XPERTDIRECT
XpertDirect is the direct hiring platform for urgent technical roles in Europe. Brief in, interest-validated specialist out, in hours, not weeks. 5% success fee. No middle layer. Any engagement type.
THE QUADRANT NO INCUMBENT OCCUPIES
Every incumbent in this category is locked into one of the three other squares by the economics of their own model. None can match instant AI matching, direct buyer-to-specialist interaction, and a 5% success fee inside one platform. The empty quadrant is where XpertDirect was built.
Direct to specialist · Fast (instant matching, shortlist in 24–48h)
XpertDirect — instant AI matching, 5% success fee. The uncontested square.
Direct to specialist · Slow (>1 week)
Freelance marketplaces — direct but slow, generalist, no contractual SLA.
Middle-layered · Fast (instant matching, shortlist in 24–48h)
Managed talent networks — fast but layered, 25–40% take rate.
Middle-layered · Slow (>1 week)
Recruitment agencies and outsourcing platforms — slow and layered. The default being displaced.
BRIEF IN. SPECIALIST OUT.
Upload a JD, chat with Xpert AI, or book a call. Create a free account to see matches — Xpert AI extracts the role, must-have skills and deadline as you go.
Within 32 hours median, you receive specialists who have already confirmed interest, availability, and rate. No cold profiles.
You speak with specialists directly. No account manager in the middle. We stay out of the conversation unless you ask us in.
On signed engagement, a 5% success fee is invoiced. Any engagement type: contract, fixed-term, permanent. Twelve-month replacement guarantee.
Specialists placed into teams across European fintech, climate tech and healthtech.
Built by John Ryan. Thirty-two years of European technical hiring relationships. Bootstrap-disciplined since day one.
AUDITED, NOT ASSERTED
Every operational claim on this site carries a methodology PDF. The numbers below are refreshed on a published cadence. The audit log records every change.
FOR SPECIALISTS
XpertDirect is operated end-to-end by John Ryan. Upload your CV — Xpert AI fills in anything missing.
THREE COHORTS. THREE SECTORS. THE SAME RESULT.
Fintech · Berlin · Q1 2026
Time-to-shortlist: 28 hours · Time-to-offer: 9 days · Time-to-start: ~5 weeks
“The shortlist arrived inside thirty hours and every candidate was operating at the level the brief described.”Read the full case study →
Marketplace · Amsterdam · Q1 2026
Time-to-shortlist: 19 hours · Time-to-start: 12 days · Repeat: yes
“We replaced a six-month internal hiring loop with a specialist team that was operational in under two weeks.”Read the full case study →
AI-native · London · Q2 2026
Time-to-shortlist: 22 hours · Time-to-offer: 11 days · Time-to-start: ~1 month
“The specialists brought operators, not CVs. That is what the category had been missing.”Read the full case study →
WHAT WE PUT IN WRITING
If we do not return five interest-validated specialists within 48 hours of a qualified brief, the success fee on the resulting placement is waived in full. The clause is contractual, the audit log is public.
Read the SLA →We use AI to triage briefs and rank prior signals — never to write candidate prose or fabricate references. The full methodology, model provider, retention policy and human-in-the-loop checkpoints are published.
Read the AI Notice →One fee, fixed in our standard terms. No platform charge, no retainer, no shortlist fee, no add-ons. Invoiced only on signed engagement, with a twelve-month replacement guarantee on every hire.
Read the pricing model →Our ten largest customer relationships are owned by the founder personally — not handed to a junior account manager once the engagement is signed. The founder joins every brief call for these accounts.
Meet the founder →START MATCHING
Drop a job description, work package or project summary. The matching engine parses the document in seconds and surfaces specialists immediately.
Drag a file here or click to browse
PDF, DOCX, plain text, Notion export — up to 5 MB. Parsed in seconds.
Uploaded documents stored on EU infrastructure. Auto-deleted after 30 days unless linked to an account.
Create a free account to see your matches. Your brief stays private; you only pay 5% if you hire. No card, no retainer, no spam.
Chat with Xpert AI. Describe the role in your own words. It asks only the questions that matter, then runs the match.
Conversational. Paste a JD or attach a file. Session-only.
Create a free account to see your matches. Your brief stays private; you only pay 5% if you hire. No card, no retainer, no spam.
For higher-context engagements. Thirty minutes with the founder. Direct, no operator intermediation.
John Ryan personally takes the call.
EIGHT QUESTIONS WE ANSWER BEFORE YOU ASK