The power and value of serious software development search.

Here's a software development success story Core Search Group is immensely proud of.

Automated Trading Desk has entered into an agreement with Citi to be acquired for $680 million. While most people in SC still don't even know who this company is or what they do ATD is one of the biggest business success stories in the history of our state. ATD helped us become who we are in a big way and we think we had a hand in helping them get where they are.

In 2001 I had the incredible business foresight to purchase this company from the previous owners at precisely the same moment that the internet bubble imploded. I had worked for the firm for two years as a recruiter placing software developers, networking people, and anything else related to IT. We were a generalist IT staffing company and unfortunately so was everyone else. When the bubble burst every company we worked for suddenly was not hiring. We had no jobs to work on. A lot of recruiters were suddenly on the street with an old guitar and a tin cup and a surprised expression. So there I was at my desk, the only employee of the company, having taken on some debt, with no jobs to recruit for. I figured I better find a specialized niche where people were still hiring, pronto.

To make a long story short I became aware of this little and extremely impressive company on the coast of SC that was hiring software engineers. I began a dialogue with ATD but they were quick to point out what they were looking for was very difficult to find. At this point the degree of difficulty wasn't a big obstacle for me. I had to succeed. ATD hires very proficient software engineers. People who are exceptionally skilled and productive at what they do. People with a history of innovation that is driven by their passion for developing quality software that suits a given need. So I decided to become a specialist in finding those kinds of developers.

I met with the people driving the software development at ATD and interviewed them to find out what they were doing, why they needed this exceptional level of talent, and how I might be able to help. Around this time I hired Mr. Vander Voort who helped hone our approach to finding the people. We learned about ACE and TAO and a bunch of other new (to us) things. ATD was our first client that is the absolute leader in their software development space. We now hold to working only with companies that fit that criteria. It's a short list.

Over the following years we've placed around 10 highly capable folks with ATD, which is approximately 15% of their total development team. Most of those folks are still there because ATD is careful to give them a beautiful environment to work in, their own office, the best tools, and the best colleagues. The pay is also great and it's hard to complain about living in a place like Charleston, SC. Like us they are a small but entirely focused and driven company which has allowed them to grow to the point that 6% of all stock trades on the Nasdaq and NYSE are executed through ATD's systems.

ATD taught us to specialize in what matters to the top software development company in a given market. Not collecting and delivering resumes. Researching specialized areas of software development, approaching the leaders in that space, developing quality win-win relationships, and carefully finding the few people who really meet the bar the company has set AND are looking for the type of relationship, responsibilities, location, and compensation the company can offer.

Everytime we place someone we feel a surge of pride because we know when we follow our system the folks we place will have a huge impact on the client. We're immensely proud of our part in the success of ATD and hope to help them get to the next chapter of their story. We don't place people to get fees. We place people to grow companies, deepen our relationship, and broaden our responsiblity for their success.

Congratulations ATD, and thanks for helping Core Search Group become who we are. Forward!