GROW YOUR TEAM WITH CONFIDENCE

A people consultancy to help startups soar

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30+ happy founders and counting

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Think of me as the People Person you hire before you need a People Person. Or in some cases, instead of.

Growing a startup is messy. You need to hire, but top talent doesn’t know who you are, and investing in people programs can feel indulgent. 

I make hiring and HR simple. From finding the right candidates to setting up systems that actually work, I help startups get the people side of the business sorted so you can focus on growth.

People & hiring: Sorted.

SERVICES

Plug-in expertise that flexes with you.

Recruiting

It all starts with talent. FirstFifty will help plan and sequence your team - then find and land the right hires from Engineers to Accountants and everything in between. Priced fairly (no big fee’s here.)

Employee experience

Lets have some fun creating the moments that matter. From your employer brand, to onboarding, to recognition - we’ll craft experiences that pop.

People risk & policies

Every growing business needs some baseline policies and to responsibly plan for the future. I’ll help you de-risk and get your house in order.

Performance

Making sure your teams and leaders have the right tools and timelines to make feedback part of how they work, every day. .

Technology & tools

Good Hiring & HR systems can be a gamechanger. FirstFifty will identify & implement the right tools for your size, geography, and price-point.

Rhythm & rituals

Culture is everything, but it doesn’t need to be elusive. Let’s lay the groundwork to build your team comms, cadence and conviction.

Featured work

A large, diverse group of people gathered on and at the bottom of a spiral staircase in a modern building, smiling and waving at the camera.

Cicada Innovations

Australia’s deep-tech incubator was facing it’s own startup challenges. FirstFifty helped with their People Foundations.

A group of around nine people, including men and women, posing for a photo at a tech exhibition. They are standing in front of a black display board with pink text that reads 'BECAUSE AI EVEY' (likely meant to be 'EVERY'). Some are wearing black polo shirts with a logo, and one woman is wearing a pink blazer. In the background, there is a colorful race car and several exhibition booths with monitors and displays.

ResetData

Supporting Australia’s most exciting AI Infrastructure firm with recruiting in a talent-scarce market.

Four people working on laptops and tablets in a coworking space, with two sitting on a couch and two at a round table, surrounded by plants and artwork.

eQ8

Helping a post-Series A startup scale and lead across Australia & the US.

View all work

  • “It's been a first-rate experience from start to finish. Rachel hit the ground running and did the heavy lifting sourcing great candidates, setting up a compensation framework, and was flexible with us as we learned what we needed.”

    Sam Paterson, cofounder, MP Space

  • "Rachel helped grow our technical teams and set up our first HRIS, built out our policies, rebuilt our onboarding framework, and helped us rethink our levels and career pathing. All this, while being an amazing presence on the floor and delivering value week in, week out."

    Carlos Mora, COO eQ8

  • "Rachel scaled up when we needed to hire, pulled back when things were quiet - exactly the flexibility we needed."

    Rodolf Salem, COO, ResetData

Rachel Zerr, Founder & Director of People Consultancy FirstFifty.

Hi, I’m Rachel.

I spent 15 years working with some of the world’s best companies (Accenture, Google, the Publicis Groupe) and Australia’s most exciting startups and scaleups (Zip, Slyp) - helping them grow, adapt, and build cultures people want to be part of.

For the past three years, I’ve channelled that experience into FirstFifty, partnering with founders to lay strong, scalable people foundations from the start.

I’ve seen some businesses over-invest in what they don’t need and others leave critical decisions too late. I’ll help you cut through the noise - to find great people & build practical people systems that grow with you.

I care deeply about this work. And I’m here to help you build a company that lasts!

See my work

Let’s build a company you can be proud of

Get in touch

Send a message and I’ll get back to you within 24 hours for a no-obligations chat.

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