Taking On Goliath

In 2013, former co-workers Julie Dacar and Amrita Grewal paired up to build their own staffing firm. Neither imagined that three years later their upstart, Washington, D.C.–based TalEx, would dethrone an industry giant, which also happened to be the parent of their former employer.

- Liz Welch

JULIE: We worked on the AOL account at the same recruiting firm and placed hundreds of people at the company. When I decided to start TalEx, I begged Amrita to come with me.

AMRITA: By then I had left that firm, gotten married, bought a house, and was looking to start my own company. I told Julie I was in if we could base our operations in Washington, D.C.

JULIE: I said yes, and within two weeks found a daycare and a house, and then moved my family to Virginia from Maine.

AMRITA: In 2013, we reconnected with an old AOL contact who was trying to fill a role, and luckily we had the right candidate.