Finding good talent can be hard. Finding good talent in a specific, skills-dependent field, like tech or IT, can be even harder. Enter Management Consulting Group (MCG), a Certified LGBTBE® with a long history of delivering carefully curated top tech talent in Silicon Valley and beyond. With over 17 years of experience, MCG makes delivering talent with personalized service its mission.
Management Consulting Group in the Spotlight:
- Name of business: Management Consulting Group (MCG)
- Name of founder: Todd Ghanizadeh
- Date founded: August 2001
- Date certified: December 2013
- Location of business: San Rafael, CA
- Number of employees: 50
1. What is Management Consulting Group?
Management Consulting Group (MCG) a boutique staffing company fulfills the needs of our clients every day by matching the industry’s most talented IT, software development and F&A professionals with companies who need their assistance. We have been in business for 17 years and are a highly sought-after resource for HR, recruiters, and hiring managers throughout the United States. We partner with talent acquisition, diversity, and HR business partners as well as MSP/VMS programs to deliver needed resources to our clients.
Our excellent levels of customer service, technical capabilities, geographic reach, and desire to simplify the requirements process for our clients make MCG an ideal partner. Management Consulting Group (MCG) is a National Prime Vendor for clients such as The Gap, Yahoo, BBVA Compass Bank, Blackrock Zynga, Twitter, ABM, Moody’s KMV Investor Services, Marin Software, OFX, Union Bank, Counsyl, PG&E, and more.
2. What were you doing before you founded your business?
I was a professional ballet dancer with Baryshnikov’s company in NYC American Ballet Theatre and The Boston Ballet.
3. How did you get the concept or idea for your business?
I was always so inquisitive about other people’s lives and asked a million question. Recruiting is very similar. You need to be personable and ask the right questions to dig down into a potential candidate’s experiences and truly determine if they are the right match for a company.
4. What makes your business stand out when compared to other businesses in your field?
I feel we are the “Jerry Maguire” of boutique staffing companies. We believe in personal attention and fewer clients. We get to change peoples lives, assist hiring managers in achieving their goals, and help families put their kids through college. It’s a feel-good job!
5. What are your goals for your business?
Slow and steady growth is our goal: growing from a $5 million company to a $20 million company is tricky without losing our identity. Additionally, because I am so competitive, I would like to be a top 50 NGLCC Certified LGBTBE® next year!
6. How has being a Certified LGBTBE® through NGLCC impacted your business?
It’s been huge. When I first joined, I was only interested in how certification could benefit me and MCG. It was only when I turned the script around and thought about how MCG could help business include diversity and minority spend and less about me that things started to click. It is not always a fast process, but you have to continue to show up in order to find those people and clients that click with you.
For example, I was invited to speak at a GGBA/NGLCC event last year, where I met the diversity manager at PG&E. She liked my pitch and our track record staffing for Silicon Valley, so she introduced me to the Director of Procurement at PG&E. Over the next few months, I met with him and discussed helping his team and MSP staff up quickly in the IT space. We discussed my track record and how I could help his teams grow quickly. By the next day, he awarded MCG a million-dollar contract and introduced me to his team. We are now part of the vendor list at PG&E and provide staffing services for them across the US.
7. What advice would you give to an LGBT person starting a business?
I would say be prepared with a website, marketing materials, testimonials, and a solid track record before pitching to a new client. Having your certifications can open doors, but it will not get you the job on its own. Both pieces matter, so be your genuine self and pitch your business well.
Interested in having your Certified LGBTBE® in the spotlight? Email blog@nglcc.org.
