Jack Silberrman
* Age: 30* Education: Graduate of Union Unversity in Jackson, Tennessee* Career: Worked in corporate jobs in Nashville and insurance broker in Chattanooga before starting Reliance Human Capital Management this year
Ryan Davis
* Age: 28* Education: Graduate of University of Tennessee at Knoxville* Career: Worked in sales and as an insurance broker before starting Reliance
In the employee benefits brokerage industry where the average age of brokers is 55 years old, Ryan Davis and Jack Silberman are trying to bring a more youthful, tech-oriented and innovative approach to helping employers purchase the right health insurance and handle other benefit, HR and payroll needs.
Davis, 28, and Silberman, 30, left another insurance broker to start Reliance Human Capital Management earlier this year. But the new kids on the HR block think their cloud-based human resource information system and investor support from the Lamp Post Group will set them a part from others in an industry where employers are trying to cope with changing health and benefit rules and regulations.
"We want to be fast moving and make quick decisions, hire great players and have a really good culture," Silberman says. "We can help reorganize employers into one nice cloud-based system and you can also be an HR advisor. We can help provide the right technology they need right here in Chattanooga."
The staff of the startup venture collectively has 35 years experience in the business and will focus on HR technology, employee benefits, payroll, time and labor management and compliance with the Affordable Care Act.
Reliance HR shares some of its name along with space in a third floor office in One Central Plaza with another Lamp Post-backed business, Reliance Partners, a property and casualty insurance broker started in 2009. The two companies are separate and distinct but each are targeting both local firms and the logistics industry for sales
Ted Alling, a former president of Access America and a partner in Lamp Post, said Silberman and Davis "bring to the Lamp Post community is more of the same attitude that has made many of our companies successful. Where others see a mature industry with a number of competitors, Jack and Ryan see an opportunity to work harder for their customers and provide a better experience.