Searchlight
Searchlight is a New York-based boutique digital recruitment firm founded in 2000 that places talent in advertising, media, and emerging technology verticals, operating with 1–10 employees under founder and partner Kelly Herrick.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Searchlight does
Searchlight is a private digital recruitment firm founded in 2000 and headquartered in New York, United States. The firm specializes in placing talent within three defined verticals: advertising, media, and emerging technology. It operates as a small boutique operation with 1–10 employees, led by founder and partner Kelly Herrick, indicating a relationship-driven, founder-led search model rather than a high-volume staffing platform. The firm's web presence (searchlightny.com) returned only a loader page at the time of data collection, limiting visibility into current service offerings, active mandates, or any technology-enabled features.
The business model follows a traditional recruitment agency structure, where revenue is generated via placement fees (retained or contingent search) charged to employer clients for successful candidate placements. The firm is positioned as a specialized vertical recruiter rather than a horizontal generalist, which is consistent with its stated focus on advertising, media, and emerging technology employers. No pricing details, fee structures, contract terms, revenue figures, or client logos are disclosed in the available data, and there is no evidence of technology platforms, proprietary databases, AI-assisted matching tools, or candidate-portal products.
From a corporate-structure standpoint, Searchlight (the recruitment firm) is a private for-profit entity with no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no known investors. The available data also references a separate entity, Searchlight Pictures, a film production studio associated with The Walt Disney Company; this is a distinct company and not the subject of this analysis. Based on the inputs, Searchlight the recruiter appears to be a long-tenured, small-scale, founder-led boutique whose competitive position is rooted in vertical specialization and personal industry relationships rather than scale, technology, or capital.
Searchlight firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Searchlight
- Website
- https://searchlightny.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Searchlight is a New York-based boutique digital recruitment firm founded in 2000 that places talent in advertising, media, and emerging technology verticals, operating with 1–10 employees under founder and partner Kelly Herrick.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Searchlight industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Recruitment Services
- NAICS
- Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Functional Leadership Search (HR/Finance/Legal/Marketing/Sales/Ops) (BPACAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Technology & Product Leadership Search (CIO/CTO/CDO/CPO) (BPACAAAC), C-Suite & Board Search (BPACAAAA)
Keywords
Where Searchlight is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Searchlight business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Theatrical Film Distribution: Revenue from theatrical releases of feature films distributed to cinema chains worldwide
- Streaming/Licensing Deals: Licensing of film and television content to streaming platforms such as Hulu
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels1 record
Searchlight product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Searchlight is a digital recruitment firm that provides talent acquisition and placement services for clients in the advertising, media, and emerging technology sectors. The firm matches candidates with employer clients through specialized search services, leveraging domain expertise in these three verticals.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Digital Recruitment Services
Companies that use Searchlight
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Searchlight technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Searchlight partnerships and signals
Strategic signalExpansion highlights2 records
Searchlight competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- 80Twenty: Boutique digital and media recruitment firm placing marketing, advertising, and emerging-tech talent; similar size, structure, and vertical focus as Searchlight.
- Creative Circle: Specialized staffing and recruiting firm for the creative, advertising, and digital industries; competes for the same candidate pools and client mandates.
- Artisan Talent: Creative and digital talent agency recruiting for advertising, design, and marketing roles; overlaps with Searchlight's media/emerging-tech positioning.
- Grace Blue: Boutique executive search firm focused on advertising, media, and marketing leadership — directly comparable to Searchlight's stated verticals and NYC-leaning client base.
Emerging players
- Rivet & Reverie: Smaller boutique recruiting firm focused on marketing, advertising, and digital talent; comparable in size and niche but a newer entrant with thinner relationships.
Broad incumbents
- Spencer Stuart: Global executive search firm serving media, entertainment, and technology sectors; competes for the same senior-level mandates at the highest fee tier.
- Russell Reynolds Associates: Global executive search firm with established media and technology officer practices; competes for the same cross-vertical leadership searches.
- Korn Ferry: Large-scale organizational and talent-consulting firm with executive search across media and technology; represents the platform-scale competitive threat.
- Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search firm with strong practices in media, technology, and marketing officer placements; defines the upper bound of Searchlight's competitive set.
- Egon Zehnder: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm covering media and technology sectors; relevant competitor for senior-level mandates.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Searchlight social profiles
Digital presenceSearchlight financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Searchlight leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Searchlight funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Searchlight M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Searchlight
What does Searchlight do?
Searchlight is a digital recruitment firm that provides talent acquisition and placement services for clients in the advertising, media, and emerging technology sectors. The firm matches candidates with employer clients through specialized search services, leveraging domain expertise in these three verticals.
Is Searchlight a public or private company?
Searchlight is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Searchlight founded?
Searchlight was founded in 2000. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Searchlight based?
Searchlight is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Searchlight make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Theatrical Film Distribution is the primary driver. The others are streaming/Licensing Deals.
Who are Searchlight's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are 80Twenty, Creative Circle, Artisan Talent and Grace Blue. Rivet & Reverie is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Spencer Stuart, Russell Reynolds Associates, Korn Ferry, Heidrick & Struggles and Egon Zehnder.
Does Searchlight have an API?
No public API is recorded for Searchlight.
What industry is Searchlight in?
Searchlight's product category is Recruitment Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAAAB, Functional Leadership Search (HR/Finance/Legal/Marketing/Sales/Ops), with a secondary code of BPACAAAC, Technology & Product Leadership Search (CIO/CTO/CDO/CPO). Its NAICS code is 561312 and its SIC code is 7361.