Rectec for Software Category Experts
Your own piece of the Rectec ecosystem - apply today.
Apply for your category →Category Partner Programme
Build, own, and grow a technology category with Rectec.
Take ownership of a defined category within the Rectec ecosystem — shape how buyers discover and evaluate solutions, bring your vendor relationships, and build a meaningful revenue stream alongside your existing work.
Why choosing the right system is hard
The real issue isn't choice. It's lack of clarity at category level.
Choosing the right HR, TA and recruitment technology should be straightforward, but most organisations face the same problems: too many options, misaligned stakeholders, unclear requirements, inconsistent vendor demos, and processes that drag on until confidence in the final decision is low.
- — Too many options, and it's hard to compare like-for-like
- — Requirements are unclear, or live in messy spreadsheets
- — Vendor demos lead with what they want to sell, not what buyers need
- — The wrong choice impacts budget, adoption, and performance
70%
B2B buyers use up to 10 digital channels, versus five, five years ago
90%
of dissatisfied HR buyers used vendor-only materials
60–80%
of IT projects fail to meet their objectives
Why Rectec
Creating highly matched, tailored recommendations to each organisation's needs.
Built for buyers
Independent, buyer-first guidance, not vendor-led.
Consistent comparisons
Compare solutions like-for-like, in one place.
Faster decisions, lower risk
Reduce uncertainty and avoid costly wrong choices.
Highly matched recommendations
Tailored shortlists based on structured requirements, not guesswork.
Clarity for stakeholders
Bring everyone onto the same page, faster.
Market visibility
Confidence that the right options have been considered.
How Rectec Works
Structured requirements in.
Highly matched shortlists out.
Buyers complete up to 150 requirements in a simple UI, in ten to fifteen minutes. Rectec runs instant analysis against your category's structured, category-specific criteria and returns a personalised, ranked shortlist — not a generic list of every vendor in market.
- — Vendor showcase — consistent, one-place vendor data
- — Intelligent marketplace for complementary solutions
- — RFI automation and vendor evaluation tooling
- — Procurement dashboard and SaaS contract manager
[Category] Shortlist — Matched Results
6 matches found · based on 150 requirements
Why Categories Matter
Without ownership, category quality degrades over time.
Poorly defined categories create buyer confusion
Buyers struggle to separate signal from noise.
Inconsistent data makes comparison unreliable
Vendors can't be positioned consistently or fairly.
Generic criteria miss real-world use cases
Requirements get oversimplified and outcomes suffer.
Markets evolve, but the category doesn't keep up
This is why Rectec partners with Category Partners, to bring expertise and ownership into every market we cover.
How the Partnership Works
Clear ownership. Shared accountability.
A long-term model.
Category Partner
- — Define category scope and structure
- — Shape buyer requirements and real-world use cases
- — Maintain category quality and relevance over time
- — Recruit and position relevant vendors
Rectec
- — Platform, tooling, and infrastructure
- — Sales, marketing, and operational support
- — Contracts, billing, and revenue reporting
- — Governance, QA, and brand standards
Rewarding Category Ownership
A generous share of what you build.
Generous Revenue
Share
A generous revenue share on new clients you originate.
Rewarding Initial
Efforts
A time-bound initial period rewards the work of building the category.
Transparency
Clear revenue attribution and transparent reporting throughout.
Partnership
Evolution
Options to evolve the partnership over time as the category grows.
Specific terms are agreed per category and outlined during onboarding.
Who This Is For
Built for operators who want to build, not just participate.
A good fit if you…
- ✓ Have deep expertise in a defined technology market
- ✓ Are commercially minded and outcome-focused
- ✓ Are comfortable with ownership and accountability
- ✓ Bring credibility and strong vendor relationships
Probably not a fit if you…
- ✕ Are looking for passive or referral-based income
- ✕ Want an employment-style role or structure
- ✕ Don't have an active network in your market
- ✕ Prefer low involvement or minimal accountability
How we amplify the category you build
Coordinated visibility across Rectec's media ecosystem.
Copilot
Your category surfaced directly inside Rectec Copilot's matching results.
Marketplace
Category visibility across the wider Rectec vendor marketplace.
Rectec Reels
Short-form video content built around your category and vendors.
Partner Spotlight
Dedicated feature coverage introducing you and your category.
Industry events
Presence at recruitment, TA and HR technology events.
Email & social
Featured in Rob's Rectec Roundup and Rectec's social channels.
Rectec in Numbers
This model is already operating at scale across recruitment, TA, and HR technology.
470K+
Vendor comparisons processed
£11.5M+
Vendor recurring revenues generated
1,000+
Businesses supported across 47 countries
6×
Industry award winner — Onrec, iHR 2022–2026
The Vision
Changing software buying, forever.
This programme is designed for operators who want to build, not just participate. Own a defined category, shape how it's structured, and grow a revenue stream alongside your existing work.
Interested in becoming a Category Partner?
There's only space for one partner per category, per region. Apply now.
01
Intro conversation
02
Category fit discussion
03
Commercial alignment
04
Onboarding
Frequently Asked Questions
You own the category, not a listing within it. That means shaping which requirements matter, which vendors belong, and how the category is structured for buyers. Rectec owns the platform, matching engine, billing and buyer relationships underneath it.
You earn a share of revenue on new clients you originate within your category. The exact split and structure are agreed per category and confirmed during onboarding, since they depend on category maturity, vendor density and the scope of what you're bringing to it.
No. Rectec runs one Category Partner per category, per region, so there's no internal competition for the same buyers or vendors. If your category is already taken in your region, you'll be told during the application conversation.
Then it's open. Categories without a partner still exist on Rectec with generic, unowned criteria, which is exactly the quality gap this programme is built to close. Early applicants in an unowned category have the most room to define it from the ground up.
It varies by category maturity, but this isn't a passive or referral role. You're expected to actively shape requirements, recruit and position vendors, and maintain category quality over time. If you're looking for low involvement or referral-only income, this programme is probably not the right fit.
Yes, credibility and an active network in your market are part of what makes a category partnership work. Rectec brings the platform and buyer demand. You bring the market expertise and vendor relationships that make the category trustworthy.
You define category scope, shape requirements and recruit vendors. Rectec provides the platform, matching infrastructure, sales and marketing support, contracts, billing and revenue reporting, plus governance and QA. It's a split of ownership, not a hands-off licensing arrangement.
The initial phase is time-bound and structured to reward the work of building the category out. Beyond that, the partnership has options to evolve as the category grows, agreed with you as part of onboarding rather than fixed upfront.
Four stages: an intro conversation, a category fit discussion, commercial alignment, then onboarding. It's a two-way fit conversation before anything is agreed, not an automatic acceptance.