"Another CRM? Don't Do It": Karen Somal on Building What Everyone Said Not To (Part 1)

Recruiter Wake Up Call with Kat Kingshott · Oct 6, 2026 · 25m

"The goal isn't to become someone who never doubts themselves. It's to become someone who knows how to move forward when they do."

This week on Recruiter Wake Up Call, I'm joined by Karen Somal, founder and CEO of Athena CRM. Karen has spent years on the vendor side of recruitment tech and has worked with thousands of agencies. In all that time, she never met one that was truly happy with its CRM. So one night she got out a pen and pad and sketched out the system she thought recruiters actually needed. Everyone told her the world didn't need another CRM. She built it anyway.

In Part 1 we get…