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I’m Jon Beck, Founder and CEO of Ursus, Inc., a technical and creative staffing firm…
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Jon Beck shared this🐫 Wednesday, hump day, perspective....You really only need three bones in your body to make it through life: A wishbone to dream big, a backbone to overcome the obstacles, and a funny bone to enjoy the ride. 🦴 - Gilbert Enoka ONZM
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Jon Beck shared thisAre We Building Better Talent Ecosystems, or Bigger Moats? Heading into the SIA CWS Summit, here's a question I keep coming back to: are MSPs and total talent providers becoming less partner-friendly? For years, the contingent workforce's strength was the ecosystem: clients, MSPs, VMS platforms, suppliers, and tech providers each bringing something different. Great suppliers weren't vendors to manage; they were partners bringing specialization, market intel, and access to talent. But when the organization managing the supplier ecosystem also builds its own sourcing, talent communities, and service offerings, the lines between partner, manager, and competitor blur. Are we still building ecosystems, or building moats? Everybody's a "specialist" now. Scan enough capability decks and every firm has deep expertise in every labor category: specialist sourcing, direct sourcing, EOR, gig management. Most don't. Real specialization takes investment: recruiters who are technically savvy, established candidate communities, knowing comp and availability before the req even hits. Too many firms are broad but shallow, and calling that "specialization" hurts the whole industry. Buyers often struggle to identify real capability from marketing, especially when firms oversell themselves. Frankly, we love competing against them. Sophisticated buyers increasingly evaluate submission-to-interview ratios, retention, hiring-manager satisfaction, and consistent delivery, not just résumé volume or price. Anyone can sell cheap. Very few deliver specialized quality at scale. Which is why moats may be the wrong answer. An MSP's role shouldn't be deciding who's protected inside the wall. It should be creating an environment where the best-performing source wins. Measure us. Score us. If a supplier or direct-sourcing channel consistently outperforms, the system should reward that. No MSP, staffing firm, or platform owns the talent market, especially in specialized areas like AI, engineering, and data centers, where the best talent often comes from specialized communities outside the walls. Too closed, too consolidated, and we gain efficiency while losing something more important: access. So, heading into CWS: are we building ecosystems designed to find the best talent, or ecosystems designed to protect the companies already inside them? The future of workforce solutions shouldn't be about the biggest moat. It should be the best ecosystem, inviting the best companies to compete and letting quality and performance decide who wins. Agree? Disagree? Hit me up or see you at #CWS! Staffing Industry Analysts #ContingentLabor #Staffing Ursus, Inc.
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Jon Beck shared thisI’ll never forget John McCain opening Mark’s memorial with the words, “I may very well owe my life to Mark.” Proud to have known Mark and played alongside him, and 25 years later, it’s as important as ever to honor his courage, celebrate his life, and remember his legacy. #911 #September11 Ron Kroichick San Francisco Chronicle Cal AthleticsJon Beck shared thisMark Bingham’s bravery on 9/11 still inspires (and impacts) his Cal rugby teammates 25 years later. My story for the Chronicle:��This was like war’: Cal rugby player’s Flight 93 heroism resonates 25 years after 9/11‘This was like war’: Cal rugby player’s Flight 93 heroism resonates 25 years after 9/11
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Jon Beck shared thisGiddy up! I’ll see y’all in 40 days in Dallas! 🤠 Looking forward to joining the conversation at the Staffing Industry Analysts CollaborationX 2026 conference, talking about The Data Center Gold Rush: Staffing Opportunities in the AI Infrastructure Boom. See you in Texas! #CollaborationX #Staffing #AI #DataCenters #ContingentLabor #ContingentStaffing Ursus, Inc.
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Jon Beck shared thisMidweek motivation/reminder: In all aspects of life, especially work-life, it’s always easier to criticize, gossip, or stand on the sidelines. The better path usually has fewer people on it. Encourage. Help. Get involved. It takes more effort, but it’s worth it. And when someone does the same for you, pay it back. Choose the shorter line. 👊 #MidweekMotivation
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Jon Beck shared this"Are data center jobs really considered technical?" I was asked that question recently. I actually laughed out loud. If you've ever been inside a modern data center, you know the answer. Today's AI infrastructure boom isn't just creating demand for software engineers and data scientists. It's driving unprecedented demand for structural engineers, electrical engineers, commissioning specialists, fiber experts, network architects, construction managers, HVAC and mechanical engineers, controls engineers, power systems experts, and dozens of other highly specialized technical professionals, to name a few. These aren't just construction projects. They're some of the most sophisticated engineering environments being built anywhere in the world. That's why I'm excited to be joining an outstanding group of industry leaders at Staffing Industry Analysts #CollaborationX this September for: The Data Center Gold Rush: Staffing Opportunities in the AI Infrastructure Boom At Ursus, Inc., we've had a front-row seat supporting many of the companies building the next generation of AI infrastructure. It's one of the most dynamic talent markets I've seen in my career, and I look forward to sharing what we're learning alongside this exceptional panel. Hope to see many of you in Dallas! #CollaborationX #SIA #DataCenters #AIInfrastructure #ArtificialIntelligence #Talent #Staffing #Engineering #DigitalInfrastructure Carrie Charles Adam Helton Travis Almy Tony Gregoire
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Jon Beck shared this👏 👏 👏 ...bravo Vint! https://lnkd.in/gZ-9AeUaThe 'Father of the Internet' is finally retiring | TechCrunchThe 'Father of the Internet' is finally retiring | TechCrunch
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Jon Beck liked thisJon Beck liked thisWhat a first day at CollaborationX: AI & Tech in Staffing and Workforce Solutions! Day 1 brought the staffing and workforce solutions ecosystem together in Dallas to explore the technologies, ideas and business models changing how our industry operates. We kicked things off with SIA’s Brian Wallins and The New Rules of Staffing and Workforce Solutions, before a packed day featuring: ▪️AI and Tech Innovation Expert Roundtables ▪️Concurrent sessions tackling the opportunities and challenges ahead ▪️Executive Perspectives with Nina Vaca, Brandon Metcalf and Michel Stokvis ▪️The CollaborationX Innovation Showcase ▪️CollaborationX Shark Tank: Technology Innovation Competition, with Atlas - the Recruitment Platform named the Audience Choice winner and Firstwork (YC S24) taking the Grand Prize ▪️Plenty of networking and new connections across the staffing and workforce solutions ecosystem ▪️Celebrating the industry’s rising leaders at the SIA 40 Under 40 Reception A full day of ideas, innovation and conversations about where staffing and workforce solutions go next. And there’s plenty more to come on Day 2. #CollaborationX #Staffing #WorkforceSolutions #AI #StaffingTechnology #Innovation
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Jon Beck liked thisJon Beck liked this🎃 October is here, and the opportunities aren’t slowing down. Ursus is posting new technical and marketing/creative roles daily with some of the most exciting AI, cloud, and data center companies on the planet. ⚡ Featured Role: Electrical Engineer – Data Center 📍 Memphis / Southaven, MS | Direct Hire 💰 $125K–$225K 🔌 Top skills: Electrical Engineering, Medium Voltage & Electrical Design You’ll help design, build, and activate next-generation data center infrastructure supporting advanced AI systems, from power distribution and switchgear to UPS, generators, and facility controls. Interested? Reach out to the Ursus team or check out our latest openings. https://lnkd.in/gggeegp7 BOO! 👀 New month. New opportunities.
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Jon Beck liked thisJon Beck liked thisHappy International Raccoon Appreciation Day. Our mascot is a raccoon, which makes today a company holiday as far as I'm concerned. We gave him the day off. This is where I found him.
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Jon Beck liked thisJon Beck liked thisYour private stock needs a plan. Start early—wealth planning in the months before liquidity can shape long-term tax outcomes. We help founders and employees engineer a pre-exit plan.
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Jon Beck liked thisJon Beck liked thisOne year at General Motors 🪩🎉 And yes, I’m still recruiting! Most of my recruiting happens right here on LinkedIn, so if you’re interested in Compute & Connectivity Hardware opportunities, feel free to reach out! #IWorkforGM
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Jon Beck liked thisJon Beck liked thisYesterday marked one full year of hosting quarterly Tech Summits at Lumibuild! 🎉 A huge thank you to Turtle AV and Midwich Group plc for partnering with us to make yesterday's session possible, and to Steve Samson, for helping bring it all together. Special shoutout to Skyler Varvell, CTS and Brett Wilson for sharing their knowledge and spending the day with our team. Partnerships like these go beyond products, they’re about sharing knowledge, investing in our teams, and growing together. We appreciate everyone who helped make another great Tech Summit happen!
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Jon Beck liked thisJon Beck liked thisThis morning I had the opportunity to deliver a TED-style keynote at Staffing Industry Analysts' CWS Summit on a topic Ive been thinking a lot about: From Program Manager to Strategic Workforce Architect. For years, our profession has been measured by how efficiently we can respond to workforce requests, but what if our greatest value isn't responding to workforce demand? What if it's helping the business understand what that demand is telling us? A program manager asks: How quickly can we fill these roles? A Strategic Workforce Architect asks: Why do we need them? What capability gap are we solving? Is the solution people, process, technology, automation, or some combination of all four What risk does this create? What business outcome are we trying to achieve? The more time I spend in this industry, the more convinced I become that contingent workforce leaders sit in one of the most connected positions in the enterprise. We see talent. We see technology. We see procurement. We see finance. We see compliance. We see operations. Most importantly, we see how decisions in one area impact all the others. I'd love to hear from my network: What is one thing contingent workforce leaders are uniquely positioned to see that other functions often miss? #CWSSummit #FutureOfWork #ContingentWorkforce #WorkforceStrategy #Leadership #TalentStrategy
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Staffing Industry Analysts - 2024 Fastest Growing Staffing Company
Staffing Industry Analysts
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Staffing Industry Analysts - 2023 Fastest Growing Staffing Company
Staffing Industry Analysts
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Staffing Industry Analysts - 2022 Fastest Growing Staffing Company
Staffing Industry Analysts
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Staffing Industry Analysts - 2021 Fastest Growing Staffing Company
Staffing Industry Analysts
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Kelly Boykin
We spend a lot of time debating contingent labor models in the US. Vendor neutral. Master vendor. MSP. Hybrid. The truth is, the label tells you very little about how a program actually works. What matters is how demand flows, who gets access, and what behavior the system quietly rewards. I wrote this piece to describe what we actually see on the ground, without theory or marketing language. https://lnkd.in/eXq3TSpz
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Jason Banks, CSP
Recruiting sales talent for the digitalization infrastructure market is not the same as recruiting sales talent for software. Because the buyer is not only buying capability They are buying certainty I saw this play out with a revenue leader who had a strong product, a clear ROI story, and real demand in the pipeline. The deals kept on stalling Not at discovery & Not at pricing At the moment, the customer asked, Who is actually delivering this and how fast? That is the tell In digital infrastructure, the sale is tied to the execution chain Data centers, energy systems, advanced manufacturing, automation, and semiconductor growth all converge: If the delivery plan is fuzzy, the purchase decision slows down Which means the best sales hires in this market are not just persuasive They are Translators #DigitalInfrastructure #B2BSales #SalesRecruiting
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