Amy Volas

I help SaaS startups hire executive Sales and CS leaders without the cringe ⋆ Personally closed $100MM+ ⋆ 2 Exits ⋆ LP ⋆ Strategic Advisor ⋆ Speaker ⋆ Writing My First Book

I don’t believe in guesswork hiring. And I don’t do transactional anything.

I work with founders, CEOs, and investors who are tired of wasting time, money, and trust on Sales and CS executive hires that don’t stick... or worse, do damage.

Because here's the thing:

A bad executive hire isn’t just a hiccup.
It’s a domino effect that fractures teams, tanks morale, stalls growth, and erodes boardroom credibility.

I’ve seen it all:

▸ CEOs and founders covering for a Sales leader who’s lost the room
▸ Execs spending more time firefighting than scaling
▸ Boards questioning if you can hire while the burn rate screams you can't
▸ Reacting to noise, chasing titles, and hiring before knowing what you’re actually solving for
▸ Watching progress stall, targets slip, and the trust in your decision-making fade

Sound familiar? You’re not alone. 
And, there’s a better way.

I'm Amy Volas, founder of Avenue Talent Partners (ATP).

Since 2015, I’ve helped tech founders and CEOs get executive GTM hiring right the first time, without the fluff, without the guesswork, and without the cleanup later.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗧𝗣:

𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵

Intentional, high-impact GTM hires that drive growth while sidestepping expensive missteps. 

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗦™ 𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝗧𝗣

When a search isn’t needed, but clarity is. Our proven hiring system that structures hiring for scale, eliminates guesswork, and arms you with the clarity, data, and process your board expects.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲? 20%
𝗔𝗧𝗣 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀? 80%+ and a 98% interview-to-hire success rate

Because it’s not just about who you hire.
It’s about why the hire is happening, how the process is run, and whether it fuels the kind of team that scales, not stalls.

I’m not for everyone, and that’s okay.
The founders, CEOs, and investors who get the best results with me:

▸ Prioritize hiring as a core strategy
▸ Embrace real, open communication
▸ Value people over transactions
▸ Think beyond the next quarter
▸ Know asking for help is a strength, not a weakness

Hiring is hard.
It’s supposed to be.

But it’s also the highest-leverage move you’ll ever make.

Let’s make people strategy your secret weapon.

We partner with focused executives who know the best products don’t always win, but the best teams do.

Ready to build one? So are we.

Founder & CEO

Great executives aren't hired on guesswork.

And starting + scaling a business is no joke.

The odds are against you and the people you hire to grow your business can make or break your ability to defy those odds.

The dynamic world of sales in early- stage startups is complex, busy, and ever-changing.

Trying to uncover, engage, and hire the cream of the crop is challenging when your plate is already full and the average tenure is 19 months for a VP of Sales.

That's why Avenue Talent Partners was built…

We help startups hire the right executive revenue leaders to defy the turnover odds to truly grow and scale.

The best part? We do it without the cringe!

With a collective sales experience of 40+ years and $100MM+ in deals closed, ATP's team knows what it takes to win at startup sales.

We're the recruiting firm you should be working with if you...

▹ Want to defy the odds of hiring the right sales leader who will stick around for more than 19 months

▹ Want to hire a high-growth sales leader who will build/lead a team to drive growth for the long haul

▹ Want a recruiting partner who speaks the sales language fluently, knows how to vet the right person for your stage of business, and has the experience to back it up

▹ Want a recruiting partner who truly cares about your success, takes the time to understand what you need, and knows exactly how to help

▹ Want a recruiting partner that celebrates candidate experience while representing your brand well throughout the recruiting process regardless of the outcome

The depth and breadth of our sales and startup experience coupled with our second to none people-centric, process-driven approach is here to help you get sales hiring right the first time to avoid the painful effects of a mishire.

Nothing you do is more important than finding and hiring the right people; we work tirelessly to help you do just that.

We Design & Build Your Hardware

We design & manufacture
Industrial, medical, & consumer electronics
Small enough to fit in an oven

HQ in San Diego, CA. Manufacturing at our wholly-owned factories in Tijuana, Mexico and Dongguan, China.

Connor Bush

My microwave broke today. While shopping for a replacement, I realized it’s a perfect metaphor for the mistake many hardware teams make when vetting manufacturing partners.

Think about it:

The Baseline: It’s a given that a microwave must heat food. If it doesn't, it’s not a microwave. Similarly, a CM must be able to build your device. If they can’t meet the technical floor, they aren't in the conversation.

The Retail Experience: I looked at Walmart, Best Buy, Lowe's, Home Depot, and Amazon. The prices are all within 10-20%. Since the product and price are similar, I’m actually choosing based on the "parking lot" experience...

Is it easy to get to? What is the return policy? Is the customer service helpful when things go wrong? What else is in the neighborhood? Do I like to shop there? What other things are on my list? Do I have a rewards account? 

Here is where most founders get it wrong.

With a microwave, you buy it, take it home, and hopefully never talk to the retailer again. It’s a transaction.

A CM relationship is a marriage.

If you are just "spray and pray" quoting based on the lowest number, you are ignoring the parts of the equation that actually determine if your program succeeds:

The "Parking Lot": How is their logistics agility? Is it a nightmare to get materials in and out?

Customer Service: When a line stops, or a component goes EOL, do they answer the phone, or are you just a ticket number?

RMA & Warranty: How do they handle it when things go wrong? Because in hardware, they will.

Cultural Alignment: Do they actually care about your product, or are you just "filling a gap" in their capacity?

If you're picking a partner solely on the "heating food" part and the sticker price, you’re missing 80% of the value.

In a transaction, the parking lot is a convenience. In a CM partnership, the "parking lot" is your lifeline.

Don't just buy a microwave. Find a partner you actually want to be in the kitchen with for the next five years.

Connor Bush 🔋🖥📟

We Manufacture Your Hardware at Scale (USA, Mexico, & China) | Ecosystem, Pipeline & Partner Strategy

It’s CNY. Much of the supply chain is paused.

Which makes this your quarterly reminder:

If you want to ship in 2026, you should already be in motion.

Because it’s not just quoting and tooling.

It’s:

EVT / DVT / PVT.
Certifications.
Longest lead components.
Line setup.
Test fixtures. 
Packaging. 
Shipping. 
Tariffs. 

And then the things you didn’t know you forgot.

This isn’t urgency.

It’s math.

Physics and lead times remain undefeated.

Last weekend I decided to build a storage rack system for the garage.

Drew up the plans.
Bought the lumber.
Cheaper than buying one.
Fun Saturday morning project for the kids and me.

It was step one in a master plan:
* Clear the yard > clear the garage > reorganize the house.

Everything staged. Ready to build.

Five minutes in… I realize my circular saw doesn’t have enough depth for the lumber. 

Facepalm.

Now it’s been a week.
I’m researching new saws.
Spending more than planned.
And the entire project is off schedule because of one 'tooling' oversight.

Too many parallels to hardware manufacturing.
You can have 99% of the components in place…
Missing one “insignificant” capacitor?
Whole build stops.

Tooling costs money.
Tooling takes time.
Test as you go.
Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.
I should have known better.

The internet makes relationships possible. Face time makes them real. 

Grateful for the network this platform enables. Even more grateful for the chance to sit across the table from smart, kind, and thoughtful people. 

Feels like we're entering a season where in-person connection is back to where it belongs.... As the default ❤️ 🚀 🤝 

Massive thanks to Mesh Systems Eva Jackson Dan Morrow Brad Natelborg for hosting.

Above and beyond as always.

Sales & Partnerships Leader at Mesh Systems ⚡️

AHR Expo continues to be one of the most valuable industry gatherings for Mesh Systems in the year.

This year built on the momentum from prior AHR events, allowing us to deepen relationships that started in the past and make several new connections that will serve us well into 2026 and beyond. The quality of conversations—across product, engineering, and digital leadership—was consistently high, both on the show floor and outside of it.

A few highlights from the week:
✅ Hosted a "Product Leadership Dinner" with our partner Exein at Bazaar Meat by José Andrés/, with product leaders across the industry (highlight of the week!)
✅ Events like AHR reinforce something we strongly believe: "in-person always wins", and relationships built face to face compound over time.
✅ Felt lucky to be on the road with Eva Jackson and Brad Natelborg!

Now on to the next week... TEXAS, here we come!

Industrial Design for Audio Products | Headphones • Speakers • Earbuds • Microphones | Founder at dip.studio | Helping Brands Build Better Sound Devices

A client came to us with a product built from off-the-shelf parts: ~$500 cost, sold for ~$5,000. 

Great margins… but the product felt industrial, offered limited customization, and had numerous usability issues.

With an estimated 2,000 units/year, we redesigned it for scale.

What changed:
Unit cost: $500 → $72
Tooling (design + manufacturing investment): $40,000 one-time
Savings per unit: $428

The business impact:
Annual savings: $428 × 2,000 = $856,000
Year 1 ROI: ($856,000 − $40,000) ÷ $40,000 = 2,040%
Payback period: $40,000 ÷ $856,000 ≈ 17 days

Design isn’t an expense. It’s a return generator.

Shoutout to the homie Mike Klein for the launch of Lens Lizard!

If you drive a vehicle, this product is for you!

Open article: Lens Lizard: A remote controlled backup camera cleaner by Mike Klein — Kickstarter by kickstarter.com

Lens Lizard: A remote controlled backup camera cleaner by Mike Klein — Kickstarter

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