SM: Did you enter the competency arena organically or through acquisitions? KP: We moved into the competency area by acquiring some libraries. The ITG Competency Group library is, in our view, the largest standalone productized library of competencies.
In the recap mode, here’s a list of the top 20 serial entrepreneurs I have spoken with: * Philippe Courtot – a very young 63-year old CEO of Qualys.
SM: What are you using your IPO proceeds for? KP: We continue to favor a philosophy of growth with internally generated cash. We are using IPO proceeds mostly to acquire small companies that are good strategic fits with our product line. I am probably one of the few people you talk to who thinks going
SM: Aside from your on-demand aspect, how else do you differentiate from the consulting firms? KP: We do not charge on an hourly basis for customer service and the help desk. Our customers call us all the time and ask for help pricing a job – we try to help our customers with those problems.
SM: What was the competitive landscape like when you started? Besides consultants, was there anyone else in that space at the time? KP: Even today the competition is fairly scant. Back then there was no one doing it. We were alone in the consumer and enterprise business for a solid three or four years.
SM: What was the genesis of Salary.com? KP: Right before I started Salary.com I was building software for What Color Is Your Parachute?, which is also in the career management space. There we ended our process with a recommendation as to what would be a good career fit for an individual. The goal was to
Kent Plunkett is the CEO of Salary.com. His efforts there earned him the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for 2007. He has domain expertise in data on-demand and data syndication, with expertise leveraging this at all levels from the enterprise to the consumer. SM: Where do you come from? Give us some
SM: Do you have a sense of where you want to go from here in terms of your career and businesses? SW: I’m in a period where I am trying to figure that out. I am in this place, business-wise and knowledge-wise, where I am on the cusp of doing something on the next level.