Is it not about time to boost growth using more intelligent Association Management Software? If that's the case, Starling's team is confident that they offer the finest membership management system for your association.
Is Starling AMS the Ultimate Software Solution for Association Management?
In our continuous quest for the perfect Membership AMS Software Series, we have conducted a brief review of Starling AMS, a nonprofit Association Management Software designed for membership organizations. This software enables association leaders and members to establish personalized connections, cut expenses, and enhance their influence. If you are keen on discovering more about Starling AMS, feel free to reach out to us for insights on this membership software and its position in today's market.
Furthermore, we have gathered, conducted interviews, and compiled more comprehensive information for executives working in the nonprofit association sector to arrange a meeting to discuss further. Our unbiased insights and software reports cater to individuals seeking impartial and objective evaluations of this AMS software for nonprofit initiatives.
Introduction to Starling AMS Software:
Bob Manavi (Bobak) founded Manavi Co., the creator of Starling AMS, in 2018. According to his LinkedIn profile, he characterizes himself in the following way:
My background is founded in Computer Sciences with over 20+yrs experience developing technology solutions. I have had the unique opportunity to work at a very technical level, developing cutting edge solutions. I have founded multiple online businesses, and overseen entire business lines in corporate environments while managing international teams in the development of multiple products from concept to market.
As of October 1st, 2024, the company had approximately 50 employees focused on the product. This is a rapidly growing firm, as evidenced by the increase in employees from 8 to 50 in 2024. According to Mr. Manavi, they expect even greater growth next year.
Per the founder, the Starling name draws inspiration from the synchronized movement of starling birds known as a murmuration. In this phenomenon, thousands of birds move together, with each bird being aware of seven others nearby, resulting in the creation of intricate flight patterns in the sky. This level of awareness is reflected in our motto, "Management in unison." Just as the birds adapt to each other's movements, we adapt to our clients' changing needs, always staying attuned to their requirements and decisions.
In the Starling system, each bird can be likened to a module, which can be added, removed, or customized to suit the client's specific needs. All modules work harmoniously together, aligning with the client's business objectives. This approach ensures that each system we create is tailored uniquely to meet their clients' expectations.
Purpose Statement from Starling AMS:
Starling is a comprehensive solution that caters to all association management needs at a fixed price. The developers believe the product stands out by providing extensive customization options without requiring clients to commit to long-term contracts. At the core of their business philosophy is a commitment to putting our customers first. We prioritize aligning our services with the specific requirements of our clients' businesses. Their primary objective is to grow alongside our clients, deriving success from their accomplishments and ongoing commitment through license renewals. This approach ensures that we deliver value consistently, rather than offering disjointed services tied to restrictive contracts.
What Makes Starling AMS Suitable for the Association Market?
Manavi Co, the parent company of Starling, has a history of over 25 years specializing in tailored software solutions for the oil & gas industry and government sector. In recent years, the Starling AMS product has found success and interest from the nonprofit market and more specifically the association sector where they have gained significant momentum. SmartThoughts inquired about the reason behind this, and here is their organization's response:
What sets us apart from others is that we prioritize providing efficient solutions with high-quality code and software, without burdening our clients with additional costs. This approach not only helps us retain existing contracts but also leads to referrals from satisfied clients. The positive feedback and referrals from our initial association client prompted other associations to switch to our AMS solution, demonstrating the value of our exceptional customer service and superior products across various industries beyond our typical clientele.
The Functional Goals of Starling AMS:
Per a Manavi Co. representative, their company specializes in customized AMS solutions and does not restrict access to features with paywalls. Instead of focusing on software capabilities as features, they prioritize their clients' experience in collaborating with them as the main feature. While they provide all the standard features offered by other AMS providers, they believe that they have a very unique selling point that lies in delivering all the necessary features for association clients at a low cost and without any contractual obligations.
Starling believes that it stands out as the sole AMS provider offering LMS (League and Tournament Management Software). With Starling's business approach centered on limitless customization across association management, league and tournament management, facilities and ticketing, compliance, background checks and security, coaching, and education, third-party integrations, and more, we provide all the necessary functionalities an association requires. Their primary focus is on fulfilling an association's requirements through fully customizable solutions at a consistently low cost.
Starling Membership Software's Key Features:
SaaS- Sarling provides a turn-key white-labeled solution. We provide an out-of-the-box global solution that represents your brand to your members with integrations into popular CRM, LMS, marketing, and payment platforms.
In-house- Starling offers source code licenses so you are in the driver's seat for features and functionalities. Enhance your membership platform based on your needs at your schedule.
Member Management- A “member-first” ecosystem that fosters engagement is critical for every membership-driven organization. The members’ dashboard serves as the portal for self-service functionality, empowering members to assist themselves while reducing call center support. The dashboard also facilitates engagement by the organization with its members, using features such as access to online certification and learning management systems, dissemination of news and information, and engaging members with events and activities.
CRM-While Starling AMS provides the functionalities of a lean CRM for organizations that do not have one, it can also integrate with many standard CRMs, such as Salesforce. In doing so, it provides certain data integrity features that standard CRMs may lack.
Event & Facilities Management- Starling AMS offers an integrated event management platform, eliminating the need for your organization to invest in another event platform that “almost” meets your unique event needs. Members can access relevant events directly from their dashboard, avoiding the need to navigate to other platforms and ensuring a seamless transaction from start to finish. Furthermore, having an integrated event management system provides additional benefits, such as shared facility and resource calendars, e-commerce and donation options via our dynamic checkout, and, above all, a higher level of member engagement.
Account & Revenue Reports- Quick and customized visibility into your membership revenue streams, their performance, and join/renew activities.
Security- Starling AMS prioritizes the security and integrity of user data through advanced cybersecurity measures and data management practices.
API & SSO Support-Interface with 3rd party solutions using our API layer secured with OAuth 2.0 and SAML support for Single Sign On interface.
Salesforce Integration-Seamless and modular synchronization of data between your Salesforce CRM and Starling AMS.
Chat Communication-Built-in functionality to support real-time chat capabilities in browser and mobile view with push notifications.
Certification- Using their built-in certification management system your organization's education department can build and deploy certifications and define requirements for different member “involvement” types. Coursework can easily be hosted on external Learning Management Systems and linked to Starling for real-time updates. Starling's association management software lets your members track their progress and print their certificates from one simple interface.
Sports Organizations- National Governing Bodies for sports organizations need tools to help manage their constituents, whether players, coaches, officials, or program leaders. Starling provides league management and sports management tools to help meet these organizational needs.
Where is Starling CRM positioned?
Starling shared with SmartThoughts their hopes of providing a very cost-effective and fixed-fee model, However, they believe that Starling is best suited for large associations and NGBs. They suggest integrating their licensing fee into membership dues, as the larger the member base, the more economical it is for everyone involved - members, the association, and Starling. While they do accommodate smaller associations and non-profits at a reduced price level and provide discounted solutions, their ultimate recommendation is their unlimited customization package. This option is geared towards saving associations significantly in IT costs in the long term.
How much does Starling Membership Software Cost?
According to Starling, their goal is to offer a model that allows for limitless customization. They strongly believe that one of the main reasons associations often change AMS vendors is because of differing expectations. If you opt for a low-cost solution and anticipate it to perfectly fulfill all your needs, you are likely to be let down. In this scenario, if your current vendor cannot provide what your business requires, you may have to transition to a new one. This could ultimately result in increased expenses for your organization.
While the initial savings may seem attractive, the reality is that the costs and lack of necessary features will make it less appealing in the long run. Unlimited customization enables the AMS solution to adapt to your organization's evolving needs daily. On the other hand, our lower pricing tier is similar to what is currently available in the market.
Per Starling, you have the option to customize it with your organization's branding and incorporate some launch date adjustments to align with your business requirements, but any future enhancements beyond their standard updates will incur additional charges. Starling would rather not offer their budget-friendly solution.
Moreover, they believe the overall savings from consolidating various systems that associations are currently paying for separately into one ecosystem justifies our pricing model.
In the end, it is recommended to contact Starling directly for the latest pricing information.
What is the 911 Peer Review on this AMS?
Similar to the wide array of software choices currently on the market, there is a multitude of software peer-review platforms accessible online. We examined various websites (such as Software Advice, G2Crowd Review, ReviewMyAMS, Technology Advice, GetApp, and Capterra) to ascertain the presence of Starling users and also reached out directly to Starling. As of September 2024, no peer-review platforms are monitoring Starling.
Quotes provided by Starling from References:
After years of struggling with AMS solutions that never quite supported our needs, the Starling platform has allowed us to simplify our technical overhead while gaining tremendous flexibility and scalability. Critically, the Startling team has worked with us closely to accommodate our unique business rules quickly but sensibly. We’ve worked together to structure our AMS so that we can continue to grow our member needs.
With Starling, we’ve found a partner instead of a traditional, inflexible vendor. I’d recommend Startling to any association, large or small, who is ready to take their association management platform to the next level. Starling kept data integrity at the forefront all through the process, allowing us unprecedented visibility into our membership data which has given us the ability to truly understand our constituents' and their needs.
Visual Representation of Starling Membership Software:
This dashboard by Starling offers a glimpse of only 50% of the features available, with the option to enhance it with client-specific functionalities. As both an LMS and AMS, Starling demonstrates its high level of customization and comprehensiveness, particularly tailored for sports organizations.
Is Starling the top AMS software choice?
While we do not claim that there is a single best AMS solution for everyone, Starling AMS might be the most suitable choice for you.
However, to determine this definitively, we require more information about your specific needs. We can provide further insights based on our research, client interviews, and a more comprehensive overview beyond this summary.
Rest assured that our in-depth analysis and expertise are available upon request. Our software evaluation is not about flashy brochures, marketing jargon, or sales pitches. Instead, we offer an impartial discussion and valuable insights to assist nonprofit executives in making informed software decisions.
If you are interested in receiving assistance with evaluating your options and making comparisons, please explore our "vendor matching" services here.
Looking for additional AMS Membership Software Reviews?
Keep following our series on "Looking for a Smart AMS Software" for more in-depth analysis of membership database software choices tailored to our 501(c) 6 membership-centric organizations.
To access the latest reviews, click the link below:
JoynAMS (Coming Soon, 10/2024)
And, to obtain a sample list of the database software reviews we have, you may follow the link here
Should you be part of an AMS database software system and wish for your company to be considered in our software review process, kindly get in touch with us.
Until next time, keep SmartThoughts in mind. Happy Software Buying!
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