What Act One Research does

Act One Research, Inc. is a privately held, boutique qualitative market research recruiting company headquartered at 213 W Institute Pl #502 in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in January 1999 and owned since 2016 by Bob Irby, the firm operates with a small core of experienced staff (averaging 20+ years in the field) and serves a select client base of market research firms and corporate clients seeking participants for qualitative studies including focus groups, in-depth interviews, online opinion boards, executive studies, medical staff studies, consumer studies, and B2B studies. Its core technology is a proprietary independent respondent database developed and continuously grown since 1999 via social media, SurveyMonkey-based online surveys, referrals, and face-to-face recruiting; the firm also coordinates with top Chicago-area research facilities to manage day-of-study logistics. The company recruits primarily within the Chicago metropolitan area and surrounding suburbs, with national recruiting available from client-supplied lists.

The business operates on a project-based professional services model. Pricing is determined through a bid-request process on the company's WordPress website, with quotes based on recruiting specifications, study date, location, respondent criteria, and project complexity. Revenue is generated per-project rather than via recurring subscriptions, with multi-year client relationships implied but not publicly disclosed. The firm does not list named customer logos, has no disclosed institutional investors or parent company, and relies on direct sales engagement, its website, and referrals as primary marketing channels. The go-to-market motion is sales-led, with senior project managers personally engaged on every project from specification through completion. No AI, API, or mobile app capabilities are part of the offering; the technology stack is intentionally light and centered on the proprietary respondent database and SurveyMonkey integration.

Name

Act One Research

Legal name

Act One Research, Inc.

Website

https://actone-research.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Act One Research is a Chicago-based boutique qualitative market research recruiting firm founded in 1999, using a proprietary respondent database to recruit participants for focus groups, interviews, and specialized studies for select market research clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Recruiting Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Syndicated Market Research (Panels, Omnibus, Tracker Studies) (MPAAALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Social & Digital Insights (Social Listening, Online Community Research) (MPAAALAK)

Keywords

• Qualitative research recruiting
• Focus group recruitment
• Market research services
• Respondent recruitment
• Business research studies

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Qualitative Research Recruiting Services: Boutique-style professional services for recruiting participants in qualitative market research studies. Revenue is generated through project-based fees for recruiting services, project management, and facility coordination. Services are tailored to niche projects for a select client base.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Act One Research is a boutique-style qualitative market research recruiting company based in Chicago that recruits qualified, articulate respondents for focus groups, in-depth interviews (including in-home and shop-along), online opinion boards, executive studies, medical staff studies, consumer studies, B2B studies, and smartphone app studies. The company also coordinates day-of-study facilities with top Chicago-area research venues. Services are delivered primarily in the Chicago metropolitan area with national recruiting available from client-supplied lists.

Product overview

Act One Research is a boutique-style qualitative market research recruiting company based in Chicago, founded in 1999. The company operates as a single unified service offering centered on recruiting respondents for qualitative market research studies. Their core product is their qualitative research recruiting service, which encompasses multiple specialized recruitment types including focus group recruiting, in-depth interviews (in-home, shop-along), online opinion boards, executive studies, medical staff studies, consumer studies, and business-to-business studies. They maintain a proprietary respondent database platform used to source and match participants to projects. Facility coordination and management is offered as an ancillary service to support studies. The company recruits locally in Chicago and surrounding suburbs, as well as nationally from client-supplied lists.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Qualitative Market Research Recruiting

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Top Chicago Area Research FacilitiescoreOthersAct One Research maintains relationships with leading research facilities in and around Chicago to coordinate and manage study locations. The company helps ensure studies take place at facilities that best meet project specifications.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Respondent.io: Respondent.io is an online platform connecting researchers with participants for qualitative and B2B studies. It overlaps with Act One's recruiting role but uses a self-serve marketplace model, positioning it as a digital disruptor to traditional boutique recruiters.
• Civicom Marketing Research Services: Civicom supports qualitative market research with respondent recruitment and online research technology services. While its emphasis on online/IDIs overlaps with Act One's online opinion board and smartphone app study offerings, its focus on tech-enabled services gives it a more digital-forward posture.

Direct peers

• Fieldwork Network: Fieldwork runs focus group facilities and qualitative recruiting services across multiple US markets, including the Midwest. Both firms compete for the same qualitative research recruiting work and serve similar corporate research clients, making Fieldwork one of Act One's closest direct competitors despite its larger national footprint.
• Focus Pointe Global: Focus Pointe Global operates focus group facilities and qualitative recruiting services nationally, with depth in B2B and healthcare recruiting. Both companies serve the same end-buyers (research agencies and corporate insights teams) with comparable recruiting-centric offerings, differing mainly in geographic coverage.
• Plaza Research: Plaza Research is a national qualitative research recruiting firm running focus group facilities and respondent recruitment. It directly overlaps with Act One's core service of recruiting participants for focus groups, in-depth interviews, and related qualitative studies.
• L&E Research: L&E Research provides qualitative recruiting and focus group facility services, with strength in consumer and healthcare studies. It is comparable to Act One as a recruiting-led firm serving research agencies and brand-side clients for qualitative engagements.

Broad incumbents

• Dynata: Dynata operates one of the world's largest first-party research data and panel networks, providing both online sample and qualitative recruiting services. It serves many of the same corporate research clients as Act One but at much greater scale and with a panel-centric, technology-led model.
• Toluna: Toluna is a digital consumer insights platform combining online panels with qualitative research services. While it is a much larger, technology-led player, it competes for the same qualitative recruiting engagements that drive Act One's project pipeline.
• Ipsos: Ipsos is a global market research firm running both quantitative and qualitative research, often partnering with or competing against local recruiters. Although Ipsos does not specialize in pure recruiting the way Act One does, it is a major buyer of qualitative fieldwork services in the same end market.
• Schlesinger Group: Schlesinger Group is one of the largest qualitative research fieldwork and recruiting companies in the US, operating a broad network of focus group facilities and recruitment services. Compared to Act One's single Chicago hub, Schlesinger offers national scale and a wider service portfolio, but operates in the same core qualitative recruiting category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Act One Research