Scaling a company from 5 to 100+ people across 26 countries is a massive challenge but that’s exactly what Elena Logutova did at =nil; Foundation. With 15 years of experience in the trenches of IT — from giants like Yandex to the niche worlds of Web3 and now HFT, she knows what it takes to build teams that last.
Today, as part of the proprietary trading firm Alber Blanc, Elena applies that experience to the high-speed, data-driven world of HFT, where precision, trust, and adaptability define success.
Lessons for Recruiters Starting Out
1. What's the best advice you'd give a new recruiter just starting out?
My main advice is to focus on depth, not just numbers. Many new recruiters make the mistake of building a huge list of candidates without thinking about quality. They often believe their job is only about delivering volume.
Often, a job stays open not because there aren't enough candidates, but because the company isn't sure what it really needs, how to judge talent, or how to bring new people on board. Recruiters should act as strategic partners. Stay in close contact with hiring managers, clarify the role, understand the selection steps, and collect feedback after each interview.
The biggest mistake is to simply accept what the hiring manager asks for without question. Your job is to guide them, offer a realistic view of the market, and help them find the best candidate for their needs, not just chase an imaginary 'perfect' hire.
When Manual HR Processes Stop Working
2. At what point does managing HR processes manually (e.g., in Google Docs) start to break a growing company?
When I joined that five-person startup, everyone wanted to use Notion for everything. But the first thing I did was push for a real Applicant Tracking System (ATS). Managing candidates in spreadsheets wasn't an option. Recruiting depends on good data, solid systems, and confidentiality. These days, many ATS tools are free or low-cost for small companies, so there's really no reason not to use one.
Some processes should be organized from the very beginning to prevent problems down the road. You can manage an org chart by hand until you reach about 100 people. But for things like tracking leave and sick days, you'll need a central system much sooner.
The clearest sign you need a system is when people become the bottleneck. In startups, many processes depend on certain team members. If they start saying they spend too much time on manual work, that's your cue. Their workload is slowing down the whole company, so it's time to put a system in place.
"The clearest sign you need a system is when people become the bottleneck."
Building HR Systems for Distributed Teams
3. You scaled a team to 100+ people across 26 countries. Can an international team be effective without a unified HR platform?
You can grow to 100 people without one unified platform, but you’ll end up using a mix of different tools. For example, your org chart might live in Miro, your documentation in Notion, and your time-off tracking in a separate tool.
Getting people to actually use new systems is the hardest part. Most startup teams just want to stick with Slack. That's why the best HR tools are the ones that work smoothly with what your team already uses. If employees can make requests and get updates right in Slack, you're already halfway there.
How to Maintain Culture and Speed in Remote Teams
4. How do you maintain high velocity and innovation in a distributed/remote team?
First, a task tracker is non-negotiable. In a remote team, people communicate mostly through text. You have to quickly move conversations from chaotic chats into structured tasks. Information in chats gets lost forever, especially when someone leaves the company.
Next, hold regular meetings that matter. Status updates shouldn't just be about ticking boxes. Set aside time for informal chats to help people connect. Remote teams often struggle to build these bonds, and it's easier for someone to leave if they don't feel connected.
Managers play a key role here. They should build strong relationships so they can spot when someone is burning out or having a tough time. In-person meetings are also important. I suggest setting aside a budget for at least one company-wide offsite each year, plus smaller team gatherings every few months. Spending a week together can make teams more effective for a long time afterward.
Finally, hold monthly All-Hands meetings. In a remote setup, people can feel like they're in a vacuum. Regular, transparent updates on the company's direction are vital to keep everyone aligned and motivated.
"Information in chats gets lost forever. Task trackers are non-negotiable in remote teams."
The First HR Processes to Automate
5. What are the top 3 HR processes you would automate first for controlled growth?
- Recruiting: This is the engine of growth and requires a systematic approach.
- Onboarding: A consistent and automated onboarding process ensures new hires are productive and integrated quickly.
- Routine HR administration covers all the small, repetitive tasks like sick leave, vacation requests, expense claims, and title changes. These are often managed by hand for much longer than they should be. Automating these tasks keeps your HR team from getting bogged down in paperwork and simply moving requests from one place to another.
Choosing the Right HR Tech System
6. When choosing an HR system, what criteria are most important to you?
The primary criteria are always:
- Cost: Does it fit the budget?
- Scalability: Does the system fit our current needs, and can it grow with us? For example, a startup does not need to use SAP.
- Flexibility: Can the system be customized to fit our unique processes?
- Customer support: How responsive is the team? Are they willing to help you solve problems and even develop features you need?
For me personally, flexibility is the most important factor. I need a system that can be adapted and improved. Second is innovation. If we live in an age of AI and Slack, I expect my HR system to have modern integrations, not force me to do everything via email.
And of course, analytics are super important. The dream of every HR leader is to have great analytics. The problem is, I have yet to find a single system that delivers truly insightful, reliable data out of the box. But the foundation for good analytics is a system that makes it easy to input and structure data correctly in the first place.
Common Leadership Mistakes During a Crisis
7. What is the biggest mistake a business makes regarding its people during a crisis?
The most common mistake is that the leadership team panics and makes rash, emotional decisions about who to fire and who to hire. A classic, catastrophic error is laying off recruiters first. Unless you plan on shutting down tomorrow, you will need recruiters. You'll need them to hire for new roles to optimize the business, and you'll need them to backfill positions as people inevitably leave during a crisis.
The second big mistake is poor communication. In a crisis, leaders are under a lot of stress. Without a clear communication plan, ideally made with HR or internal communications, they might say things that hurt morale. For example, a founder could say, "It's my company, and I can shut it down tomorrow if I want to." Even if they do not mean it literally, this kind of comment makes people feel insecure and less willing to push through hard times.
"A classic, catastrophic error is laying off recruiters first. Unless you plan on shutting down tomorrow, you will need recruiters."
HR in Web3 vs. High-Frequency Trading (HFT)
8. How does HR in Web3 and High-Frequency Trading (HFT) differ from traditional IT?
They are worlds apart. Both are niche industries where everyone knows everyone.
Web3 is a very young and fast-changing field. People here are ambitious and often take non-traditional career paths. There is no long corporate ladder. The industry is unstable, and companies may not last long. People are used to startups failing and quickly moving on. They are motivated by launching new projects, earning tokens, and feeling a sense of ownership. For HR, this means your processes need to be very quick and flexible, since your needs can change overnight.
HFT is a world built around speed, infrastructure, and precision. These companies don’t focus on external products; their core work is optimizing algorithms, systems, and data pipelines to gain microseconds of advantage. Most started as small, elite tech teams and scaled organically, without external investors or traditional management structures shaping their growth.
Secrets of Executive Hiring
9. What's the secret to successful executive hiring?
Look at measurable impact (growth, profit, scalability) and dig into real cases using the STAR method.
But the real test? Values and leadership style.
If you’re bringing in someone to drive major change, be ready: transformation often comes with turnover.
I once heard great advice on a founder podcast — “When you’re unsure about an executive, talk about values.” If your core principles match, your chances of success skyrocket.
AI in HR — Real Value vs. Hype
10. There's a lot of talk about AI. Where is the combination of "AI + automation" already delivering real value in HR, and where is it still overhyped?
It's delivering real value in modern project management tools. I actively use ClickUp, and its AI is fantastic. It helps find duplicate tasks, suggests automation workflows, and makes it easier to discover and use the platform's advanced features. It acts as an intelligent assistant that streamlines your work.
AI-powered resume screening is overrated. Everyone’s trying to “beat the algorithm,” but in IT hiring, that’s mostly a myth. For roles like developers, PMs, or HR managers, resumes are still reviewed by real people. AI filters might screen high-volume jobs, but for professional roles, humans make the call.
"AI is a powerful tool if you have ideas. If you don't, it will just give you generic, templated answers that won't help you at all."
The Future of the HR Director Role
11. How will AI change the role of an HR Director in the next 5 years?
AI will move the HR Director role from focusing on step-by-step tasks to thinking more strategically. Before, building a complex compensation model required deep Excel skills. Soon, you will just give your main idea and key details to an AI, and your job will be to review and improve what it produces.
"AI is a powerful tool if you have ideas. If you don't, it will just give you generic, templated answers that won't help you at all."
Top HR Trends for 2025 and Beyond
12. What are the top 3 HR trends you see for the next 2-3 years?
- AI-driven analytics: We will move beyond simple dashboards to more predictive insights generated by AI.
- The rise of the "HR Architect": There will be a growing demand for strategic HR leaders who can design and implement entire organizational systems from the ground up, not just manage existing ones.
- Mastering distributed work: As remote and cross-cultural teams become the norm, there will be a huge focus on developing sophisticated strategies for engagement, motivation, and predicting attrition in a global workforce.
What's Still Missing in HR Tech
13. What critical function or solution is currently missing from the HR Tech market?
Two things are painfully absent. First, there is no good, truly unified platform that combines both recruiting (ATS) and core HR (HRIS) for small and medium-sized businesses. You're always forced to stitch together multiple systems. HR systems on the market are often either too limited in their functionality or too rigid and inflexible.
Second, data migration is still a nightmare. If you want to switch from one system to another, there's a high probability that your data will migrate poorly, leaving you with corrupted records and years of cleanup. For a recruiting system, where your candidate database is your lifeblood, this is a catastrophic failure of the market to solve a fundamental problem.
Final Advice for HR Directors Scaling Fast
14. Finally, what is the one piece of advice you would give to all HR Directors who are currently scaling their companies?
Start building and automating your processes as early as possible.
Every new process or policy should live in one central place.
If you skip this when you’re small, you’ll face chaos when you hit 200.
"It is exponentially easier to teach good habits to a team of 30 than it is to retrain a team of 300. Create a culture of documentation and systemization from day one."
Key Takeaways
What every HR leader can learn from Elena Logutova
- Automate HR early — even with 20–30 people.
- Choose flexible, scalable systems that integrate with daily tools.
- Build trust and connection in remote teams through structured communication and regular updates.
- Use AI where it adds real operational value, not where it replaces human judgment.
- Align leadership hires on values, not just skills.