Max Hansen
Founder. Operator. Builder of Leaders.
I help founders and executive teams stop making expensive leadership mistakes by getting brutally clear on what great leadership actually looks like – before they hire, promote, or scale.
Max Hansen
Founder. Operator. Builder of Leaders.
I help founders and executive teams stop making expensive leadership mistakes by getting brutally clear on what great leadership actually looks like – before they hire, promote, or scale.
- Founder of Y Scouts
- Creator of Role Visioning
- Author of Hiring on Purpose
About Max
I’ve spent more than two decades inside broken hiring systems – watching smart companies hire the wrong leaders, burn time and trust, and then repeat the same mistakes with better-looking resumes.
After founding and exiting multiple companies, I realized the real problem wasn’t talent. It was clarity.
So I built a different approach – one that starts with purpose, defines success outcomes upfront, and removes the “interview theater” that rewards confidence over competence.
Today, my work sits at the intersection of:
- Leadership decision-making
- Executive hiring
- Culture, performance, and accountability
And everything I build is designed to answer one question:
“What does success actually look like in this role – before we bet the company on it?”
What I’m Building
I help founders and executive teams stop making expensive leadership mistakes by getting brutally clear on what great leadership actually looks like – before they hire, promote, or scale.
Y Scouts Retained Recruiting
A purpose-driven executive search firm helping $25M–$500M companies hire leaders who actually fit – culturally and operationally.
At Y Scouts, we believe that true leadership goes beyond titles and resumes. It’s about purpose, values, and the impact leaders have on the people and companies they serve.
Born from the realization that traditional recruiting wasn’t solving the deeper problem of alignment, Y Scouts was founded to connect purpose-driven organizations with leaders who are not just talented but also aligned with their mission.
We don’t push resumes.
We design success outcomes, then covertly go find the human capable of delivering them.
Role Visioning
A simple tool that helps you define success before you hire.
RoleVisioning guides you – and all your stakeholders – through a simple, AI-powered process that defines role success and measurable outcomes up front... all in 10 minutes or less.
Most hiring failures start before the first interview. This fixes that.
Role Visioning is the fastest way to fill your executive role with the right hire. Guaranteed.
Prevail Contingent Recruiting
A contingent recruitment company focused on helping companies hire top-performing managers and individual contributors — the people who execute the vision leaders create.
Leaving behind outdated agency models, Prevail Recruiting combines AI automation, elite pay, and a four-day workweek— redefining industry success.
Because leadership stamina matters as much as strategy.
Hiring on Purpose
Most hiring advice teaches you how to evaluate candidates.
This gives you proven, actionable steps to hire leaders who aren’t just highly qualified, but fully aligned with your company’s mission, vision, values, and culture
Learn:
- Why resumes lie and interviews mislead
- How to define leadership success before hiring
- The three traits that consistently predict executive performance
- A repeatable framework for hiring without regret
If you’ve ever said “We hired someone who looked perfect on paper” – and it didn’t work – this book is for you.
Hiring on Purpose
Most hiring advice teaches you how to evaluate candidates.
This gives you proven, actionable steps to hire leaders who aren’t just highly qualified, but fully aligned with your company’s mission, vision, values, and culture
Learn:
- Why resumes lie and interviews mislead
- How to define leadership success before hiring
- The three traits that consistently predict executive performance
- A repeatable framework for hiring without regret
If you’ve ever said “We hired someone who looked perfect on paper” – and it didn’t work – this book is for you.
