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Rebecca Medina and Jeff Phillips built an AI-powered talent marketplace that's disrupting recruitment with transparent pricing, direct negotiation, and same-day PM hires for SMBs.

Rebecca Medina had the network. She had decades of Big Tech experience. She had the credibility. But when she needed project management help on a client engagement as an independent consultant, none of it mattered.

"Even with my network of project managers, I couldn't find the right person fast enough," Rebecca recalls. "And it created a big problem for the company because we weren't able to scale as quickly as we wanted."

That pain point became Talent Cheetah.

Five years later, Rebecca and her co-founder Jeff Phillips have built an AI-powered talent marketplace connecting pre-vetted project managers with SMBs. They've scaled to 300 PMs across 34 US states. They've even partnered with the Project Management Institute. But the metric that matters most: the Bureau of Labor Statistics says it takes 90 days to hire a technical project manager. Talent Cheetah does it in minutes—with same-day hiring possible.

In this episode, Medina and Phillips break down the recruitment model that turns recruiting on its head: transparent pricing that exposes hidden markups, lower take rates than traditional agencies, direct PM-to-company negotiation, and real-time hiring through AI matching.

Their core unlocks: many traditional staffing firms charge companies a significantly higher rate than what PMs actually earn—often without disclosing the difference to either side; cultural fit matters just as much as credentials (project management exists on a broad spectrum — the skills needed vary widely across industries, company sizes, and stages of growth.); and past execution remains the strongest predictor of future performance. Their 25-point vetting process includes one pivotal test: candidates must be able to produce legitimate professional references—if you can't find even one after years in the field, you're not ready for the platform.

In this conversation, they reveal just how much AI is automating routine PM artifacts (like meeting notes, risk logs, and timelines) while increasing the premium on leadership and communication; how their intentional U.S.-based strategy competes on quality and transparency in an industry racing to the bottom on cost; how Talent Cheetah is opening doors for underrepresented groups in project management; and why fractional engagements (such as part-time PM support for short durations) are suddenly viable when traditional agencies can't deliver them well.

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Key Topics Covered

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The pain point origin: Rebecca's consulting crisis when her network couldn't deliver PM talent fast enough

The 90-day problem: Bureau of Labor Statistics average vs. Talent Cheetah's minutes-to-same-day matching

Exposing the hidden markup: traditional agencies bill $x/hour, pay PMs $x/hour, keep $x secret from both parties

No posting fees: free to post unlimited jobs (vs. ZipRecruiter/Indeed/LinkedIn pay-per-post), no sign-up fees for PMs

The 25-point vetting process: professional references, credential validation, and candidates who wait years

The reference test: some applicants can't find anyone to vouch for them after 12-24 months

Four-year minimum: experience requirement (not just title) focused on herding cats and managing projectsUS-based strategy: competing on quality, transparency, and credential familiarity instead of global price competition

PMP vs. experience: why certification proves framework knowledge but not execution capability

Direct negotiation: PMs and companies set rates transparently, eliminating hidden recruiter markups

AI-powered matching: real-time algorithm surfaces top 3 PMs, with 297 more to browse

Cultural fit dynamics: startup PMs vs. Big Tech PMs require different personalitiesExpanding beyond PMs: network architects, developers, product managers using same vetting framework

PMI partnership: hiring bonanzas and visibility programs in San Francisco

White glove service: helping first-time contractors negotiate rates and structure engagements

AI's impact on PMing: automating artifacts while amplifying leadership and communication needs

Fractional engagements: 10-hour/week arrangements that traditional agencies can't serveTransparent pricing model: complete visibility vs. hidden markups, lower take rates than Robert Half/Adecco/Tech Systems

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Chapters:

(01:55) Origin story: Talent Cheetah

(03:16) What makes Talent Cheetah different: Speed as the #1 differentiator, same-day hiring possible

(04:05) US-based strategy: competing on quality and credential familiarity

(06:08) Supporting underrepresented groups: veterans (logistics → PM transitions) and women in tech

(07:33) Serving both sides: job search help for PMs, FAANG-quality talent for clients

(08:43) White glove service: flexible involvement based on needs, negotiation help included

(09:16) How it works: 30-second account creation, under-5-minute posting, real-time AI matching

(10:15) Platform scale: 300 PMs across 34 US states, discipline-specific but industry-agnostic

(11:04) The 25-point vetting process: four-year minimum, references, credentials, interviews

(14:09) PMP certification vs. hands-on experience: gold standard plus practical execution

(16:02) Exposing the hidden markup: how traditional agencies work

(17:08) AI's impact on PM work: automating artifacts, amplifying leadership and communication

(20:40) Expanding beyond PMs: network architects, developers, product managers

(23:02) PMI partnership: 'hiring bonanzas' and visibility programs in SF

(25:12) Ideal clients

(26:47) Transparent pricing model: no posting fees for companies, no sign-up fees for PMs

(27:36) Getting started: talentcheetah.com, instant talent matching

(30:48) Internal messaging and AI matching: top 3 matches with direct communication

(32:00) Where to find them on LinkedIn, YouTube, talentcheetah.com

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Where to Find

Rebecca Medina:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccarm
Website: https://www.talentcheetah.com

Jeff Phillips:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyjphillipspmp
Website: https://www.talentcheetah.com

Talent Cheetah:
X: https://x.com/talentcheetah
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/talentcheetah
Website: https://www.talentcheetah.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@talentcheetah

Where to Find David Phillips:
X: https://x.com/davj
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/davjphillips

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