Ursus Inc.

• Rank: 25
• Segment(s): IT
• Revenue: $35.1 million
• CAGR: 60.0%
• Website: ursusinc.com

Danville, California-based staffing company Ursus has thrived by comingling two characteristics often seen as mutually exclusive: tech and creative.

“Some competitors think of content and tech as siloed,” says CEO Jon Beck. “But the world of continual digital transformation along with the rise of AI/ML requires technology and creative talent. They’re interdependent. The skill sets are blending.”

To find recruits with a mix of both skills, Ursus avoids the keyword searches that Beck says every staffing company uses. Instead, he and his team look for subject-matter experts in specific disciplines: functional marketing, media design, software development, mechanical engineering and project management. “That structure has served us well,” Beck says. “We started tech first and then moved into creative four years ago. Over time, new subject matter areas will help grow the organization.”

Using Tech to Create Time

Ursus uses technology creatively in another sense as well: to create more time for personal connection. “We’re passionate, if not maniacal, about processes that create efficiency for the team, and I think we’re ahead of much bigger firms in terms of creating efficiency,” Beck explains. “We have people in the firm whose job it is to think about improving processes.”

The Ursus team has been virtual first for the past six years and uses automation to create more time for conversation. It works to maintain a balance between filling immediate client needs and keeping in contact with future recruiting prospects, setting aside separate buckets of time to connect with each group. Technology enables team members to stay in touch with referrals and job postings, giving them time to have conversations that will help them understand prospects on a deeper level as well as build trust.

“We find that employee priorities are changing, and how they want to interact is also changing,” Beck says. “We check in with younger employees about what will resonate with them, and it’s no surprise that they’ve shot down some ideas along the way.”

The Road Ahead

In the next few years, Beck adds, Ursus aims to reach $100 million in annual revenue. “That number would put us on a fairly exclusive list,” he continues. “There are about 25,000 staffing companies in the US. Of those, 262 have $100 million or more in annual revenue, according to SIA, and only 61 are in technology and creative.” As Ursus gets closer to that number, it will likely fuel its growth with strategic investments and expansions into new areas and continue to move upmarket into what Beck refers to as the underserved, often more challenging “white space” in the staffing market.