We were lucky to catch up with Matt Schalsey recently and have shared our conversation below.
Matt, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I found my purpose at the intersection of pain and potential.
For years, I was chasing success by traditional standards—titles, revenue, recognition—but the further I got, the more I realized those milestones felt empty without meaning. What finally clicked wasn’t a lightbulb moment. It was a series of uncomfortable truths: burnout in corporate, seeing broken systems in hiring and youth development, and the recurring feeling that I could build something better—not just for myself, but for others.
My purpose showed up in two places:
1. Perfect Hire – when I realized recruiters and candidates were stuck in outdated systems that didn’t respect their time or potential. I knew we needed an enablement-first, human-centric, and AI-powered way to hire. That’s why we built an ARM, not just another ATS.
2. Nebraska Elite Hockey – when I saw young athletes who had skill but no guidance, no resources, and no community. I wanted to build something that gave back to kids what I wish I had: character development, mentorship, and a path from locker room to life success.
Purpose, to me, isn’t a single mission—it’s a multiplication of impact. It’s waking up knowing you’re building something that outlives you, and being proud of the way you’re doing it.
I found my purpose when I stopped asking “What’s next?”
And started asking “Who needs this?”
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Hi, I’m Matt Schalsey — founder and CEO of Perfect Hire.
We’re building the next generation of recruiting technology with a simple but powerful belief: recruiting should be more like relationship-building, not resume-collecting.
That’s why we built the Applicant Relationship Manager (ARM) — a platform designed to help modern recruiting teams move faster, stay organized, and connect with the right talent more effectively. Think CRM meets ATS, with workflows that mirror the best of sales and enablement.
Instead of managing candidates in spreadsheets or outdated legacy tools, Perfect Hire helps recruiters:
• Track and nurture talent like a sales pipeline
• Customize interview plans across roles and teams
• Stay aligned with hiring managers in real time
• Focus on relationships over admin
What’s exciting right now?
We’re live, in use, and onboarding early customers who want a more streamlined, human-first approach to hiring. As we grow, we’re also working closely with our design partners to shape the future of recruiting—because this isn’t about replacing recruiters, it’s about arming them.
Perfect Hire isn’t an ATS replacement. It’s a smarter way to recruit, built for how great teams actually work.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Looking back, three skills have made the biggest impact on my growth as a founder:
1. Systems Thinking
Success didn’t come from fixing isolated problems—it came from seeing the whole system. Whether it was broken hiring workflows or poor candidate experiences, understanding how all the pieces connect allowed me to build scalable solutions. For founders just starting out: zoom out. Study how systems behave and where value leaks occur. That’s where opportunity lives.
2. Psychology-Backed Communication
Every pitch, product, and interaction relies on your ability to communicate with clarity and intent. Studying human behavior—how people decide, what they trust, how emotion plays into decision-making—helped me connect better with investors, customers, and my team. My advice? Learn how people think before you try to sell them anything.
3. Resilient Execution
Ideas are cheap. The real progress came when I kept moving—even during uncertainty. Building Perfect Hire required constant iteration, rejection, and adjustment. What kept us going was the discipline to execute when it wasn’t easy. Founders early in the journey should focus less on perfection and more on momentum.
If you can develop these three muscles—systems thinking, behavioral communication, and disciplined execution—you won’t just build a company. You’ll build one that lasts.
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
At Perfect Hire, our ideal client isn’t just trying to fill roles fast — they’re trying to build something that lasts.
We work best with companies that:
• Think strategically about hiring
They don’t see recruiting as a reactive function. They treat it like pipeline management — just like sales. They want visibility, alignment, and a system to scale.
• Are frustrated with legacy ATS tools
They’re tired of systems that are either bloated or overly basic. They want something modern, intuitive, and built for actual recruiting workflows — not HR compliance first.
• Believe in enablement over automation
They’re not looking to fully outsource their hiring to AI. They want to augment their team with smarter tools, not replace the human element.
• Are growing, changing, or rebuilding
Whether they’re scaling fast, entering new markets, or turning over their team, they know their hiring infrastructure needs to evolve with them — and they’re ready to invest in that evolution.
• Value collaboration between recruiters, hiring managers, and leadership
Our platform thrives in companies where recruiting is a team sport. If you’re trying to get everyone on the same page — from headcount planning to offer stage — we’re your system.
We’re especially well-suited for startups, mid-market teams, or multi-location operators who have outgrown their spreadsheets, hate clunky ATS tools, and want to run recruiting with the same rigor as revenue.
Perfect Hire isn’t for everyone.
It’s for teams that want hiring to be a competitive advantage — not just a checkbox.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theperfecthire.co
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/the.perfect.hire
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-schalsey
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
