One question on the mind of just about every job applicant is: What would it really be like to work at this company? Yet even the most industrious job seekers will find it difficult, if not impossible, to glean the answer from the self-serving marketing materials that companies supply to libraries and career centers.
Gary Alpert (left) and Steve Pollock (right), both MBA '93, found themselves in such a predicament a few years ago. Spotting an opportunity, a year after their graduation they pooled their resources -- $500 each and some computer equipment -- and cofounded San Francisco-based Wet Feet Press (WFP), which produces Company Insiders and Industry Insiders reports.
"Our goal is to move our readers beyond the gloss of company brochures and annual reports," says Alpert. "We like to think of our reports as the job seeker's secret weapon." The profiles, primarily geared to recent and soon-to-be graduates, are both
substantive and a bit irreverent, reflecting the cofounders' belief that job searches don't have to be grim, nerve-wracking experiences.
To get the inside scoop on a particular company or industry, the entrepreneurs have called on friends and former classmates who give them the names of other "insiders." In exchange for anonymity, respondents complete an extensive questionnaire. When several people from a company have been interviewed, a writer combines insiders' comments with previously published information to create a comprehensive report.
Each company report includes an industry overview, financial data, organizational structure, a compilation of recently published articles about the company, and "a day in the life" scenarios described by the insiders. Sample interview questions, case studies, and diversity profiles are also provided.
"There's no one way to start a business," Pollock says. "At first we were very MBA-like, but then we decided we didn't need a formal business plan. With bootstrap financing and low overhead, we just needed to produce the product and see if people would be willing to pay for it." Apparently, people are very willing. WFP already has chronicled more than 35 companies and industries and sold hundreds of reports at graduate and business schools throughout the country.
Alpert and Pollock plan to donate a portion of WFP proceeds to provide educational assistance to underprivileged children.
-- Heidi Garfield
Stanford Business School Magazine
(ISSN 0883-265X)
e-mail: gsb_newsline@gsb.stanford.edu
[GSB Home]