Dublin-born and Crumlin-raised, John Howe has always been driven by a curiosity for people, opportunity, and possibility. After studying Science in UCD and realising academia wasn’t his path, he found his way into recruitment, a career that took him from an apprenticeship-style start to leading teams and shaping tech hiring functions from scratch. Fourteen years later, that journey and a desire for true ownership led him to found TREQS: a tech-focused recruitment partner built on transparency, genuine relationships and the belief that hiring should be human and enjoyable.
So tell us about yourself and what led you to set up in business ?
I’m born and bred in Crumlin in Dublin and went to school in Synge Street (yes, like from the movie!). After studying Science in UCD, like many I didn’t know what path lay ahead for me. I wasn’t interested in academia altthough I remain a huge admirer of the domain. I was always more of a people person. Someone close to me did recruitment in London and she suggested I give it a shot. Literally the first job I applied for online was with Brightwater and after a gruelling interview process I managed to secure a sort of apprenticeship position for 6 months. Three months in they made me permanent. A year or so later, I was made a senior consultant. A year or so after that, Team Lead, and a year or so after that, Manager. A great training ground and I have fond memories.
The years went on and I tried a few other companies that were different flavours of the same thing. I found myself in a company building a tech desk from scratch and always lacking that sense of true ownership of my work. So, the realisation came that I should take the leap.
Using 14 years of experience and relationships, it just made sense to build something that was just for me and by me and looked like me, and so here we are with TREQS, a specialist tech recruitment company.
TREQS is built around the idea that recruitment should be fast, transparent, and dare I say it — enjoyable. We take the work seriously, but not ourselves too seriously. At the end of the day, it’s about people — and that’s what keeps it interesting.
What are the types of services that you you provide and what problems that you solve for your customers?
We provide recruitment services to companies of all sizes, especially startups and scaleup companies. We specialise in software engineering, analytics & AI and product with a dash of leadership thrown in for good measure.
What makes your company’s approach different from what’s traditionally been done in your field?
I know the recruitment industry intimately and it is heavily weighted towards doing things “their way”, always has, always will. I find that can be a turnoff for many hiring managers because one size simply does not fit all. So, TREQS aims to make it easy, transparent, fluid and…even enjoyable! to work with a recruitment partner again.
How do you stay inspired and motivated?
This is a great question and one of the biggest challenges as a new business owner. There is no magic wand as there will be days when things are tough and there will be days that make you jump to the moon. The key is to have the right people around you and listen to the criticisms as well as the compliments and take action where needed. Also…sleep! 🙂
What one piece of advice would you share with others on how to overcome business setbacks?
Every business faces moments where things don’t go to plan: a deal falls through, a client changes direction (don’t get me started!), or the market shifts overnight. What’s helped me most is learning to pause, take the lesson, and move forward with clarity rather than frustration. Setbacks often expose weak points that, once fixed, become your biggest strengths. BTW, a little frustration is absolutely okay! 🙂
For me, resilience isn’t just about pushing through tough times, it’s about remembering why you started in the first place.
Share your hidden gem about Dublin
Oh, for me, it has to be “The Common’s Cafe” in the basement garden of The Museum of Literature on Stephen’s Green. It serves the best cakes with great coffee and if you get there at a good time, you can take a table under an ancient Ash tree where James Joyce used to sit and write. Beautiful little getaway in the heart of The Fair City.
How can our audience get in touch with you?
Lot’s of ways:
Email: john@treqs.ie
LinkedIn
Or under the Ash tree during the week from time to time 🙂
