How MLabs used Ropes to ~10x growth of a new staffing business unit

Results at a Glance

Within 4 months of deploying Ropes (since Aug 2025):

• 130+ candidates vetted through Ropes
• 30 risky/fraudulent candidates identified and prevented from client submission
• 1,300+ hours saved (equivalent of 32.5 working weeks) in technical screening interviews alone
• Significant reduction in admin time around candidate communication, interview scheduling since integration went live
• 3 new major clients where Ropes played a role as a differentiator
• Used in 100% of sales conversations

About MLabs

MLabs is a London-based technology consultancy delivering software engineering services for modern product teams. As the business expanded, MLabs also scaled a staffing function focused on placing vetted engineering talent into contract and permanent roles, especially in remote-first environments.

In Fall of 2025, MLabs accelerated this growth by spinning out its recruitment arm into a dedicated entity: MLabs Talent Partners, which now employs 20+ talent and recruitment team members.

We sat down to chat with Georgia Kingston, the Sales, Marketing & Partnerships Director @ MLabs Talent Partners

The Challenge: Remote Hiring Volume + Fraud Risk

As remote and marketplace-driven hiring became a larger source of opportunities, MLabs faced a familiar staffing reality: speed matters, but quality and trust matter more.

Two forces collided:

Platform-based submissions with limited hiring manager access: MLabs increasingly worked through intermediary marketplaces and vendor-style systems where teams submit candidates into a portal, often without direct access to the hiring manager. In these environments, differentiation is hard and their clients can't afford to slow down.

Rising fraud and credibility risk in remote hiring: MLabs encountered a serious fraud scenario involving a remote engineer. Internally, MLabs viewed this as a pivotal moment that underscored how high the stakes are when a bad actor slips through.

That experience pushed MLabs toward a new standard: identity and integrity checks early, and technical signal clients can trust, without creating friction that slows submissions. From Georgia:

Remote roles attract a huge volume of candidates now, and the reality is that not all of them are legit. At the same time, we had a lot of new clients coming on board, so we were scaling quickly. We needed to make sure we weren't just moving fast, but actually surfacing the right candidates, the genuinely strong ones, and giving clients confidence in who they were speaking to.

Why MLabs Chose Ropes

MLabs adopted Ropes to create a screening layer that could:

• Catch identity/location/integrity risk before submission
• Validate technical ability with client-ready reports
• Scale across multiple recruiting workflows: direct to client and via marketplace partners
• Move fast without forcing in-house engineers to bottleneck screening

Crucially, Ropes let MLabs apply the right tool at the right time:

• A lightweight video integrity screen for early-stage risk reduction
• A deeper technical assessment + report when clients want hard proof

We chose Ropes because it solved a very real, very practical problem for us. We needed a way to introduce integrity checks and technical validation without creating friction for candidates or bottlenecks for our engineers. We didn't want something heavy or rigid. Ropes gave us the flexibility to apply the right level of screening depending on the role, the client, and the context.

One of the biggest reasons Ropes has worked so well for us is the team behind it. From the very beginning, they took the time to understand how we actually operate, not how a textbook recruitment process is supposed to work. We've shared feedback, flagged gaps, suggested changes, and we've consistently seen those things taken on board and built into the product. That kind of collaboration is rare, and it's why Ropes feels like a partner rather than just another tool.

The Solution: Ropes Becomes a "Trust Layer" in the MLabs Workflow

1. Video Integrity Screening for Remote Roles

MLabs routes remote candidates through a Ropes video integrity screen (internally referred to as an "integrity test"). This supports early verification signals, especially valuable when candidates are being submitted into marketplaces where speed and authenticity are both critical.

MLabs has also used the video workflow beyond external hiring, supporting internal processes like screening and verification for new hires.

2. Technical Assessments + Reports for Client Confidence

For direct enterprise relationships and higher-touch accounts, MLabs uses Ropes technical assessments and shares the resulting technical report as part of the submission package.

This becomes both a screening mechanism and a client-facing artifact that increases confidence and accelerates decision-making. In particular, MLabs found that some clients strongly value the report format and the clarity it provides in evaluating candidates.

3. Operationalizing Ropes Across ATS + Platforms

MLabs runs Ropes within a real-world staffing stack: ATS workflows (Workable and now Loxo) plus multiple external platforms. This matters because MLabs isn't hiring in a single controlled funnel, candidate flow comes from multiple sources each with different constraints.

Ropes fits into that environment by allowing MLabs to:

• Require screening when needed
• Attach results when it improves selection odds
• Avoid slowing submissions when speed is paramount

Results: Fraud Prevention + Faster Screening + Growth Enablement

Since deploying Ropes in August 2025, MLabs has:

• Vetted 130+ candidates through Ropes
• Identified and stopped 30 risky/fraudulent candidates prior to client submission
• Landed 3 new major clients, where Ropes supported differentiation in the sales process

Just as importantly, Ropes helped MLabs scale a higher-volume staffing motion with more confidence supporting the growth and operational maturity of MLabs Talent Partners.

The results were noticeable very quickly. We reduced screening time, caught risk earlier, and improved the overall quality of our submissions. Just as importantly, it gave us the confidence to scale the staffing side of the business without worrying that standards would slip.

Ropes is now just part of how we work day to day. Recruiters know exactly when to trigger it, sales knows how to talk about it, and our clients immediately recognise the value. It doesn't feel like an extra step or an add-on, it feels embedded in our process.

On Time Savings

Internally, the time saving has been huge. We've saved over 1,300 hours in technical screening interviews alone so far, and on top of that, we've seen a big reduction in admin time around candidate communication and interview scheduling since the integrations went live. Our senior engineers and consultants are no longer being pulled into endless screening calls, which has had a noticeable impact on efficiency.

On Client Trust

For us, Ropes has become a trust layer. It's not just about testing technical skills, it's about giving clients confidence that the person they're interviewing is real, credible, and properly vetted. That peace of mind is hard to put a number on, but it makes a huge difference, especially in remote hiring.

On the Value of Reports

Client reaction has been consistently strong. The reports in particular land really well, they're clear, easy to digest, and remove a lot of uncertainty. They've been especially useful in cases where a candidate might not tick every box on paper in terms of years of experience, but is clearly technically strong. In those situations, the Ropes report helps clients focus on capability rather than just CV metrics, and has often helped strong candidates secure interviews they might otherwise have missed.

Defense is the Best Offense

In competitive staffing environments, clients ask the same question: "What makes you different?"

MLabs uses Ropes as a clear, concrete answer:

• It proves the candidate is real (identity + integrity signals)
• It proves capability (technical assessment + report)
• It reduces risk for the client without adding work for them

Today, MLabs references Ropes in 100% of sales conversations, and uses Ropes artifacts (reports, examples, screening outcomes) to help clients understand why MLabs submissions are more reliable.

Ropes has been an absolute game changer in sales conversations. It's something that's almost always commented on by clients. Instead of just saying we vet candidates properly, we can show them exactly how. It gives us a clear, concrete answer when clients ask what makes us different and that's incredibly powerful in competitive processes.

Looking Ahead

MLabs is continuing to expand MLabs Talent Partners and deepen enterprise relationships where screening rigor and speed must coexist.

With Ropes, MLabs has a scalable foundation for:

• Remote hiring integrity
• Technical validation at scale
• Stronger differentiation in both delivery and sales

As we scaled MLabs Talent Partners, having Ropes in place made that growth feel much safer. We could increase volume, bring on more recruiters, and move faster without constantly worrying that standards would slip. That confidence was a big part of being able to spin the staffing arm out properly and grow the team to where it is today.