MJS Executive Search

Matt Short spent years as a senior executive search professional at Heidrick & Struggles. He earned a base salary of $85,000 to $95,000, but with bonuses his earnings reached as much as $280,000 before the 2001 downturn. After the comp plan changed, his ability to earn above base was sharply limited. At the end of 2002, he concluded that he could generate about half the revenue he had been producing and still come out far ahead financially. He had a house, two cars, and a young baby at home, and his wife encouraged him to interview elsewhere, which gave him a safety net if the venture failed.

Short founded MJS Executive Search in late 2002 as a New York-based retained firm focused on transformational talent for Fortune 500 companies. His first year was difficult. The firm brought in about $85,000 in revenue. Over time it grew to more than a million dollars a year. In 2015 revenue reached $1.1 million, and the 2016 goal was $1.4 million. Short described the business as high margin, with bottom-line profit over $600,000 in 2015.

The firm operates with a small team: one key associate partner, a VP of search operations, and a network of virtual assistants arranged through Less Doing. Work is managed in Trello. Short's pitch for why clients should pay is that MJS takes on searches that only a handful of people in the world could fill, such as roles that never existed before or roles requiring a digital or technology upgrade.

The firm's most cited win is PepsiCo, where MJS placed close to 30 people over eight years. The breakthrough search began with traditional marketing work and then moved into digital roles, including head of global social media and head of global digital strategy. PepsiCo then asked MJS to find engineers with MBAs who could reinvent its vending and fountain equipment. MJS recruited from companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft, and its first placement in that division was a creator of Xbox Connect.

Clients pay 30% of first-year total compensation, billed as a third up front, a third after 30 days, and a third on completion. Average contract value over three years ranged from $85,000 to $109,000. The firm usually places 10 to 15 people a year and works with five to six clients at any given time.

What worked was specialization in hard-to-fill transformational roles, which let a small firm compete against firms worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Short said clients care more about the function than the industry, which let MJS work across digital media, analytics, and cybersecurity.

The early years were not easy. The first year produced only about $85,000, and Short described it as very tough.

As of the interview, MJS reported $1.1 million in 2015 revenue and a 2016 target of $1.4 million. Short said he still spends roughly $700 to $1,000 a month on virtual assistants, far less than the $45,000 to $50,000 he once paid a physical assistant. He also uses Profit First to manage cash flow and keeps a portion of profit in the business as a reserve for future hires.