About
Our Story
Most executive search firms start with candidates.
We start with a problem: Why do so many senior leadership searches fail before they even begin?
After 25 years in digital health and life sciences, we've seen the pattern over and over. Companies spend 6-9 months, burn through dozens of candidates, and still end up with the wrong hire—not because they can't find talent, but because the hiring team never aligned on what "good" looks like in the first place.
That's the problem Building Blocks solves.
We work with growth-stage PE- and VC-backed companies where precision matters and time is expensive. Before we approach a single candidate, we do the upstream work most firms skip: getting stakeholders aligned on what success actually looks like.
It's uncomfortable work. It surfaces disagreements that were always there but nobody wanted to name. But it's the difference between a search that takes 4 months and ends in a great hire, versus one that drags on and ends in regret.
Building Blocks was founded to solve the problem at the root—not just execute faster on a broken process.
Why We're Selective
Building Blocks takes on 8-10 engagements per year. This isn't about capacity—it's about focus.
The upstream alignment work we do requires deep engagement with your leadership team. We can't do that well at scale. We choose to work with fewer companies so each search gets the attention it deserves.
We're the right fit if:
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You're a growth-stage digital health or life sciences company (typically Series A to growth equity)
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You're PE or VC-backed and speed matters, but precision matters more
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You've tried other approaches (internal recruiting, contingent firms) without success
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You recognize that alignment is more important than rushing to candidates
We're not the right fit if:
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You need someone to just "send resumes" without challenging assumptions
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You're looking for the lowest-cost option
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You're not willing to do the uncomfortable work of aligning stakeholders​​​
Team
Meet the people behind Building Blocks — committed to selective, high-touch search and enduring partnerships.
Troy Frank
Managing Principal
Troy has led executive searches across digital health and life sciences for 25 years, working primarily with PE- and VC-backed companies where clarity, alignment, and execution matter.
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What sets Troy apart: He spent the first 15 years of his career learning that most search failures happen upstream—before the first candidate is ever approached. Hiring teams that haven't aligned on what success looks like will struggle no matter how good the candidates are. That insight became the foundation of Building Blocks' approach: solve the alignment problem first, then execute the search.
Troy works with a small number of clients each year (typically 8-10 engagements) to ensure each search gets the focus and rigor it deserves. He's based in Hampstead, NH.
Dave Mauro
Senior Advisor
Dave supports business development and client engagement at Building Blocks. As a former candidate and client, he brings a unique perspective—he's experienced the search process from both sides.
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Dave spent 20+ years in GTM leadership roles across health tech and life sciences, giving him real-world context for the alignment challenges companies face when hiring senior leaders. He helps ensure Building Blocks' approach stays grounded in what actually works for growing companies.
Clients
Selected by digital health and life sciences companies where precision search matters most.