Founders
Partnership, Resiliency, Drive, Passion
Russ Kikkert; CoFounder
With over two decades dedicated to the craft of recruitment, starting by enticing bright minds to join as an Intern to the enchanting world of Disney as part of the iconic Disneyworld College Program through to working as a Director of Recruiting over a team of almost 30 recruiters.
With both corporate and agency recruiting experience, Russ is well positioned to truly PARTNER with hiring managers, HR representatives, and other business leaders to ensure a great experience. With hundreds of placements through the years and a growing network, Russ prides himself on offering that to his candidate experience.
When choosing a partner, whether as a candidate looking for your next role or a someone to represent your business while searching for the next great talent for your business you need someone with RESILENCE. From the challenge of growing a regional agency from the ground up to the navigation of a tumultuous industry downturn following the Covid-19 surge of the early 2020s.
DRIVE and unwavering PASSION for identifying talent, nurturing careers, and fortifying organizational success, Russ brings forth a wealth of experience and a fervent dedication to ever changing world of recruitment.
Join our transformative journey of fostering connections, bridging aspirations, and sculpting the future of talent acquisition.
Jillian Kikkert, Owner/Founder
It all begins with an idea. Jill is someone that seeks out how can something be done better. She is built on efficiencies, organization, and structure. When there came an opportunity to launch a business she jumped at the opportunity establishing the mission, the budget, and the vision.
Jill is a graduate of the University of WI- Milwaukee where she focused her studies on Finance and Economics. Post college, she was given the opportunity to start her career with Brady Corp starting in their Leadership Development Program and ended heading up the Finance function for one of their business units, Brady People ID. She moved on to Keurig where she has spent the last 10+ yrs within their finance department.
Jill is vital to KIKKSTART by supporting not only mission, vision, and advisory as needed but also back office billing, accounting, and all things financial.