Starch received a BS in mathematics and psychology from Morningside College in Iowa.
After that, he worked briefly as a lecturer in Iowa and then went on to teach at Wellesley College in Massachusetts while pursuing further studies at Harvard University.
From 1920 to 1926 he was a professor at Harvard University, and in 1923 he founded the marketing research company Daniel Starch and Staff.
In 1932, he worked as a consultant and director of a research department of the American Association of Advertising Agencies as well.
[1][2] Starch authored several books in the fields of psychology, advertising and marketing research.