# HiWire

> HiWire is a Silicon Valley advisory firm that helps early-stage startups offload three of the most time-consuming jobs a founder faces: recruiting senior talent, building investor-ready business and product plans, and raising money. Founded by Stanford-trained engineer and longtime recruiter Web Augustine, HiWire offers retained executive search for Director, VP and CEO roles at entrepreneur-friendly fees, contract sourcing, a rapid-turnaround program called SearchXeleration, and hands-on fundraising guidance including introductions to VCs and angel investors.

- **Founded:** 2006
- **Headquarters:** Menlo Park, California, United States
- **Founders:** Web Augustine (Founder & CEO)
- **Team size:** Boutique - effectively a solo operator (Web Augustine), per LinkedIn company size of 1
- **Products:** Retained Executive Search, Contract Recruiting & Sourcing, SearchXeleration, Business & Product Planning, Fundraising Support
- **Notable:** Founded HiWire in 2006 specifically to serve early-stage companies underserved by big search firms, then relaunched it in 2015 with a broader services lineup., Built a one-person practice spanning recruiting, business planning, and fundraising for startups., Founder's recruiting career includes sourcing and search work tied to Facebook, eBay, and Exabeam.

## Products & services

- **Retained Executive Search** — High-quality retained search for Director, VP and CEO-level positions at early-stage companies, offered at entrepreneur-friendly fees and terms.
- **Contract Recruiting & Sourcing** — Flexible contract recruiting and sourcing relationships for startups and somewhat larger companies that need extra hiring capacity.
- **SearchXeleration** — A rapid-start program that delivers names, profiles and contact information for roughly 25 potential candidates within three days to jump-start a new search - whether run in-house or by an external recruiter.
- **Business & Product Planning** — Help producing investor-ready deliverables - business plans, product plans, financial forecasts, market analysis, and pitch presentations - in preparation for fundraising.
- **Fundraising Support** — Mentoring and consultation before, during and after a raise; warm introductions to appropriate VCs, angel investors and potential acquirers; due-diligence assistance; and term-sheet review for Pre-Seed, Seed and Series A rounds.
- **Board & Advisor Search** — Search support for building boards of directors and boards of advisors for early-stage companies.

## Achievements

- Founded HiWire in 2006 specifically to serve early-stage companies underserved by big search firms, then relaunched it in 2015 with a broader services lineup.
- Built a one-person practice spanning recruiting, business planning, and fundraising for startups.
- Founder's recruiting career includes sourcing and search work tied to Facebook, eBay, and Exabeam.

## Latest updates

- **2015-01** — Web Augustine relaunched HiWire to add a wider range of recruiting/sourcing services plus business/product planning and fundraising support for startups.

## Links

- Website: https://www.hiwire.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hiwire

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/hiwire
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-14