Shannan Farmer

About Shannan Farmer

I help founders scale teams into the hundreds without lowering the hiring bar.I lead recruiting and talent functions end to end, partnering directly with CEOs and executive teams on hiring strategy, headcount planning, and prioritization as companies grow. I build recruiting engines that scale, set and enforce hiring standards, and bring clarity and structure to hiring when growth starts to outpace process.I have scaled organizations from early stage through hundreds of employees, built and led recruiting teams, and owned hiring decisions across Engineering, Product, GTM, Customer, and G and A. I am often brought in when hiring feels chaotic and needs clear ownership, discipline, and quality control.I am direct, pragmatic, and focused on hiring quality. My goal is simple. Build teams that last and help founders grow without creating future problems in their org.

Experience

1. Lead Talent Partner

   Freshpaint

   May 2025 — Present

   Own and lead the recruiting function end to end, partnering directly with the CEO and executive team to drive hiring strategy, prioritization, and growth planning- Scaled company headcount from ~30 to ~150 employees, enabling rapid expansion across Engineering, Product, GTM, Customer, and G&A teams- Built Freshpaint’s recruiting engine from the ground up, establishing hiring processes, interview architecture, and closing strategy that scaled with the business- Led multi-year headcount planning in partnership with Finance and leadership, translating ARR goals into hiring roadmaps, sequencing, and capacity models- Defined and owned compensation frameworks and offer strategy using market data, ensuring competitive hiring while maintaining budget discipline- Built, managed, and scaled a recruiting team of up to 3 direct reports, developing recruiters who could independently run full-cycle, high-bar hiring- Serve as final hiring bar owner, personally calibrating senior, technical, and first-manager hires to ensure quality at scale- Implemented and owned Ashby ATS end-to-end, using data and reporting to inform hiring decisions and executive visibility- Act as de facto Head of Talent in the absence of People infrastructure, advising leadership on org design, hiring tradeoffs, and long-term recruiting scalability.

Education

• Kennesaw State University

  Bachelor of Fine Arts - BFA