5 Minutes with Sara Roberts: Interview One of Three

Collingwood's Managing Director, Doug Mackay, recently sat down with HealthTech, Wellbeing, Longevity and IaaS entrepreneur, Sara Roberts to discuss her experience with early-stage team building and executive recruitment strategies.

Sara is a purpose-driven operator with 15+ years’ experience in scaling ventures across HealthTech, Wellbeing, Longevity, and IaaS. From Europe to Africa to the US, she has built and led businesses from the ground up, taking them from concept to £10m+ ARR, while delivering measurable impact and sustainable growth. External to this, Sara sits on the Advisory for the International WELL Building Institute, transforming health and well-being with our people first approach to buildings, organisations and communities.

The First 10: How to Build a Founding Team That Lasts

Doug: Looking back at your first hires across your three start-ups, which roles proved to be truly foundational, and which do you wish you'd hired sooner?

Sara: In every venture I’ve built, the foundational hires weren’t the most senior, nor were they the most junior (a common mistake). They were the people who gave me back time and bandwidth.

In my first start-up, that was a Head of Ops who could build systems before I even realised I needed them! In my most recent business, it was a Founders Associate / Chief of Staff, essentially she was the Swiss army knife of the business, who could communicate at all levels, managing anything that came her way.  

The one hire I always wish I’d made earlier? A commercially-minded operator who could focus on growth with me, not after me. It’s tempting as a founder to hold on to sales or partnerships too long, but scaling requires shared ownership of revenue from day one.

Doug: In your experience, what’s the most common hiring mistake HealthTech founders make in those critical early stages?

Sara: Hiring for the CV, not the values.

Too often, I see founders over-index on past roles at big names (corporate or scale up), when what they really need is someone who can thrive in ambiguity, roll up their sleeves, and help you test, break, and rebuild.

HealthTech founders also sometimes confuse domain expertise with executional capability. Just because someone understands the space doesn’t mean they can build within it.

Doug: What specific traits or mindsets do you look for in early-stage hires that indicate they’ll thrive through uncertainty and scale?

Sara: I look for signs of personal resilience.

Have they built from scratch? Have they stuck it out when things got tough? Do they ask questions that show they’re excited about the journey, not just the job title?

Adaptability, curiosity, and a bias for action always top the list. But it’s also about emotional intelligence, how they navigate feedback, how they build relationships, how they handle not having all the answers, how they welcome diversity of thought and experiences in others around them, how they manage conflict…it’s quite a long list. But it is really important.

In early-stage ventures, mindset is the skillset.

Doug: How do you balance hiring for cultural fit vs. raw capability when you're still shaping the culture yourself?

Sara: Culture is less about ‘fit’ and more about formation in the early days.

I focus on hiring people who are values-aligned, who show care, have integrity, and ambition in how they show up. Capability matters, of course. Too inexperienced, and you often create more of an issue in terms of demand on your time. But I’ve learned that someone with strong values and a growth mindset can often outpace someone with a perfect CV but rigid habits.

Early hires become culture carriers. So I don’t ask, “Do they fit in?” I ask, “Will they help us become who we want to be?”

Doug: For other founders working with executive recruiters at the seed or Series A stage, what should they be asking or expecting from us to help build a resilient team?

Sara: Treat your recruiter like a strategic partner, not a service provider.

The best executive search partners challenge your thinking. They help you clarify what the role really needs, not just what’s on the spec. They’ll ask hard questions about team dynamics, founder blind spots, and what success looks like one year in.

Founders should ask for more than CVs. Ask for market insight. Ask for signals they look for in resilient candidates. Ask where your expectations might be misaligned with the market.
Because in the early stages, you’re shaping the entire trajectory of your company, and getting the hire right, first time is crucial.

This is a series of 3 interviews with Sara to help owners and entrepreneurs to build high performing teams. Find interview two here and interview three here.

If you're interested in working with Sara, contact her via email today.

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