Research Rockstar

What Research Rockstar does

Research Rockstar Training & Staffing, Inc. is a privately held, bootstrapped professional services company headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, that operates a dual eLearning-and-staffing business targeting market research and insights professionals. The company runs a self-serve training portal (training.researchrockstar.com) offering 25+ on-demand courses, five IPC-aligned certification bundles priced at $825 per student for 12-month access, a Backstage Pass free trial covering 26 courses, and 50+ instructor-led live virtual events annually.

Its second core business line, Rent-a-Researcher, is a B2B staffing service that places 150+ US-based market research contractors selected through a 15-step vetting process, with senior researchers billed from $120/hr and junior researchers from $50/hr; retained engagements and rush placements (as fast as two days) are offered, and disclosed client projects range from approximately $1,400 to $14,000. Supporting the AI-augmented training thesis, the company launched IDI Rockstar Pro in August 2024, an avatar-based conversational AI interview simulation priced at $200 per student with group discounts, sold as part of the Qualitative Interviewing Mastery Lab.

The company is founder-led by Kathryn Korostoff (President and Lead Instructor, former professor and past President of the Insights Association New England Chapter), supported by a team of approximately 10 expert instructors plus 100+ vetted consultants and contractors. The customer base spans individual market researchers seeking IPC credentials and agencies and enterprises needing flexible research capacity, with named Fortune 500 training clients and market-research agency engagements. Revenue is generated through subscription eLearning, usage-based staffing, AI tool licensing, and productized consulting services; no external funding rounds, parent company, or institutional investors are disclosed.

Name

Research Rockstar

Legal name

Research Rockstar Training & Staffing, Inc.

Website

https://researchrockstar.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Research Rockstar is a privately held training and staffing company serving market research and insights professionals with IPC-aligned eLearning courses, AI-powered interview simulation (IDI Rockstar Pro), and a B2B Rent-a-Researcher contractor placement service.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Training & Staffing

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Educational Support Services (61171), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)

Keywords

• Market research training
• Market research staffing
• Professional certification courses
• Research eLearning platform
• Qualitative research methods

Headquarters

HQ city

Marlborough

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. eLearning Course Bundles and IPC Certifications: Self-paced online courses bundled by certification path (IPC bundles). 12-month access per bundle. Courses include video lessons, assignments, quizzes, and optional live events.
2. Rent-a-Researcher Staffing: Flexible staffing placing qualified market research contractors for short-term needs. Engagements scoped by project with upfront budget documentation. Senior Researchers from $120/hr, Junior Researchers from $50/hr.
3. IDI Rockstar Pro Training: AI-powered interview simulation tool sold per student at $200, with group discounts available. Part of Qualitative Interviewing Mastery Lab course.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Research Rockstar operates a dual-offering platform combining an eLearning training service with a contractor staffing service for market research professionals. It delivers 25+ on-demand courses, IPC certification bundles, live virtual events, and the AI-powered IDI Rockstar Pro interview simulator, alongside a Rent-a-Researcher service that places 150+ vetted US-based market research contractors on flexible, project-based engagements.

Product overview

Research Rockstar Training & Staffing operates as a dual-offering platform combining eLearning training services with a contractor staffing service. The core product is the Market Research eLearning Training Platform, which provides 25+ on-demand courses and 50+ annual live events covering quantitative and qualitative market research methods. This training platform includes specialized sub-products: the IDI Rockstar Pro AI-powered interview simulator (launched August 2024), Insights Professional Certification (IPC) bundles aligned with Insights Association standards, and the Qualitative Interviewing Mastery Lab course. The second major offering is the Rent-a-Researcher Staffing Service, connecting clients with 150+ vetted US-based market research contractors for temporary project support. A free Backstage Pass trial provides access to training courses for evaluation purposes. The company also produces the Conversations for Research Rockstars video podcast as a content and marketing vehicle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rent-a-Researcher: A staffing service that connects clients with vetted market research and insights contractors for temporary project needs.
• IDI Rockstar Pro
• IPC Bundles
• Conversations for Research Rockstars

Products and services

• Market Research eLearning Training Platform
• Rent-a-Researcher Staffing Service
• IDI Rockstar Pro
• Insights Professional Certification (IPC) Bundles
• Live Virtual Training Events
• Market Research Consulting Services
• Qualitative Interviewing Mastery Lab

Quantifiable outcome

• Placement in as little as 5 business days (2 days for rush gigs)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature1 record

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• UserTesting: UserTesting is a larger UX research platform with a contributor/participant network — comparable as a broader research workforce and methodology training provider that overlaps with Research Rockstar's qualitative and UX-adjacent curriculum.
• Toluna: Toluna operates a global insights platform combining panels, survey tooling, and research services — broader incumbent that competes for the same enterprise research buyers Research Rockstar serves via staffing and training.
• Coursera: Coursera is a broad EdTech incumbent offering market research-adjacent courses from universities — competitive at the low end on price and breadth, though lacking the IPC alignment and live instructor engagement Research Rockstar emphasizes.
• Insights Association: The Insights Association owns the IPC certification program that Research Rockstar's curriculum aligns to, making it both a critical partner and a broader incumbent whose standards changes directly shape Research Rockstar's curriculum moat.

Direct peers

• Schlesinger Group: Schlesinger Group is a major qualitative and quantitative research staffing/field services provider — directly comparable to Research Rockstar's Rent-a-Researcher service, though at significantly larger scale and global footprint.
• Civicom Marketing Research Services: Civicom provides qualitative research support including IDI facilitation and online focus group services — comparable to Research Rockstar's qualitative consulting and IDI moderation offerings.
• GreenBook: GreenBook is the leading industry directory, GRIT report publisher, and event/media platform for the market research & insights community — directly comparable as a content-and-community hub serving the same buyer persona Research Rockstar trains and staffs.
• Quirks: Quirks produces trade articles, webinars, and events for market researchers and is a long-standing practitioner education resource — overlapping with Research Rockstar's eLearning and live event motion.

Emerging players

• Discuss.io: Discuss.io is a qualitative research platform with AI-enabled interview tools and a vetted Insights Network of moderators — an emerging player whose AI-augmented qualitative stack overlaps with IDI Rockstar Pro's positioning.
• Respondent.io: Respondent.io connects researchers with vetted participants and professionals for B2B and consumer studies — comparable as a marketplace model adjacent to Rent-a-Researcher, focused on participant rather than contractor matching.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCC0S4qBN9Fhl_LzKJJfjs4g
• Facebookfacebook.com/ResearchRockstarLLC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/2038750
• Xx.com/ResearchRocks

Compliance3 records

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 Research Rockstar