Seattle's Talent Savant to Compete in Start-Up of the Year Contest

Talent Savant to compete with companies from Germany, the UK and Hong Kong to venture capitalists, media and industry pros

Talent Savant was launched on Jan. 9 from single mom Ingrid Johnson's one-bedroom apartment in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood and on March 14, they will be pitching to 1,000 staffing and recruiting industry experts at the Hiring Success conference in San Francisco, California, hosted by SmartRecruiters. 

The contest's judging panel, listed below, will choose a winner from five firms hailing from Germany, the U.K., Hong Kong and the United States. The prizes are an article from Talent Tech Labs, $10,000 in sponsorship for HS19's event (Gold Sponsor) and $10,000 in media spend courtesy of HR.com.

  • Matt Gatto, partner at Insight Ventures
  • Todd Wilson, partner at Silicon Valley Bank
  • Tejas Maniar, partner at Mayfield
  • Jonathan Kestenbaum, founder of Talent Tech Labs
  • Jeff Diana, former CHRO at multiple companies
  • Rebecca Carr, VP Product at SmartRecruiters

Talent Savant is the world's first for the benefit of the employees staffing firm. The company's mission is to keep six months of operating budget and disburse all remaining profit to the employees. The employees are recruiters who work from home. The low overhead and not-for-profit model allows Talent Savant to cut industry staffing fees by more than half. The company has a current headcount of 100 and is growing exponentially.

Talent Savant charges a 10 percent direct-hire fee and $5,000 and $10,000 flat contract-to-hire fees. They work in every industry all across the United States and are expanding internationally in Q4 of 2018. 

The presentation will be spearheaded by Talent Savant's COO Darla Shaw from Burleson, Texas. Shaw has extensive HR experience, most recently as the VP of HR for Pardus Oil and Gas. 

Source: Talent Savant