Kent Depwe

Top 1% Headhunter in North America 300+ placements. Partnering with Startup Founders scaling their teams with world-class talent.

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

Thanks for having me on the pod @benjamin_l_mena! Great convo✊🏼

[Benjamin Mena @benjamin_l_mena]

New Episode! "From Rookie to $1M Recruiter by 25: Kent Depwe’s Playbook for 7-Figure Success"

Want to break into the million-dollar biller club—no matter your age or experience? In this episode, hos…

Player links & show notes: https://t.co/2FayaLBK9R

[9th Life @_9th_Life_]

Over the last few weeks I've been thinking hard about where I want to direct my energy in the fitness/biohacking/peptide space…

The engagement on this account over the last month has been genuinely insane. Like nothing I imagined was possible.

When I started 9th Life, the idea was simple: share my own experimentation with the world (mostly an empty void, at first). What worked, what didn't, and everything I learned along the way. A decade of treating myself like a human lab rat. Testing, tracking, dialing things in, screwing things up (sometimes badly), and learning from all of it. Peptides, supplements, TRT, the whole stack. Not because anyone told me to, but because I believe in this space and wanted to give something real back to a community I care about.

Here's what I've come to believe: peptides aren't just a biohacking or fitness thing. They're the future of optimization, and of healthcare in general. This is bigger than the fitness corner it lives in today. It's modern medicine, telehealth, research, recovery, longevity, and it reaches middle-aged people, the elderly, even veterinary use. It touches just about everyone who walks the earth. But there is a MAJOR information gap.

From day one, my main goal across all the content on this page has centered on education and harm reduction. I want people to understand the upside AND the downside so they can make their own informed decisions. That's never changed, and it never will.

So here's the news: I'm coming on as co-founder of Reptides.

Reptides is a neutral, third-party research and editorial platform built on vendor accountability and education. The go-to place for honest research as this space moves into telehealth and medicine. This is a key infrastructure move, and I believe Reptides is positioned to be a serious player in where peptides are headed.

Just a few months ago, I was scraping through Reddit, X, DMs, and TikTok trying to compile what peptides even are. There are tons of resources out there. But the more I used Reptides, and the more conversations I had with @ogsvg, the more impressed I got with where this platform is going. It became clear early on that we share the same vision: peptides transcending the biohacking space and becoming a real part of modern medicine.

This was a business decision as much as a personal one. Coming on as co-founder is the move that lets me actually help shape the future of this space, not just comment on it from the sidelines.

Going forward, I'm helping build and grow this thing from the ground up. Same approach I've always had here: simplified, honest information so people can actually get started.

And this is just the start. Over the coming months we'll be making key partnerships, launching an app, and aligning with some of the biggest players in the future of this space.

There's a lot coming.

If you've followed me for the experiments and the lessons and you want to keep learning, join me for the ride. The Reptides email list is completely free, a weekly brief on everything happening in peptides, rated and explained.

https://t.co/zNtxDMXKQr

To everyone who's engaged, shared, and promoted my content over the last month: genuinely, thank you. It's been the most rewarding part of this whole thing, and a big reason I had the confidence to take this leap.

We're just getting started. More to come.

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

@_9th_Life_ Enclo 25mg to the dome

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

@_9th_Life_ 100% most stable spot you can get

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

There’s a fallacy I hear constantly in the high-growth startup world. One I have to break with the majority of candidates I represent.

Startup = High Risk. Big Tech = Safe.

It’s a myth, and one of the most expensive fallacies in Tech right now.

Starting with some data, in 2026 alone:

Amazon cut 16,000
Oracle cut 30,000
Meta cut 8,000

These aren’t struggling companies.

These are the most dominant companies ever built.
Companies with more revenue than some countries have GDP.

And none of that saved the 54,000 employees laid off.

But that data isn’t even the real point.

A great employee at big tech is not safe from mass layoffs.

A great employee at a startup, hell will freeze over before you get laid off.

Across my 350+ placements across near 100 startups I’ve recruited for, I’ve never once seen it.

Here’s why:

At a 50,000 person company, you are a spreadsheet row, cog in a wheel.

When the board tells the CEO to cut 5,000 heads, nobody is sitting in a room asking whether each individual is actually good at their job. They are eliminating divisions. Whole functions including some strong performers.

That is the “safety” of Big Tech.

Now compare that to a well-funded, VC-backed startup with real traction and real revenue growth.

The dynamic is completely different.

The founder knows your name. They know your impact. They know exactly what breaks the day you walk out the door.

If you are genuinely strong, there is a 0% chance you accidentally get caught in a layoff.

Because at a company of <1000 , there are no accidents when it comes to talent.

For candidates who are elite at what they do the risk was never the startup.

The risk is mistaking a big logo for job security, when on the other side you could have a more ownership, more impact and a launch pad for your career.

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

@collin_ruth89 Due to popular demand

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

@zach_yadegari LFG!! Incredible product and even better team.

Elite combo of creativity, competence and high agency that makes it near impossible not to win.

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

@boardyai Majority of VC’s are sheepish, one goes they all herd in.

First one is the hardest by a mile.

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

@emm4x3 @xai @angelafeliciawu @stevenzhang 1000 elite eng job offers incoming.

Hyuuge congrats✊🏼

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

@czoob3 Absolutely dialed

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

@FitFounder Never seen have a reason to wake up on these lists.

Such an underrated one

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

@Naz6k_ Getting in good shape ripples across every area of your life.

Benefits are endless

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

Founders taking the first round interviews is a must for big hires at startup stage.

It’s something I consult my clients on often, and have seen this small tweak work wonders.

The first interview is a PIVOTAL point when a candidate truly decides if they want to pursue you seriously or just politely fade away.

Who better than the founder to have that pressure on their shoulders to share the true vision and excitement about their company?

While it could make sense to use a junior HR person or someone else as a “screen” and save the founder for last.
You will undoubtably lose out on top talent that you shouldn’t have that way.

Interviewing is a system. Optimize it.

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

@yehhmisi Side projects are the hack for this.

Build something cool 0-1, that’s what you show off

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

@BarbellFi Product or Eng manager?

I might have some jobs for him if so

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

@redactedrain Delusional optimism is an actual superpower.

Every successful founder has it, and most of their team does too

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

@dianalokada Daniel Pink, Every job is a sales
Job says this exactly.

No matter what you do, knowing sales/persuasion is always helpful.

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

@pmitu Extreme ownership is always the way.

Not always right, but it’s always better than victim mentality.

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

@ruslanjabari Not in the traditional sense.

But if they are B2C, then 1000% need a Founding Head of Growth (or call
Them a CMO so they can feel cooler)

B2C marketing is at least 50% if not more of the success equation.

[Kent Depwe @Kent_Depwe]

@RoxCodes I’ve got some S-Tier ones for you