At Dex, we deeply believe in empowering individuals to do meaningful work, connecting them with opportunities that match their ambitions and values. Stories like Jack Jackson’s, Founder and CEO of Recurse ML, embody the spirit of innovation, ambition, and culture-building we champion.
In a fascinating episode of the Dex Factor podcast, Jack shared his journey from humble beginnings stacking shelves at Dorothy Perkins to leading a pioneering tech startup that's changing how engineers find bugs in their code. His story resonates with the ethos of Dex: aligning passions with purpose and shaping careers that people genuinely love.
The Evolution of an Innovator: From First Job to Founder
Jack’s career began modestly, working retail and quickly realizing he was "unemployable" in traditional roles. A disastrous stint where he accidentally deleted an entire production codebase while working as a junior cognitive engineer proved early on that Jack was destined for entrepreneurship.
His real turning point came during university at Warwick, experimenting with an ambitious startup idea to provide 3D tours of student accommodations. Though ultimately unsuccessful due to market conditions, this initial foray was transformative. It taught Jack critical lessons in resilience, market realities, and the personal grit required to succeed.
One defining moment that stuck with him was being mocked by potential customers who dismissed him and his co-founder as mere "kids with backpacks." Instead of discouraging him, this pivotal moment reinforced his entrepreneurial determination. A decade later, that same grit propelled Jack to launch Recurse ML.
Building Recurse ML: Solving Problems Developers Face
Recurse ML tackles a pervasive issue in software development, catching breaking changes in code that standard testing methods often miss. With two main customer segments, open-source repository maintainers and rapidly scaling engineering teams, Recurse ML integrates seamlessly into workflows, ensuring software quality without sacrificing speed.
Jack's passion for solving genuine user problems is evident. The team's relentless focus has led customers to regard Recurse ML as mission-critical, exemplified by users who refused to ship code when the service briefly went down.
Culture First: Why Teams Matter More Than Tech
Jack emphasises that his favourite part of his job is unequivocally the team. Recurse ML is an intentionally intense, strictly in-person environment. For Jack, an exceptional culture isn't a byproduct, it's foundational. He believes building real relationships among team members is crucial to fostering an innovative and supportive atmosphere.
Reflecting on his own experience during the remote-first era of COVID-19, Jack argues passionately for the importance of physical presence and direct interaction. As he prepares to relocate personally from London to San Francisco, he remains committed to maintaining a highly intentional culture of collaboration and high performance.
Creating the Next “PayPal Mafia”
Inspired by legendary teams such as the PayPal Mafia, Jack’s ambition extends far beyond immediate business goals. He aims to foster a team culture so impactful that future leaders will trace their success back to their experience at Recurse ML.
Jack champions a deeply empathetic approach to hiring, beginning each recruitment process with a distinctive twist: candidates first interview the Recurse team. This unconventional method ensures alignment between individual aspirations and company capabilities. For Jack, hiring isn’t simply filling roles; it's about empowering team members to reach their long-term career goals.
Lessons in Hiring and Culture Fit
Jack attributes his startup’s early success to its founding engineer, Enzo, who exemplifies the cultural and technical excellence Recurse ML values. In sharing this story, Jack distills critical hiring advice:
Prioritise culture fit and learning agility over technical prowess alone.
Gauge a candidate’s seriousness and commitment through their approach to the interview process.
Seek self-motivated individuals capable of significant growth.
For Jack, finding such talent is partly luck but primarily about clearly defining your culture and expectations from the outset. This candid transparency attracts people genuinely aligned with the company's vision, mission, and intensity.
Overcoming Challenges: The Importance of Starting
When reflecting on significant obstacles, Jack highlights the universal challenge facing founders: simply starting. For many, fear of failure paralyzes action. Jack’s strategy involves embracing failure as inevitable and valuable, every setback is a foundation for future success.
Jack shares openly about his early pivoting experiences and moments of existential doubt. During these challenging times, the strength of his co-founder relationship proved critical. He describes his co-founder, Armin, as the steady presence holding a torch during their darkest moments, highlighting the irreplaceable value of having someone reliable by your side.
Personal Reflections and the Human Side of Leadership
Beyond business success, Jack expresses pride in his personal life, particularly his close relationship with his nephew. Inspired by the meaningful life of his grandmother, who was profoundly present for her family, Jack prioritises presence and intentionality in his personal relationships.
This authentic human connection shapes his leadership philosophy. Jack believes that every team member is someone’s family, deserving respect, transparency, and genuine investment in their long-term success.
Dex and Recurse: A Shared Philosophy
Jack’s alignment with Dex’s philosophy became evident when discussing his partnership with Dex to find exceptional talent. Where many recruitment experiences proved frustrating, Jack appreciates Dex’s precise, thoughtful approach, delivering genuinely aligned candidates rather than overwhelming volume.
Dex's methodology reflects Jack’s own beliefs about recruitment and culture, prioritising mutual fit, clear communication, and a deeply personalised hiring experience.
Looking Forward: Ambition, Innovation, and Impact
Jack’s ambitions for Recurse ML and his team extend well beyond immediate business metrics. He seeks to redefine success as creating lasting impacts on team members’ lives and careers. For Jack, the ultimate marker of achievement will be seeing his team members thrive long after their journey at Recurse ML concludes.
This forward-thinking, people-first philosophy mirrors the core values we embrace at Dex. Jack’s journey, from humble beginnings to inspiring leadership, highlights the power of aligning passions with purpose, relentlessly innovating, and maintaining a deep, human-centric focus.
In Jack Jackson’s story, we find a vivid example of how meaningful work and exceptional cultures can transform not just careers, but lives, embodying the very essence of what Dex stands for.
