What The Hired Guns does

The Hired Guns is a privately-held digital talent agency founded in 2000 and headquartered at 733 Third Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The firm applies a Hollywood talent-management model to the digital professions, representing an exclusive network of more than 40,000 vetted digital professionals across 14 disciplines including Content, Data & Analytics, Marketing, Media & Advertising, Product Management, Technology, User Experience, and Visual Design. Its core service is matching this curated candidate pool with enterprise clients across top brands, award-winning agencies, and innovative media companies in finance, retail, healthcare, technology, and consumer sectors.

The company's underlying technology is a proprietary talent network and exclusive job board used to broadcast opportunities; recruiting engagements begin with a stakeholder kickoff session and follow a defined "agile recruiting" sprint culminating in a 360-degree candidate review. The Hired Guns explicitly positions against algorithmic matching, emphasizing human-driven curation and cultural fit assessment over automated matching. Supporting content products include the "28 Days to a New Job" daily email program and the registered "GIG ALERT®" job-notification service, which together reach 100,000+ digital professionals ("digerati") per broadcast.

The business operates five revenue streams: direct-hire permanent placement, freelance/contract staffing, freelance-to-hire arrangements, consulting engagements providing access to subject-matter experts, and corporate training through The Hired Guns Academy. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; placement-fee economics on visible listings imply standard percentage-of-first-year-salary fee structures on roles ranging from $40-45/hour contractors up to $200K-$300K base plus equity for executive placements. Distribution is direct: enterprise clients engage via a "Request Talent" intake form or phone, while candidates self-serve through the website job board. The company was founded by Allison Hemming, who remains CEO and serves as the primary brand asset through extensive media presence across The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Forbes, Good Morning America, and The Today Show. The Hired Guns has 11-50 employees and is recognized as a 2017 Inc. 5000 honoree and a 2017 Staffing Industry Association "Best Firm to Work For."

Name

The Hired Guns

Legal name

The Hired Guns Marketing Consulting Group, LLC

Website

https://thehiredguns.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Hired Guns is a New York-based digital talent agency founded in 2000 that represents an exclusive network of 40,000+ vetted digital professionals and matches them with enterprise clients across top brands, agencies, and media companies via direct-hire, freelance, and consulting engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Talent Agency / Staffing Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Temporary Help Services (56132), Executive Search Services (561312)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional & Technical Direct Hire (IT, Engineering, Finance, Healthcare) (BPACAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

People Analytics & Workforce Planning Training (EDABAIAH)

Keywords

• Digital talent agency
• Executive recruitment
• Creative staffing
• Freelance placement
• Career management

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Direct Hire / Permanent Placement: The company places candidates in full-time direct hire positions with client companies, earning placement fees for successful hires.
2. Freelance/Contract Staffing: The company provides contract talent for project-based and short-term engagements, handling admin and payment on behalf of clients.
3. Freelance-to-Hire: Contract-to-permanent placement option where companies can trial a freelancer before making a full-time offer.
4. Consulting Engagements: Access to Subject-Matter Experts or Think Tanks for complex business challenges at a fraction of traditional consulting cost.
5. Corporate Training and Development (Hired Guns Academy): Customized skill-building and brand-elevating programs delivered inside client organizations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Hired Guns is a digital talent agency that places vetted digital professionals into full-time, freelance, and freelance-to-hire roles at top brands, agencies, and media companies across 14+ disciplines. The firm also provides consulting engagements drawing on a subject-matter-expert think tank and delivers customized corporate training through The Hired Guns Academy. Beyond paid services, it operates a free Gig Alerts job notification newsletter and publishes career-advice content such as the 28 Days to a New Job program.

Product overview

The Hired Guns is a talent agency platform offering recruitment and career placement services for digital talent. The core offering is the talent agency itself, which provides direct hire placement, freelance/contract staffing, and consulting services across 14 discipline areas including Technology, Marketing, Content, Data & Analytics, HR & Recruiting, Product Management, User Experience, and Visual Design. Supporting services include GIG ALERT (job notification subscriptions), The Hired Guns Academy (corporate training), and 28 Days to a New Job (career advice program). The platform connects over 40,000 digital experts with brands, agencies, and media companies seeking digital talent.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Hired Guns Talent Agency (Direct Hire / Permanent Placement) Full-time permanent placement service that matches vetted digital professionals from The Hired Guns' 40,000+ network with top brands, agencies, and media companies across 14+ digital disciplines including Content, Data & Analytics, Marketing, Product Management, Technology, and Visual Design. Engagement begins with a stakeholder kickoff, includes hand-crafted job descriptions, calibration exercises, and culminates in a 360-Degree Review (The Extreme Screen) where clients meet top contenders in back-to-back interviews.
• Freelance / Contract Staffing Project-based and short-term staffing service providing vetted freelance digital talent to companies for defined engagements, with The Hired Guns handling administration and payment. Recent examples include Brand & Creative Project Manager ($40-45/hour), Social-First Digital Content Editor ($40-50/hour), and Strategic Operations Consultant ($50-80/hour).
• Freelance-to-Hire Contract-to-permanent placement service that lets companies trial a freelancer through a project engagement before converting them to a full-time hire, providing flexibility and de-risking the permanent placement decision.
• Consulting Engagements (Subject-Matter Expert / Think Tank Access) On-demand consulting service that gives client companies access to The Hired Guns' Subject-Matter Expert Think Tank for tackling complex business challenges, priced at a fraction of traditional consulting firm cost.
• The Hired Guns Academy (Corporate Training) Customized corporate training and development program delivered inside client organizations, designed to elevate skills and brands through skill-building workshops tailored to the client's specific digital discipline needs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Placement of talent across 14+ digital disciplines for top brands, agencies, and media companies in roles ranging from early career to C-suite.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Aquent: Aquent is one of the largest staffing firms focused on marketing, creative, and digital talent, offering temporary, contract, and direct-hire placement. It directly competes with The Hired Guns for the same enterprise clients and digital disciplines (design, content, marketing, UX).
• Creative Circle: Creative Circle specializes in placing creative, digital, marketing, and communications professionals on a contract, contract-to-hire, and direct-hire basis. It overlaps almost entirely with The Hired Guns' discipline mix and client base.
• 24 Seven Talent: 24 Seven Talent is a creative, digital, and marketing staffing agency serving agencies, brands, and consumer products companies. Its focus on design, marketing, and digital roles makes it a direct competitor for the same talent pool and client engagements.
• Mondo: Mondo is a staffing agency focused on digital, technology, creative, and marketing professionals, offering contract, contract-to-hire, and direct-hire placements. It competes head-to-head with The Hired Guns across the digital disciplines listed on the company's job board.
• Vitamin T (Aquent brand): Vitamin T is Aquent's talent brand focused on creative, design, and digital professionals, providing contract and direct-hire services. It is directly comparable to The Hired Guns in the digital-creative segment.
• Artisan Talent: Artisan Talent is a creative, digital, and marketing staffing and recruiting firm specializing in freelance, contract, and full-time placements for agencies and brands. It competes for the same digital and creative candidates and clients.
• Paladin: Paladin is a staffing and recruiting agency focused on digital, creative, and marketing professionals, offering contract, contract-to-hire, and direct-hire services. It targets a similar niche of agencies, brands, and non-profits in the digital ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Toptal: Toptal operates an online marketplace connecting companies with top freelance software developers, designers, and digital professionals. While tech-led rather than human-recruiter-led, it competes for the same high-end digital freelance talent and contract engagements.

Broad incumbents

• Robert Half: Robert Half is a large, publicly traded staffing firm spanning finance, accounting, technology, marketing, and creative roles. It serves many of the same enterprise clients as The Hired Guns, but with a much broader occupational footprint and global delivery.

Others

• GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group): GLG operates a large expert network that connects clients with subject-matter experts for consulting engagements. It mirrors The Hired Guns' consulting engagement offering (access to SMEs / think tanks), though focused on expert consultations rather than permanent placement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Hired Guns