In this edition of Bright Founders Talk at Temy, we sit down with Marco Verhoeven, CEO and founder of catchHR, a trailblazing company at the intersection of HR and agentic AI. With a strong background in consulting and a passion for technology, Marco shares the journey that led him to launch catchHR directly out of university.

What began as a solution to his own experience of job mismatch has grown into a powerful platform tackling one of the most pressing challenges in recruitment today—finding the right talent efficiently. CatchHR transforms traditional hiring methods by using AI agents to actively source ideal candidates, rather than waiting for them to apply. In our conversation, Marco reflects on how building a strong network played a pivotal role in scaling the company, even when starting from scratch.

He also opens up about the importance of stepping back as a CEO to see the bigger picture and lead with clarity. Through real-world insights and lessons learned, Marco offers valuable advice for entrepreneurs navigating early-stage growth. Join us as we explore how AI is reshaping recruitment and what it takes to lead innovation in a people-first industry.

From Misfit to Matchmaker: How Marco Is Using AI to Fix Hiring for Good

It all started with a mismatch. Marco, now the CEO of catchHR, found himself in a job that just didn’t fit. “I felt like I could do a lot better in another place,” he shared, recalling the frustration of being in the wrong role. That personal experience sparked a fire. Why were companies still relying on luck to find the right talent? Why was hiring such a hit-or-miss game? Determined to flip the script, Marco built catchHR—an AI-powered platform that actively sources ideal candidates, instead of waiting around for the perfect résumé to drop in.

Of course, passion alone doesn't build a company. Marco leaned on his background in consulting, where he’d trained his mind to zoom out and see the bigger picture. That mindset stuck with him as a founder. “As a CEO, you can’t micromanage—you’ve got to make sure everything moves in the right direction,” he explained. His journey wasn’t cushioned by a ready-made network either. Fresh out of university, Marco jumped into startup life without a safety net. But instead of waiting, he hustled—attending every meetup, shaking hands, and building connections from scratch.

Fast forward five years, and catchHR is tackling two of the biggest headaches in recruitment: sorting through mountains of applications, and getting the right people through the door in the first place. Instead of crossing fingers and hoping a dream candidate applies, catchHR takes the proactive route—using agentic AI to scout out top talent and start the conversation first. “You won't have the time to do this yourself,” Marco pointed out, highlighting just how painful and slow the old way really is. His platform is built for speed, fit, and efficiency—because no one should have to feel like a misfit at work.

Why Hiring Based on CVs Is Broken—And How Marco’s AI Fixes It

Marco’s view on the future of recruiting is crystal clear: stop obsessing over résumés. At catchHR, the focus isn’t just on what candidates can do—it’s about what they want to do. And that shift makes all the difference. “Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you want to,” Marco said. That’s the kind of thinking that powers their in-house algorithm, designed not only to assess skills but to understand individual motivations. In a market flooded with tools that only scan for keywords or degrees, catchHR’s tech is like a recruiter with intuition—only faster.

When a company signs up, the experience is hands-on from the start. There’s no months-long setup or confusing integrations. Marco and his team begin with a few key roles that are hard to fill, spin up their AI agents in minutes, and results start rolling in within hours. Yep—hours, not days or weeks. Clients get a real feel for the AI’s capabilities almost instantly, while catchHR ensures alignment through regular check-ins during those crucial early weeks. It’s fast, it’s flexible, and it’s built around what you actually need—not some one-size-fits-all system.

Funny enough, the market threw Marco a curveball in the early days. He built catchHR to filter candidates in crowded pipelines, only to discover many companies didn’t have enough applicants in the first place. “That might be a great tool, but we can't use it because only three people apply,” one HR lead told him. That moment flipped the roadmap—Marco realized the real value was in reaching out to potential candidates, not just filtering the ones who applied. That’s how their agentic AI evolved: from a backend filter into an outbound recruiter that actively seeks out the best-fit talent before they even hit “Apply.”

Why Trusting Your Gut Isn’t Enough: Marco Breaks Down the Biggest Myths in HR Tech

Marco has learned one big truth about HR teams: they love numbers, even when those numbers don’t tell the whole story. Most companies judge success by how many applications they receive—but Marco sees it differently. With access to massive datasets and thousands of real hiring journeys, catchHR can spot patterns small companies simply can’t uncover on their own. “Small teams can finally learn from big data,” he explained, highlighting how their platform turns scattered hiring signals into clear insights. For him, it's not about chasing bigger piles of CVs—it’s about understanding what actually leads to long-term, happy hires.

One of the biggest ongoing myths he sees? The belief that humans make better first decisions than technology. Marco doesn’t buy it. Bias creeps in long before anyone realizes it—sometimes before a recruiter even reads the first line of a CV. He sees tech as a tool that clears away the noise so people can make smarter, more human decisions later in the process. The early stage of hiring, he argues, is precisely where algorithms shine. Gut feelings still have a place—but not when someone’s entire future is judged by a two-page résumé and a split-second impression.

And then there’s the AI “arms race.” Candidates are already using AI to reach out to way more companies than before, and Marco knows what’s coming: a flood of applications, rising pressure on teams, and processes that will break if they stay old-school. But he isn’t worried—he’s excited. The entire labor market, he says, is bursting with inefficiencies: people stuck in the wrong jobs, unhappy teams, wasted talent. If AI can help even a fraction of those people find the right place, the impact is massive. Competition? He welcomes it. As he put it, “Competition is very good—especially in tech.” Because for Marco, the goal isn’t to dominate the industry. It’s to fix how the world works.

Redefining Work: Marco’s Bold Vision for a Future Without Boundaries

For Marco, the future of work isn’t just about automation or flashy tech—it’s about freedom. Freedom for people to love what they do, switch roles seamlessly, and find their place in a constantly shifting labor landscape. He imagines a world where job changes happen as naturally as swiping to the next track on your playlist. "People will switch jobs more often—maybe it's more project-based," he predicts. In this new world, AI isn’t just another tool. It’s the infrastructure powering a more fluid, flexible, and human work environment. Think less rigid job titles, more dynamic contributions—maybe even a future where traditional companies aren’t the default.

But with big ideas come big responsibilities. In HR, where trust and privacy are non-negotiable, Marco’s team takes no shortcuts. He jokes that being based in Germany means compliance is in their DNA—but he’s not really joking. From day one, they’ve involved external lawyers to ensure GDPR readiness, long before the first employee joined. "We build trust by launching only when it’s proven," he explains. The balance between innovation and responsibility isn’t easy, especially when you’re racing to build the future—but for Marco, long-term relationships always beat quick wins.

Looking ahead, he sees catchHR as more than just a platform—it’s a catalyst for a smarter, fairer job market. One that finally lets go of outdated hiring systems and replaces them with precision, personalization, and purpose. If there’s one thing he could change overnight? The centuries-old bias baked into hiring. “Being sorted out by someone who doesn’t even know you—that’s just unfair,” Marco says. His advice for future founders is simple but powerful: don’t wait. Talk to your market early, test your ideas, and stop guarding them like treasure. “Ideas are everywhere—it’s the execution that matters.” And that, in a nutshell, is exactly how Marco’s building a future where people—not paperwork—drive the workplace.