Human capital software and services firms help their clients to recruit employees and manage various aspects of their employee lifecycle, but who helps those firms with the marketing strategies that help them find their clients? Furthermore, who helps those human capital software and services firms find marketing professionals that have both industry experience and serious marketing chops?
These are good questions, and companies that fulfill these needs require a rare combination of industry savvy and strategic ability. Starr Tincup is one such firm.
Privately held, Starr Tincup is a boutique service provider with about 20 employees, all of whom work out of a loft in Fort Worth, Texas. The Dallas Business Journal recently named the company to its "Best Places to Work." Co-founders Bret Starr and William Tincup started the firm in 2000. Starr, a tri-athlete and member of the Fort Worth Opera Board, brought to the firm expertise gained from tours of duty at talent management firms such as a Deploy Solutions, a provider—since acquired by Kronos—of recruiting, hiring and retention software to large companies. Tincup, himself the holder of three degrees, was previously vice president of operations at a firm that helps clients develop Internet strategies.
Starr and Tincup originally founded their boutique to help human capital solutions vendors develop effective marketing strategies and tactics. Since then, they have added services that assist these clients with related needs such as media planning and media sourcing. A new area of focus has been to connect clients with the industry-experienced marketing talent they need in order to develop marketing strategy and execute marketing tactics. Drawing on a decade of experience in recruiting top talent at all levels, Elizabeth Lalli-Reese heads this new initiative for Starr Tincup. "Lalli" previously held HR and staffing roles such as director of operations for a legal staffing firm, senior manager of talent acquisition, and executive recruiter for a financial services firm. Recipient of the Professional of Human Resources (PHR) designation in the spring of 2007, Lalli brings to Starr Tincup the kind of experience necessary to recruit top-tier talent for the company's clients.
"Our staffing service was conceived as an extension of our strategic marketing services," says Starr. "We frequently identify gaps in marketing execution with our clients that are best filled with a new hire who has industry experience and relevant marketing super powers."
Emerging firms comprise the largest contingent of Starr Tincup's clients. Companies in this stage of development are driving revenue and, typically, obtaining venture capital. Their marketing departments typically comprise only a few people who benefit not only from Starr Tincup's strategic input, but also may need the horsepower of additional staff.
"We hear a great deal of chatter in the talent management marketplace about providing end-to-end solutions fo
