BizSpark Startup of the Day - erecruit

The BizSpark startup of the day is erecruit, based in the US. Below you will find an interview with James Morganstern of erecruit. All the best to them and congratulations for being the startup of the day!

Website: www.erecruit.com

Tell us who you are and your role in the company:

My name is Jim Morganstern and I run sales, marketing and alliances at erecruit.

What did you do before creating your company?

I’ve been involved in building new companies and new business units within established companies throughout my entire career. Prior to erecruit I co-founded a real-time monitoring & analytics company, Blue Agave Software.

How do you feel being the most promising ‘Startup of the Day’ per Microsoft BizSpark?

With the incredible innovation and hyper-competition taking place in today’s markets, it is an honor to be selected by the Microsoft BizSpark team as ‘Startup of the Day’.

What is your company’s mission?

To improve the operating performance of the 20,000+ staffing and recruiting firms who comprise the $120B staffing industry in the United States today.

In 140 characters or less, tell us what your company does:

erecruit provides a complete staffing firm management solution for both contract/temp and direct hire businesses.

How did you get the idea for your company?

erecruit was founded by two owners of a staffing firm who happened to both have engineering degrees and career experience implementing large-scale accounting systems. When they sought out an integrated solution to run their own firm and discovered how incomplete most of the products were, they saw a market opportunity to develop a better solution. Many successful staffing firm owners can describe the problem, but these guys also had the engineering, process workflow and accounting expertise to pull it off.

Tell us about your funding history. Are you currently looking for funding? If so, how much?

Every entrepreneur is open to a funding discussion, as are we. We’ve been fortunate to develop our initial customer base – a testament to our value proposition given these market conditions – and a strong pipeline very quickly. That said, more working capital would help us accelerate our growth.

How many employees do you have? How many developers?

Ten employees today with five in engineering.

Are you hiring? If yes, what are you hiring for and where?

We are always interviewing for engineers and sales people. We current have two open engineering positions in Boston.

Which platform are you building on? Why?

Our solution is based 100% on the Microsoft technology stack: ASP.NET; SQL Server; Windows Server; Exchange Server; integration with Dynamics. We’ve chosen this path for several reasons. First, Microsoft has incredible market penetration in our target market. Second, it eliminates the risks associated with attempting to integrate multiple technologies from multiple vendors (yes, this problem still exists!). And third, Microsoft provides fantastic support to its developer community.

Where do you see opportunities today in the Software/Internet area?

I believe there is still so much to be accomplished in the areas of personal and professional productivity. Users are required to juggle multiple devices and myriad user interfaces in their daily lives, yet they continue to be confronted with an incomplete picture of the data needed to accomplish the task at hand.

What do you think about the BizSpark Program?

The BizSpark Program provides a great balance of software, support and visibility. I think it is a fantastic program for those entrepreneurs who are considering or who have committed to develop their solution using Microsoft’s technologies.

Do you have any advice for young Software entrepreneurs?

You can never find your first customers soon enough. You can never have too much cash. Spend more on marketing than on office furniture.

Who’s your role model?

I have to say my father, who taught me the values of hard work, treating people with respect and always being forthright when conducting business.

What’s the ONE THING you would like readers to take away from this interview?

Microsoft has a great program for startups. And please buy our software.