Work with Jumpstart HR Research
Independent research, analyst advisory, and market presence for HR technology companies. Here is what we build, how we work, and exactly where the line is.
Two kinds of work, and they do not cross
Everything below sits on one side of a line, and keeping that line intact is the whole business model.
Research, content, and presence
Sponsored studies, category and landscape guides, content packages, webinars, and events. This work carries your name, discloses your sponsorship, and reports what the data actually says.
Advisory, alignment, and enablement
Subscriptions, retainers, alignments, and validations. Confidential by construction. It never becomes published research about you, and it never travels to your competitors.
What we do
Six ways to work with us. Each one has its own page with the detail, the process, and the honest caveats.
Working with our analysts
How to brief us, what we cover, what is free versus paid, and how to get on our radar. Start here if analyst relations is your job.
Read more →
Sponsored and commissioned research
Landscape guides, category guides, insights reports and briefs. Original survey data, published under our name with your sponsorship disclosed.
Read more →
Analyst advisory and market intelligence
Standing access to Insights@Work buyer research, plus analyst hours each quarter for snapshots, trend calls, and positioning reviews.
Read more →
Product and market alignment
Competitive and ICP validation, product-market fit assessment, positioning review. For when you are looking to win more of the deals you should be winning.
Read more →
Content marketing
Ebooks, articles, webinars, and infographics built on original buyer data and distributed on our channels. Co-branded or white-labeled.
Read more →
Independence, in writing
We put ours in writing so you never have to wonder where you stand with us.
Independent by design: aggregate data, clear disclosure, advisory stays confidential.
- Sponsorship funds the research, not the finding. You are buying the study getting made. You are not buying what it says. Data is reported as it comes back, including when it is inconvenient.
- Survey data is reported in aggregate. No individual respondent is ever identified to a sponsor.
- Every sponsored asset discloses who funded it. Plainly, on the asset — not buried in a footnote.
- Advisory stays confidential. What you share in a retainer does not become published research about you, and does not travel to your competitors.
- Your customer list stays yours. We never take possession of it. We may ask you to forward a survey invitation to your clients so they are represented in the findings — you control the send, and responses come back to us in aggregate.
- Briefings stay free and stay separate. A briefing is a research conversation. Taking one does not buy you coverage, and buying research does not buy you a rating.
- Placement is always earned, never purchased. Where a company shows up in our research reflects relevance to the buyer, and nothing else.
If a scope would require us to break one of these, we will say so early, while there is still time to shape it into something stronger.
How to engage us
Four steps, and you will have a real number after the first one.
A fit call
Fifteen to thirty minutes on what you are trying to learn and whether we are the right firm for it. If we are not, we will say so.
A written proposal
We scope to the question and send a statement of work with fixed fees and a clear deliverable list.
Agreement
A short agreement you review at your own pace. No pressure and no expiring discount.
Kickoff
Payment is due on acceptance, before the kickoff meeting. Then we start.
On pricing
We do not publish a rate card. Every engagement is scoped to a specific question, a specific audience, and a specific level of amplification — a public price would be wrong for almost everyone who read it.
What we will tell you up front:
- Fees are fixed, not hourly. You will know the number before you commit to anything.
- Payment is due on contract acceptance, prior to kickoff, by ACH in US funds.
- Subscriptions and retainers can be billed annually or quarterly. Content packages can be spread across quarters.
- Reduced pricing for companies under 5M ARR on subscriptions, retainers, and strategic alignments. There is a startup track.
- Landscape and category guides can be sole-sponsored or co-sponsored across a small group of vendors, which changes the number substantially.
- Travel and expenses for in-person work are pre-approved and billed separately at actual cost.
- Bundling multiple lines earns a better rate. Retainer and subscription clients get discounted project rates.
One call gets you a real number. We are not going to make you sit through three meetings to find out whether you can afford us.
Questions vendors actually ask
Why will you not publish pricing?
Because the same words can mean a single insights brief or a sole-sponsored landscape guide, and those are not close to the same number. Add co-sponsorship, reduced rates for companies under 5M ARR, and bundle discounts, and a published figure would mislead nearly everyone reading it. Payment is due on contract acceptance prior to kickoff, by ACH, and you get a real number on the first call.
What is the difference between a briefing and a paid engagement?
A briefing is free, confidential, and one-directional. It is not a sponsorship and not a sales meeting. Paid engagements are everything in the list above. Briefing first is common, and it costs nothing.
Can sponsoring research influence the findings?
No. You influence the question, the audience, and the timing. You do not influence the answer. If the data contradicts your positioning, that is what gets published.
Do you work with our competitors?
Almost certainly. We are an analyst firm covering a category, so we talk to everyone in it, and that is what makes the outside read worth having. What protects you is confidentiality: nothing you tell us travels, and we never advise one client using another’s information.
Do you need access to our customer data?
No, and we do not want it. All research and custom insight work is done without access to your data or client lists.
Who do you work with?
HR technology vendors, PEOs, workforce platforms, and HR service providers selling to HR and operations leaders — most often in talent acquisition, payroll, workforce management, recognition, and compliance. There is a dedicated track for teams under 5M ARR.
Start with a fit call
Fifteen to thirty minutes. Tell us what you are trying to learn, and we will tell you whether we are the right firm for it and what it would cost.
Book a fit call →
Just want a briefing? Those are free and handled separately — request a research briefing.