Summary
On this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell is joined by Tyler Dunbar, President of Central Standard Talent, a technical talent and recruiting agency that specializes in helping US businesses assemble and retain high-performing software development teams. Although Central Standard Talent is based in the epicenter of the Mexican Silicon Valley, it has recently announced the opening of its US headquarters in Bentonville. Throughout the episode, James and Tyler discuss Central Standard Talent’s mission and its assimilation into the Northwest Arkansas ecosystem, why it’s beneficial for companies to have a presence in Bentonville and how lessons learned during Tyler’s time in US Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal are helping him now as a business professional.

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‍Show Notes
(0:52) Introduction to Tyler
(2:41) About Central Standard
(4:43) Current Workforce Issues
(8:16) Central Standard’s Partner Company, Metova
(10:41) Future Evolution of Central Standard
(12:33) Advantages of Having a Presence in Bentonville
(17:56) Transitioning to Bentonville
(21:22) #BecauseBentonville Story
(26:36) Using Skills from the Navy in Business
(31:47) Closing Question
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‍Links
JAMES BELL‍‍
‍BENTONVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT‍‍‍
TYLER DUNBAR
CENTRAL STANDARD TALENT
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Quotes
“We’re really excited to be in Bentonville and the Ledger specifically, it’s a really cool space and  a great creative environment…Bentonville is an amazing place.” – Tyler Dunbar, (2:45)

People are nice, and economically speaking, it’s very business friendly. You have organizations that are focused on making Bentonville and NWA as a whole a great place to land from a professional standpoint.” – Tyler Dunbar, (12:34)

“More priorities should be placed on moving and figuring it out as you go because everyone is going to make mistakes. Some weeks are great and some weeks are terrible, but the reality is if you keep going you’re going to win. It might not be in the timeline you wanted, it might not look like you thought it was going to look, but you’ll win. And that’s the goal.” – Tyler Dunbar, (16:03)

“What we should be doing is spending time with those people and helping them and teaming up and partnering and collaborating with them. And success is going to happen off of those relationships because relationships are still the most valuable thing in this economy.” – Tyler Dunbar, (28:53)

Increasing Access to Technology Talent with Tyler Dunbar and Central Standard Talent
On this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell is joined by Tyler Dunbar, President of Central Standard Talent, a technical talent and recruiting agency that specializes in helping US businesses assemble and retain high-performing software development teams. Although Central Standard Talent is based in the epicenter of the Mexican Silicon Valley, it has recently announced the opening of its US headquarters in Bentonville. Throughout the episode, James and Tyler discuss Central Standard Talent’s mission and its assimilation into the Northwest Arkansas ecosystem, why it’s beneficial for companies to have a presence in Bentonville and how lessons learned during Tyler’s time in US Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal are helping him now as a business professional.

Curating Employment Opportunities
The goal of Central Standard Talent is to help companies that don’t have access to or cannot afford expensive talent. Its work is focused primarily in Latin America—Mexico specifically—in areas that share a central time zone advantage with American companies. Central Standard is not a development shop, meaning it doesn’t take on projects; rather, it helps its partners and clients screen and hire technical talent they can bring on board as permanent employees.  

‍“What we should be doing is spending time with those people and helping them and teaming up and partnering and collaborating with them. And success is going to happen off of those relationships because relationships are still the most valuable thing in this economy.” – Tyler Dunbar, (28:53)

Central Standard sets itself apart with its unique focus and commitment to the Mexican Silicon Valley region and its abundant supply of world-class engineers. Its love for the people that create technology propels its mission of curating opportunities that allow its clients to achieve their loftiest career goals. Its ten-step model includes identifying candidates, performing interviews, negotiating compensation packages, onboarding, HR support, payroll and more.

Engaging with the NWA Community
With Central Standard Talent’s recent transition to Bentonville, it’s excited to engage with the community by bridging the gap for military individuals entering the technology space. Its goal is to expose veterans to the Bentonville area and grow its US-based workforce with that population. Typically, service members have valuable skill sets that employers might not be used to seeing in their traditional nine-to-five employees. 

Central Standard is eager to assist veterans with their ventures or with their employment status because oftentimes businesses get stuck in the ideation and planning phases, when in reality what needs to happen is execution. Business ideas fail when founders fail to move, therefore Central Standard hopes that by helping companies acquire a talented workforce, they will be able to progress and accomplish their professional ambitions.

‍“More priorities should be placed on moving and figuring it out as you go because everyone is going to make mistakes. Some weeks are great and some weeks are terrible, but the reality is if you keep going you’re going to win. It might not be in the timeline you wanted, it might not look like you thought it was going to look, but you’ll win. And that’s the goal.” – Tyler Dunbar, (16:03)
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Get Connected!
‍Thank you for tuning in to this episode of The Bentonville Beacon! Join us weekly for more stories from entrepreneurs and business leaders who are sparking the rise of Bentonville. If you are interested in discussing whether your business should have a presence in Bentonville or would like to discuss this podcast, please contact James Bell. You may reach James at JBELL@GREATERBENTONVILLE.COM or (479) 273-2841.