Your AI-Native Talent Partner for Hyper-Growth

We partner with ambitious founders to build world-class teams.

We're Building the Future of Hiring. For Ourselves. And You.

We're not just another recruitment company using AI. We've rebuilt hiring from the ground up, leveraging our experience building and exiting high-growth ventures. We're operators who understand what it takes to build winning teams.

Why Companies Choose NextPlay

Many recruitment companies are now talking about AI. But at NextPlay, AI isn't just a tool we use; it's the foundation of everything we do.

We Understand High-Growth Hiring Challenges

We have been in your shoes as founders, leaders, and operators. We know the pressure of scaling fast, hiring under uncertainty, and finding the right people who will truly make a difference.

We Use AI to Solve Real Hiring Problems

Hiring can be slow, reactive, and filled with unnecessary busywork. We remove those bottlenecks by building our own opinionated AI-driven workflows, designed to streamline hiring and create more time for meaningful conversations.

We Think Beyond "Filling Roles"

Hiring is not just about plugging gaps. Our opinionated AI allow us to deeply understand your business and long-term goals in a way that will surprise you, saving you a lot of time in the process.

We Deliver a Standout Candidate Experience

Great hiring is not just about companies. It is about people. Our AI automates administrative tasks, but we ensure every candidate interaction is personal, meaningful, and engaging.

How We Use AI
(and What We Don't Do)

What We Do

AI-Powered Candidate Intelligence

We leverage AI to gather deep, relevant insights about potential hires, enabling personalised outreach and scalable matching of opportunities with the right talent.

AI-Driven Role Definition

We systematically collect and organise your specific requirements, eliminating guesswork and miscommunication to ensure everyone's on the same page.

Uncovering Hidden Potential

Our technology identifies capabilities, experiences, and nuances that might otherwise go unnoticed, providing a complete picture of each candidate's suitability.

Automating Busywork

We don't waste time on repetitive tasks. If we do something three times that isn't directly related to people, we automate it. Our AI tools streamline workflows and reduce admin overhead, so we can focus on candidates and hiring strategy. Some tools are built for clients, others power our own operations.

What We Don't Do

AI-Only Interviews

Every candidate interacts with real people. We view AI as a support tool – not a replacement for authentic conversations.

Replace Recruiters or Advisors

Our team stays hands-on in guiding strategy, evaluating cultural fit, and building relationships. Technology simply frees us to focus on these higher-value tasks.

Remove the Personal Connection

We believe strong hires depend on trust and empathy. AI handles the busywork, but people remain at the heart of every conversation and final decision.

The People Behind NextPlay

James Jennings

James has built, scaled and exited a startup, with his previous platform acquired by SEEK, one of the world's largest HR tech companies. A former recruiter turned founder, he understands hiring from all sides – agency, startup and enterprise. At NextPlay, James is building an AI-driven hiring platform designed to remove inefficiencies and give companies an unfair advantage in attracting top talent.

Greg Freeman

Greg has led global technology teams for scale-ups. A 3x CTO, he took two of those businesses through to successful exit, with one over $100M while CTO, and is a trusted advisor to high-growth ventures. As CTO of NextPlay, Greg is taking a first principles approach in rethinking talent acquisition and applying a non-recruiter mindset to see new ways of building our AI Native platform.

Kris Owens

Kris has spent 13 years in recruitment, driven by a passion for connecting ambitious people with companies where they can unlock their potential. He understands AI's capabilities but ensures it makes recruiters more efficient while keeping the human touch. At NextPlay, Kris helps founders define what the "right person" really means and contributes his recruitment expertise to our AI-Native platform.

The Companies We Partner With

We specialise in supporting scale-ups and start-ups across industries such as AI, consumer apps, creative technology, healthtech, martech, and other emerging sectors in Australia. We're the ideal partner for AI-native companies looking to build world-class teams. Whether you're preparing for your next funding round, entering a new market, or going through hyper-growth, we tailor our approach to meet your stage of business.

Where we Excel

Executive and Leadership

Co-Founder, CEO, CTO, COO, CRO, VP

Engineering, Design and Product

AI-Focused Software Engineers, DevOps, AI Full Stack Engineers, Product Managers and Designers

Go to Market

Account Executives, Sales Managers, SDRs/BDRs, Revenue Ops, Pre-Sales, AM's, CSMs, Relationship Managers, post-sales specialists, Performance Marketers, Brand Strategists and Growth Experts

Start Hiring Smarter →

Our Story

We've all felt the frustrations of hiring

As Founders and Leaders

Trying to juggle rapid scaling, investor expectations, and team morale, while also desperately needing top talent.

As Candidates

Wishing for real clarity and alignment when pursuing new roles, rather than generic follow-ups or mismatched opportunities.

As Recruiters

Knowing how tedious it can be to sift through unqualified resumes, yet rarely having enough time to truly understand candidates and hiring managers at a deeper level.

NextPlay was created to solve these pain points by pairing what people do best empathy, strategic thinking, and relationship-building with what AI does best: sifting data at scale, automating admin, and ensuring no individual gets overlooked. We realised that AI could fundamentally transform the hiring process, leading us to build an AI-native talent partner from the ground up.

Ready to Build Your Next High-Performing Team?

Talk to our advisors about finding the right people who'll drive your next phase of growth.

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