On this episode of Scouting For Growth, Sabine VdL sits down with Anneli Scopazzi, CEO and Founder of Boulevard Recruiting, to explore how hiring is changing in the AI era — and why, even with automation everywhere, talent still comes down to one thing: people, trust, and timing. Anneli brings rare perspective: she’s scaled inside some of the most iconic fast-growth environments (including Palantir and Figma) and now supports early-stage startups as they build the teams that will determine whether they scale… or stall. Recruiting is changing fast — and startups feel it first Boulevard Recruiting works hands-on with early-stage ventures, increasingly at Series A, staying close to founders and acting as the “first recruiters on the ground.” The goal isn’t just filling roles — it’s building foundations that last. As startups scale and bring internal talent teams in-house, Anneli’s approach evolves into partnership mode: working closely with founders and internal recruiters to keep hiring aligned with business momentum. Remote work wasn’t a trend — it was the thesis Anneli founded Boulevard in late 2019 with a fiercely remote-first philosophy — before remote became mainstream. The name “Boulevard” was intentionally chosen to reflect a global, flexible way of working. Then COVID hit… and the world caught up. What began as a contrarian operating model became the standard, and Anneli’s experience offered an edge: she didn’t have to learn remote work under pressure — she built the company for it from day one. AI in recruiting: helpful, but not the hero (yet) Anneli is candid about AI’s impact on recruiting. When ChatGPT launched, it briefly felt like an extinction-level event — but in tech, she knew the acceleration had been building for years. Her mindset was simple: adopt early, learn fast, and don’t be the company that gets left behind. But here’s the twist: she hasn’t seen recruiting AI fully replace what matters most. Some tools increase efficiency — especially when it comes to sorting through a flood of inbound applications — but the heart of recruiting is still relationship-driven. And relationships are notoriously hard to automate. AI can help narrow the list. Humans still make the right match. Upskilling, reskilling, and the “do more than you’re qualified for” advantage One of the most compelling themes in this episode is growth — personal and professional. Anneli shares that early-stage startups offer something rare: the chance to do more than your job title suggests, more than you’re “qualified” for on paper — and to grow at speed. She also speaks openly about self-taught learning: liberating, rewarding… and sometimes painful. But in today’s market, where roles shift fast and AI changes the skills landscape constantly, that ability to learn is becoming the real differentiator. Why this episode matters For founders, this episode is a reminder that scaling with AI still requires hiring the right humans — especially early. For enterprise leaders, it’s proof that even as technology transforms workflows, hiring remains one of the highest-leverage decisions a company makes. Because in the AI era, tools will change. But the companies that win will still be the ones who know how to build teams people actually want to be part of.