Sunday - May 14, 2000

Dot-Com Headhunters

Fortune has published an interesting article on Dot-com headhunters and the challenge of companies to gain top candidates without paying an arm and a leg. The article, which tracks a real-life situation, begins:

" Headhunters, venture capitalists, dot-coms--even your customers and friends--are coming after you. What do they want? Nothing less than your brain. And they'll do anything to get it.

Max Michaels is getting annoyed. For the past half-hour, the 36-year-old co-founder and CEO of KnowledgeCube, a ten-month-old startup, has been trying to persuade a young banker to come to work for him. Michaels loves the guy's resume: Harvard Business School and a stint as associate at a major Wall Street firm before taking his current position at a boutique investment bank. This is their second meeting, and Michaels is doing all he can to pull him in. But the kid keeps throwing this unreal number at him.

Michaels tells the banker about the generous salary he could expect at KnowledgeCube and the stock options that would make him fabulously wealthy. The handsome young banker leans forward, resting his perfectly chiseled chin on his clasped hands. He nods politely. Then he reminds Michaels that he is making more than $500,000 a year. He won't come to KnowledgeCube for less..."

Click here for the full feature article. [Link no longer active]

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