process and thoroughness.“

— Chirag Kulkarni, Founder and CEO of TACO

The challenge

TACO’s challenge was not finding applicants, it was finding the right kind of Account Manager. They needed someone who could:

• Manage relationships and grow accounts
• Lead client strategy
• Identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities
• Manage deadlines, internal specialists, and deliverables
• Step in to produce SEO work when necessary
• Operate as part strategist, part operator, part project manager

The role was more complex still: it was a 1099 contractor position, the founder wanted candidates who had been SEO specialists before transitioning into AM work, and prior experience with underperforming account managers made Chirag cautious about expectations and workload distribution.

TACO needed recruitment support plus team-building guidance.

The Process

1. Clarifying the Role and Team Structure

Through discovery calls, Search For Hire helped Chirag understand that AMs in SEO agencies can, and should, lead strategy, oversee execution, and jump into deliverables when required. His early assumption that an account manager simply needed to handle clients was refined into a much more powerful brief.

“Agency founders often think they need one type of person.

Once we start unpacking the real workload, it becomes clear what they actually need.

With TACO, the ideal hire was a hybrid, someone strategic, operational and execution-capable.“

— Josh Peacock, CEO and Founder of Search for Hire

2. Sourcing Hybrid SEO Account Managers

Search For Hire targeted candidates who had hands-on SEO experience, client-facing exposure, the ability to manage internal teams, strong organisational abilities, and the confidence to lead client direction. Within ten days, a strong group of specialists-turned-AMs was delivered.

3. The First Hire: Senior Account Manager → Operations Manager

The first candidate placed came from large US agencies and was burnt out by corporate red tape and micromanagement. TACO’s remote culture and flexibility immediately appealed to her. She joined as a Senior Account Manager, quickly earned trust, and within six to nine months was promoted to Operations Manager — leading the agency’s delivery and internal operations. Her promotion created a vacancy, and TACO came back for hire number two.

4. The Second Hire: Replacing the Promoted Manager

A clear three-stage interview process was built: a founder call, a case study, and a leadership panel with a senior leader and the founder. Six candidates were introduced over ten days. Two reached the final stage. When the founder struggled to choose, Search For Hire consulted directly — providing comparative insights and guiding the decision. The entire process took 18 days from first contact.

5. The Third Hire: Immediate Trust and Zero Friction

By this point, TACO’s trust was absolute. No discovery call was required, candidates were approved instantly, and Chirag relied fully on the process and judgment of the Search For Hire team.

“By the third hire, Chirag didn’t just trust the process, he trusted the outcome. He knew exactly what kind of talent we would deliver.“

— Daris Benallal, Head of Recruitment for Search for Hire

6. Ongoing Advisory Support

Between hires, Search For Hire advised TACO on structuring client pods, AM workload capacity, managing underperforming team members, defining responsibilities between specialists and AMs, realistic client load expectations (8–12 accounts), the strategic value of hybrid AMs, and scaling the agency beyond founder dependency.

The results

Three hybrid Account Managers were placed. A Senior Account Manager became the agency’s Operations Manager.

Workflows, delivery, and communication became more streamlined. The founder gained clarity and confidence to scale.

Client retention and satisfaction strengthened. Upsell opportunities increased as AMs became strategic partners. TACO won new clients and reinvested into additional hiring. Trust deepened to the point where new searches began without preliminary calls.

TACO is now operating with more maturity, structure, and leadership depth than at any previous point.

Why this matters

TACO’s story illustrates a powerful truth: the biggest challenge in scaling an SEO agency is not leads, delivery, or even hiring, it’s role definition.

When founders misunderstand what they actually need, they make junior hires for senior problems, or they overload themselves trying to do everything. TACO avoided that by leaning into advisory support from the start.

What makes this case study distinct is not a single placement. It is the compounding effect of three well-matched hires, supported by ongoing advisory, that transformed a founder-dependent consultancy into a structured, scalable agency.

That transformation was only possible because the recruitment partner understood the business deeply enough to challenge the brief, refine the role, and guide the decision, not just fill the seat.