# Season 9 | Ep13 Pete Watson: 22 years as a solo Rec2Rec in Australia (and why he'd never do it again)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-rag-podcast-recruitment-agency-growth-podcast-1158173/season-9-ep13-pete-watson-22-years-as-a-solo-rec2rec-in-australia-and-why-he-d-never-do-it-again
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-rag-podcast-recruitment-agency-growth-podcast-1158173/season-9-ep13-pete-watson-22-years-as-a-solo-rec2rec-in-australia-and-why-he-d-never-do-it-again.md
Podcast: [The RAG Podcast - Recruitment Agency Growth Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-rag-podcast-recruitment-agency-growth-podcast-1158173)
Published: 2026-01-14T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://hoxomedia.com
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/eb826abf-88db-410e-b4c6-751f8f6e636e.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-rag-podcast-recruitment-agency-growth-podcast-1158173/episodes/season-9-ep13-pete-watson-22-years-as-a-solo-rec2rec-in-australia-and-why-he-d-never-do-it-again
Duration seconds: 4203

## Resource

Pete Watson: 22 years as a solo Rec2Rec in Australia (and why he'd never do it again) Pete Watson is the longest-serving boots-on-the-ground Rec2Rec in Australia. 22 years running Mint R2R. Thousands of placements. A recognisable name across the entire Australian recruitment market. But 18 months ago, he was at the gym when he asked himself one question: "Would I do it all again?" His answer was immediate: "A fast no." Not because he failed. But because of what success actually cost him. "Even though people look at 22 years as a business owner and go 'that's amazing, congratulations' - it's been brutal. It's been lonely. It's been isolating. It has not been good for mental health." So that afternoon, he knocked up a logo on Canva and launched Recruitment United. Within a week, 70 agency owners joined a WhatsApp group. Within four months, 500. Today, there are 330 subscribing members accessing weekly training, mate rates discounts, and a proper community of peers. This week on The RAG Podcast, Pete tells the full story. We cover: Why 22 years as a solo Rec2Rec nearly broke him mentally The gym moment that changed everything How he built a 500-member community in four months with zero plan Why the majority of his members have no intention of scaling The rise of lifestyle businesses over exit strategies Navigating divorce, becoming a stepdad, and buying back his family home 13 years alcohol-free and why he finally started talking about it This isn't about building an empire. It's about a founder who realised that isolated recruitment success was killing him—and built something to solve that for himself and others! If you've ever felt lonely as a solo founder, or wondered whether there's another way to build, this episode is for you. _______________________________________…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-rag-podcast-recruitment-agency-growth-podcast-1158173/episodes/season-9-ep13-pete-watson-22-years-as-a-solo-rec2rec-in-australia-and-why-he-d-never-do-it-again/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-rag-podcast-recruitment-agency-growth-podcast-1158173/season-9-ep13-pete-watson-22-years-as-a-solo-rec2rec-in-australia-and-why-he-d-never-do-it-again.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.