THE TOLAN GROUP
OUR STORY
I’m from a large Irish family (my father came to the U.S. from Belfast), and I have seven brothers, so keeping us busy was always the goal in our crowded home—and I do mean crowded. My dad was a salesman, and as a result, I started selling at a very young age, first at college football games. Eventually, at the ripe old age of 13, and at the urging of my mother, I began selling Fuller Brush door-to-door after school and on Saturday mornings. I learned a lot about cold calling, persistence, and rejection. I thank her for that nudge. It made a lasting impression.
In my early 20s, I started my professional sales career in healthcare software. I spent my formative professional years selling software to physician offices, hospitals, dialysis units, and labs. I built a sales team and traveled extensively throughout the U.S., visiting 49 states (Idaho is still missing from the list). Later, I joined Healtheon just before we merged with WebMD and went public. My final stop before becoming an entrepreneur was leading sales and account management teams for one of the largest clearinghouses for physician claims in the U.S. I learned a lot, but I also knew I needed a change.
I was burning out quickly and becoming bored.
The desire to become an entrepreneur had always been there, but like many people, I was nervous about taking the risk. After accumulating more than 2 million air miles on Delta, USAir, United, and other regional carriers, I'd had enough. Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, travel had also become much more difficult. Working for others had lost its appeal, and carrying revenue responsibility for multiple publicly traded companies came with plenty of stress.
In the summer of 2004, I began planning to start my own executive search firm. I wanted to leverage the relationships I'd built over the years, maintain my income, and significantly reduce my travel. Spending four or five nights a week away from home was no longer the life I wanted.
So, it all began on Monday, September 12, 2005, just outside Atlanta. It was me, myself, and I. Daunting? For sure. Scary? Without a doubt.
Initially, I bought an executive search franchise because I wanted the structure and business processes a franchise could provide. I walked into my home office armed with a database, a phone, a great attitude, and a very supportive wife and family. That support at home was essential. Without it, the risk of failure becomes very real.
I quickly began making placements. Lots of placements! I was even surprising myself with how perfectly the executive search business suited me. It energized me in so many ways—and it still does today, after all these years.
About a year after I started, my wife and I moved to Charleston, South Carolina, a city where I'd always hoped to live and eventually retire. We loved our time there, but the financial crisis of 2007–2008 nearly put me out of business. Employers simply weren't hiring. It was an incredibly difficult period, but we persevered.
Eventually, we decided it was time to find another historic city to call home. In the spring of 2013, we moved to St. Augustine, Florida, and have never looked back. I adore this little historic town and the people who live here. It's been wonderful.
The Tolan Group continued to grow, and I soon realized I couldn't do it all myself. Between sales, client delivery, finance, and marketing, there simply weren't enough hours in the day. If we were going to take the business to the next level, I needed to surround myself with good people. So, I began building a team of talented executive search professionals and leaders across multiple states.
Today, TTG is recognized as a Hunt Scanlon Top 50 Healthcare Executive Search Firm, specializing in healthcare services, behavioral health, and health technology. We've built a national team focused on executive search for private equity-backed portfolio companies, healthcare organizations, and nonprofits.
Our Story Continues
More than two decades after founding The Tolan Group, I'm proud of what we've accomplished and, more importantly, the people who helped us get here.
What began as one person working from a home office has grown into a national executive search firm built on relationships, trust, and a shared commitment to helping organizations find exceptional leaders. The scale of the business has changed, but the personal approach that got us here remains the same.
A lot has changed since 2005, but the things that matter most haven't. We still believe in doing the right thing, building lasting relationships, working hard, and delivering on our commitments.
At the end of the day, our business has always been about people. And I believe the best chapters of our story are still ahead.
— Tim Tolan, Founder & Managing Partner
