Pros
When I joined AlphaSights 4 years ago it was a true startup and over that time it has evolved into a high-growth firm with a clear mission and vision and a very compelling business proposition. I have watched the office grow from 20 to 50 to 100 to 150 people and at each stage it has faced new challenges and evolved. Some challenges were met head on and dealt with swiftly and smartly and others were, admittedly, flubbed. That is the reality of working at a growing company. Things change every day. The second you make a plan it becomes time to adapt it to the new landscape within and without the firm. This can either be exciting or overwhelming, inspiring or frustrating, and sometimes all of those things at the same time. This is not a unique AlphaSights problem but a high-growth problem. I have vented and moaned and then reflected and learned. I have been a guinea pig for change and a standard bearer for change. I have been able to see how the organism that is a company morphs over time and that is undoubtedly the biggest lesson I will take away from my time here. I encourage everyone working there or anywhere else to open their eyes and try to analyze the dynamics unraveling around them: How does your talent story impact who you hire? How do those people engage with the value prop of the company? How well equipped are your managers to illustrate that value prop and tie it to their direct reports' day-to-day? How does the skill set you learn in month one prepare you for the one you'll need in year five? How do you keep everyone aligned to the same vision? How do you provide your sales team with the right tools, technology and training to execute on all cylinders? These are all questions AlphaSights is still asking itself and answering in stages. It has come a long way in the last 4 years and I'm excited to see where it goes in the next 4 years. So here are the pros: - For a first job you get a crash course in business. You learn what roles are responsible for which tasks. You learn what questions people in product management, marketing, sales, strategy, operations, and HR grappled with. You also learn what questions companies ask when evaluating an acquisition, entering a new market, reorganizing a division, benchmarking an internal process, evaluating a vendor, or analyzing their competition. Finally, you learn how to break down the value chain of a market quickly. - You learn commercial skills that will help you for life. You learn how to work with senior professionals and communicate with them effectively. You are able to receive a problem from a client and find a solution for them quickly. - As a manager you are responsible for the daily execution of your team, the development of your people, and the growth of your accounts. - You meet with clients and upsell your services. You think through creative new solutions for them and have the opportunity to create brand new offerings or sales collateral. - You have a voice at the table. If you work hard and prove yourself you are taken seriously and your ideas are heard, no matter your title or seniority. -Lastly, the people. This is probably the most cliche AlphaSights comment but the people are just amazing. They are bright, driven, sharp, funny, warm, and inspiring. They are an amazing network of young professionals and I am really grateful to have been able to call them my colleagues and my friends.
Cons
As mentioned above, the company is young and it is still figuring out a lot of things. It continues to run into issues of professional development and resource provisioning as the company grows, roles change, priorities shift, and people come and go. The company is constantly sprinting to keep up with its own growth and this creates friction in the process. I caution everyone to ask themselves if they REALLY want to be working at a high-growth firm before they join. I also ask that they have patience once they do join. No firm is perfect but AlphaSights is pretty great and extremely committed to striving for excellence. It is always working to being better tomorrow than it was the day before and because of that I'd recommend it to any ambitious young person looking for a job that stresses front-line execution and autonomy.
