People Infrastructure

Building a People Function from Scratch at Series A

Designing the HR, ops and culture backbone for a 40-person gene therapy startup post-raise.

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+49

eNPS improvement

Months to permanent Head of People

Team members supported

The Challenge

What needed to change.

A gene therapy startup had just closed a Series A and tripled headcount in 9 months. There was no Head of People, no handbook, no performance framework — and culture was starting to crack under the growth.

Our Approach

How we delivered.

Embedded a fractional Head of People for the first 90 days to stabilise operations

Built core policies, contracts and a values-led employee handbook from the ground up

Designed a lightweight performance and progression framework calibrated for a 40-person org

Ran a culture diagnostic and rebuilt onboarding around the company's scientific mission

Recruited a permanent Head of People and transitioned the function within 6 months

The Result

What success looks like.

A fully operational people function, a permanent leader in seat, and an employee NPS that climbed from 22 to 71 in under a year.

+49

eNPS improvement

Months to permanent Head of People

Team members supported

"They didn't just hire a Head of People — they built the entire function so that person could succeed from day one."

— Co-founder, Gene Therapy Startup

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