A 30-year staffing veteran built a purpose-driven firm with People2.0’s back-office support.
At a Glance
| Company | JaxsonRiley Talent Search & Consulting |
| Founder | Ed Daugherty |
| Industry | Search & Recruiting |
| Location | Tampa, Florida |
| Partnership Start | November 2024 |
Results
| $0 → $6M | 65+ | 30+ | $25K | Zero |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Run Rate in ~1 Year | Placements Supported | Roles in Pipeline | Donated to Charity | Back-Office Hires |
| Built from scratch with our support | Across multiple states nationwide | Continued growth on the horizon | For children’s charities in year one | Ed remains a small operator |
In Ed’s Words
“I don’t have any back-office staff to hire and worry about. It’s allowed me to focus on my core services—delivery to my clients and protecting children & uplifting families, the relationship building. We’re a purpose-driven company, and that focus matters.”
— Ed Daugherty, Founder, JaxsonRiley Talent Search & Consulting
The Story Behind Jaxon Riley
By 2023, Ed Daugherty was at the top of his game. He had trained hundreds of recruiters, launched multiple companies, and grown IntellaPro into a thriving healthcare staffing business. He had a wife, Amy, two young daughters, and the kind deeply established success that comes from decades of hard work.
Then, in October 2023, his three-year-old daughter Riley passed away unexpectedly from a traumatic brain injury.
“I barely survived,” Ed says. “With all the financial resources, support from family, friends, the best PTSD trauma doctors—I barely survived this.”
Devastated by this tragedy, Ed couldn’t work. He sold IntellaPro and planned to step away from the industry entirely, maybe retire, maybe work or volunteer for children’s nonprofits. But over time, he and Amy felt called to do something more.
“All I could think about was helping kids,” Ed recalls.
In December of 2024, Ed returned to staffing. Not to rebuild what he’d had, but to build something different. JaxsonRiley Talent Search & Consulting was born, named in honor of Riley. Amy channeled the same mission into the Riley Jean Foundation, which she leads full-time, and Ed supports the foundation alongside her.
JaxsonRiley operates on a simple mission: protect children and uplift families. A percentage of every dollar goes to children’s charities—$25,000 in the first full year. Ed is also building an Apprenticeship to Ownership program to hire at-risk young adults, including foster youth, orphans, abuse survivors, and those who have experienced significant loss. He trains them as recruiters, giving them purpose, careers, and a path to ownership.
“These kids go through trauma similar to what I’ve gone through,” Ed says. “My heart just really went out to them. I can hopefully help make a difference in their life.”
For those who aren’t suited for recruiting, Ed is partnering with Tampa-area nonprofits to place them in other roles with his clients in various positions. Anything to help them find their footing.
“Even if we save one life, it will be the greatest company I have ever built,” Ed says.
The Challenge
Ed wanted to run JaxsonRiley with little to no back-office responsibilities. But staffing is operationally heavy. Every placement comes with payroll, tax withholding, benefits administration, I-9 compliance, and state-by-state regulatory requirements. For a small firm placing workers across multiple states, that burden adds up fast.
At IntellaPro, Ed had managed everything in-house. It worked, but it consumed time and attention he no longer had and no longer wanted to spend.
“Just dealing with all the various states taxes and compliance rules was a lot,” Ed says. “It just got to be too much.”
Ed needed a partner who could handle the back office so he could focus on clients, revenue, mission, and purpose. But he also needed flexibility such as simple agreements, responsive support, and the ability to place workers as W-2 employees or independent contractors depending on the situation.
Why People2.0
Ed had actually approached People2.0 before, while running IntellaPro. At the time, he was looking for back-office support for his travel nurses and travel-allied health workers, but the timing wasn’t right. He ended up selling the company shortly after.
When he launched JaxsonRiley with a focus on various segments of recruiting, he came back. The agreement structure aligned with what he needed, pricing came together quickly, and he signed in late November 2024.
“I did a cost analysis to see what makes more sense for me to do in-house versus outsourcing,” Ed says. “The cost has been fair from a business owner perspective. It seems very fair and reasonable.”
Services Used
- Employer of Record (EOR): W-2 placements for recruiters, customer service roles, and other professional positions
- Agent of Record (AOR): 1099 and corp-to-corp arrangements for independent contractors
- Split arrangement support: Coordination with partner firms on shared placements
Client-Specific Accommodations
People2.0 worked with Ed to meet the specific requirements of his anchor client, a national healthcare organization:
- Custom pricing structure
- Extended payment terms (Net 60) to match end-client requirements
- AR insurance to manage risk on extended terms
What People2.0 Delivers
From September 2025 to February 2026, People2.0 supported payroll and onboarding for 64 assignments. For each placement, that includes:
- I-9 compliance
- Pre-employment screening
- Salary classification compliance
- State statutory requirements (sick/paid time off, required training)
Ed has placements in California and New York—two of the most complex compliance environments in the country—without dedicating staff to navigate them.
The support extends beyond processing. When a salary classification question came up before a client meeting, People2.0’s team spent a week reviewing statutory requirements across 17 states and held multiple internal meetings to find the right solution. Ed had his answer before the meeting so he could walk in with confidence.
“The day-to-day folks that I deal with have been great,” Ed says. “Very professional, very responsive. I believe you have good redundancy and systems in place behind the scenes.”
The Results
In just over a year, Ed has grown JaxsonRiley from 8 initial placements to more than 60-70 total, with another 30-35 in the pipeline. His revenue run rate is approaching $6 million—triple where he started.
He’s done it all without hiring a single back-office employee.
“It’s allowed me to control my costs,” Ed says. “I don’t have any back-office staff to hire and worry about their benefits and managing them day-to-day, which is very time-consuming.”
More importantly, the partnership has given Ed the bandwidth to focus on what matters most.
“It’s allowed me to focus on my core services—delivery to my clients, the relationship building.”
That focus has translated directly into mission impact. In its first full year, JaxsonRiley donated $25,000 to children’s charities. Ed is now preparing to launch the Apprenticeship to Ownership program, with mentors lined up to support participants in faith, finances, and life skills.
By the Numbers
| Metric | Starting Point (Nov 2024) | Current State (Early 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Active placements | 8 | 60-70 |
| Pipeline | — | 30-35 additional roles |
| Annual revenue | $2M | $6M run rate |
| Year-over-year growth | — | 3x |
| Assignments supported (since Sept 2025) | — | 64 |
| Back-office staff | 0 | 0 |
People2.0 Perspective
“Ed is a textbook success story. A as small recruiting business who leveraged our offering to his benefit and ours. He leans on us a lot, which is understandable given that he has no back-office staff. What’s amazing is that he’s still growing.”
— Frank Marsh, People2.0
What’s Next
Ed is focused on growth, but not just revenue growth.
He’s preparing to launch the Apprenticeship to Ownership program, which will hire at-risk young adults (foster youth, orphans, abuse survivors, and those who have experienced significant loss) and train them as recruiters. He’s exploring an employee equity program so participants can eventually become owners themselves.
“I’m going to teach them how to become owners of homes, of stock, of businesses,” Ed says. “Some of them can become leaders in this organization. If they have the ability and the drive. For those that have the ability, I’ll even teach and help them how to start their own businesses .”
An agreement is also in progress, which will open new placement categories and position JaxsonRiley for continued expansion.
Ed has also become an advocate for People2.0, offering to introduce the company to colleagues at other recruiting firms across the country.
Ready to Scale Your Recruiting Firm?
Whether you’re a solo operator or a growing team, People2.0 can handle the back-office complexity so you can focus on clients and growth.
About Jaxon Riley Talent Search & Consulting
JaxsonRiley Talent Search & Consulting is a purpose-driven recruiting firm based in Tampa, Florida. Founded by Ed Daugherty in 2024, the company donates a percentage of its revenue to children’s charities and is building an Apprenticeship to Ownership program to help at-risk young adults build careers in the staffing industry.
Learn more at jaxsonriley.net and support the Riley Jean Foundation at rileyjean.org.
About People2.0
People2.0 is a global provider of workforce compliance and payroll services for enterprises and talent suppliers, including staffing firms, search and recruiting firms, mass talent entities, and professional services firms.
People2.0 helps these businesses navigate employment, labor, and tax regulations across the world. Specializing in worker classification and compliance, People2.0’s employer of record (EOR) and agent of record (AOR) services streamline talent placement operations, correctly classify workers, and facilitate international placements.
Learn more at people20.com.
As told and approved by Ed Daugherty, Founder of JaxsonRiley Talent Search & Consulting | Produced by Jeremiah Akin, People2.0 Brand and Content