What Harrington Starr does

Harrington Starr is a privately held financial technology recruitment firm founded in 2010 and headquartered in London, with additional offices in New York (regional headquarters) and Belfast. The firm specializes in placing professionals across twelve functional areas within financial technology, including software engineering, quantitative finance, data, cyber security and IT risk, cloud engineering and DevOps, change and transformation, product management, infrastructure support, network engineering, application support, testing, and sales and marketing. It serves enterprise clients across the financial services vertical, including banks, investment banks, hedge funds, asset managers, payment providers, insurance companies, exchanges, fintech vendors and service providers, and fintech start-ups.

The core technology consists of a relationship-driven recruitment service augmented by a self-serve Job Search Platform that enables candidates to filter fintech opportunities by sector, job type, salary, and location. Adjacent to the recruitment business is a content and events portfolio including The Financial Technologist magazine (published twice yearly), FinTech Focus TV and FinTech's DEI Discussions podcasts, proprietary research products (FinTech Unfiltered Salary & Talent Survey and Financial Technology Candidate Survey), The Influence List awards, the Talent Equity List DEI initiative, and sponsored industry conferences. These properties function as marketing channels, thought-leadership platforms, and data collection instruments that feed the candidate pipeline.

Harrington Starr earns revenue primarily through contingency-based transaction fees on permanent placements, structured as a percentage of placed candidate annual salary (specific rates not disclosed), and through fees for contract and contract-to-hire engagements. Pricing is quote-based. The go-to-market is sales-led, combining direct enterprise account management for client acquisition with inside sales and consultant-led outreach for candidate engagement. Legal entity Harrington Starr Limited is governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the broader Harrington Starr Group comprises Harrington Starr Limited, The North Starr Limited, and Search 5.0 Limited.

Name

Harrington Starr

Legal name

Harrington Starr Limited

Website

https://harringtonstarr.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Harrington Starr is a privately held fintech recruitment firm founded in 2010, placing technology, quantitative, and transformation professionals in financial services. Operating from London, New York, and Belfast, it serves banks, hedge funds, asset managers, payment providers, and fintech firms via contingency-based permanent and contract placements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Technology Recruitment Services

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Banking, Risk, Compliance & Quantitative Staffing (BPACADAN)

Keywords

• Fintech recruitment services
• Financial technology staffing
• Permanent placement
• Contract recruitment
• Quantitative finance hiring

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Permanent Recruitment Placement Fees: Contingency-based recruitment fees for placing permanent candidates in financial technology roles. The company matches employers with candidates across technology, change & transformation, quantitative finance, and sales functions.
2. Contract/Contract-to-Hire Recruitment: Placement of contract professionals for temporary or project-based fintech roles, providing staffing flexibility for clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Harrington Starr is a financial technology recruitment firm that places permanent and contract professionals across twelve functional specializations including software engineering, quantitative finance, cyber security, DevOps, data, and product management. The firm serves enterprise clients such as banks, hedge funds, payment providers, asset managers, and fintech start-ups across the UK and US markets.

Product overview

Harrington Starr is a multi-award-winning financial technology recruitment business offering a platform-plus-services model. The core offering comprises recruitment services across twelve specializations: Application Support, Change and Transformation, Cloud Engineering & DevOps, Cyber Security and IT Risk, Data & AI, Infrastructure Support, Network Engineering, Product Management, Quantitative Finance, Sales and Marketing, Software Engineering, and Testing. This is complemented by a digital Job Search Platform enabling candidates to search and apply for roles. Supporting the recruitment business is a content and events portfolio including The Financial Technologist magazine, FinTech Focus TV podcast, FinTech's DEI Discussions podcast, The Influence List awards, and The Talent Equity List initiative. The company also produces annual industry research publications including the FinTech Unfiltered Salary & Employee Survey and Financial Technology Candidate Survey.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Financial Technologist: Industry-leading magazine published two times a year offering exclusive thought leadership pieces for clients and candidates.
• FinTech Focus TV
• FinTech's DEI Discussions
• The Influence List
• FinTech Unfiltered

Products and services

• Permanent Recruitment Placement Services Contingency-based permanent placement service matching employers with candidates across twelve fintech functional specializations including software engineering, quantitative finance, cyber security, data, and product management. Designed for banks, hedge funds, payment providers, asset managers, fintech start-ups, and other financial institutions.
• Contract Recruitment Services Placement of contract professionals for temporary or project-based fintech roles, providing staffing flexibility for clients. Used by financial institutions needing short-term or project-based technology talent.
• Job Search Platform Online job board and candidate portal enabling job seekers to search and apply for fintech positions across London, Belfast, and New York with filtering by sector, job type, and salary.
• FinTech Unfiltered Salary & Employee Survey Annual comprehensive salary and employee survey covering UK and USA fintech markets, providing benchmarks across major roles with insights from over 1,500 professionals on culture, retention, and market trends.
• Financial Technology Candidate Survey Annual survey providing insights into what drives career decisions for fintech professionals including demand for flexible working, work-life balance, and financial recognition.

Quantifiable outcome

• Survey data from over 1,500 fintech professionals across UK and USA informing market intelligence
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• FinTech Focus TV EcosystemcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarrington Starr produces FinTech Focus TV, hosting industry thought leaders to share insights on innovation and technological change. The platform features partnerships with industry leaders and serves as a content marketing and thought leadership vehicle.
• The Financial Technologist MagazinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry-leading magazine publication produced twice yearly, offering clients and candidates access to exclusive thought leadership pieces and current industry insights.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Selby Jennings: Specialist financial services and fintech recruitment firm operating across banking, hedge funds, asset management, and technology. Direct competitor to Harrington Starr in placing quant, technology, and front-office talent into financial institutions.
• Glocomms: Global fintech, financial services, and emerging technology recruitment firm. Closely comparable business model and target customer base to Harrington Starr, with overlap across technology, change & transformation, and quant placements.
• Cititec: Technology and quantitative recruitment firm specializing in financial services, energy, and commodities. Directly comparable to Harrington Starr's quant finance and trading technology specializations.
• McGregor Boyall: UK-headquartered financial services and technology recruitment firm with permanent and contract offerings. Closely comparable in serving banks, asset managers, and fintech clients across UK markets.
• Radley James: Boutique financial services and fintech recruitment firm focused on technology, change, and quant hires. Comparable niche specialization and client mix to Harrington Starr.
• Oliver James Associates: Global specialist recruitment firm for insurance, banking, financial services, and fintech. Comparable in target verticals and in offering both permanent and contract placements, with overlap in transformation and technology roles.

Broad incumbents

• Hays: Large global staffing group with a dedicated Banking & Financial Services and Technology practice. Competes with Harrington Starr for enterprise fintech mandates but as a broad incumbent rather than a fintech specialist.
• Robert Half: Global staffing and consulting firm with established financial services and technology recruitment lines. Competes on enterprise contracts but does not specialize as deeply in fintech as Harrington Starr.

Emerging players

• Computer Futures: IT and technology recruitment firm with growing fintech vertical exposure. Comparable in technology skill focus (software, DevOps, data) though with less depth in pure quant and trading roles.
• FDM Group: Publicly listed technology and business services consultancy that recruits, trains, and deploys consultants into financial services. Adjacent model to Harrington Starr's tech recruitment but structured around trained graduate deployments rather than contingent executive search.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/harringtonstarr
• Facebookfacebook.com/384283248345689
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1032582

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

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 Harrington Starr