In Selendy & Gay’s earliest days, before the firm had moved into its office space near New York City landmarks like Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall, its founding partners couldn’t meet potential recruits in the sunlit conference rooms they now use. They couldn’t show off the artwork that adorns the firm’s hallways a year after its launch last February. There were no stately boardroom tables to sit at as they made their pitches.

Instead, they found a more personal venue.