Zakharov Alexey

Zakharov Alexey

Once Alexey Zakharov was ready to concede the website superjob.ru created by his command for $5,000. But did not find the buyer. It was necessary to be engaged in its development independently. In 10 years of superjob.ru helped to find work of more than 1 million Russians. Revenue this year will exceed $4 million. And Zakharov is not going to sell it yet.

Merchants from the Kontakt agency it is perfectly informed as far as capitalization of superjob.ru grew, but at all does not regret that once refused to purchase it. "We effectively are engaged in traditional recruiting, and I hope that our capitalization too grew since then repeatedly. I am very glad to progress of superjob.ru, but is convinced that everyone should go about the own business" — Kupchin says.

The president and the co-owner of the personnel house of "Superdzhob" Alexey Zakharov made the first steps in an entrepreneurship at institute. "It was necessary to earn a living" — he says. He grew up and graduated from school not in Moscow, and in Nizhny Novgorod. But at once to enter to the university it did not turn out. Therefore after school Zakharov got a job the turner of the 4th discharge. Then did military service, and then a year more worked at the plant. And only after that arrived on faculty of the international information of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MSIIR). Here he got acquainted with the future business partners, students of faculty of international law Sergey Gabestro and Sergey Kalach.

Young people decided to put the knowledge into practice and in 1996 created Triumvirat law company. And Gabestro and Kalatch began to specialize in legal services, and Zakharova perspective new projects interested much more. In 1998 he headed the Triumvirat Development company which was engaged in development of websites.

Zakharov got acquainted with a situation in the Russian personnel market accidentally. The recruiting agency "Kontakt" was one of his neighbors in the office building in the center of Moscow. Zakharov offered the agency head Anatoly Kupchin the services. Agreed so: Zakharov's team at own risk will create the superjob.ru Internet resource, and specialists of Kontakt will act as consultants.

Creators of superjob.ru tried to eliminate defects which were suffered, in their opinion, by the website job.ru: unified a summary format, developed several filters helping to protect the website of spam or repeated publications. In January, 2000 the website began the work.

Question price

The website turned out quite successful, but did not bring income, and its development and support took away resources of few development team and programmers. Therefore all in few months Zakharov suggested Kupchin to redeem from him superjob.ru. "The original price was $5000, then was reduced to $3500. But we decided that support of such resource does not correspond to a profile of our company" — Kupchin says.

Zakharov and Gabestro moved off in searches of buyers. The American investment company estimated the blocking packet of superjob.ru approximately at $300,000, Zakharov remembers. "As it is interesting" — entrepreneurs thought and asked the familiar employee of Troika Dialog to make independent assessment. The acquaintance reported that the blocking packet can cost $1.8 million and find the buyer will not make big work. It was necessary only to execute several formal steps. But their entrepreneurs did not manage to complete. The quotations of the American Internet companies failed, the interest of investors in similar assets reduced practically to zero. Entrepreneurs had to think what to do with the website next.

Art of the headhunter

In 2001 Zakharov and Gabestro decided to create the hedkhantingovy agency "Superdzhob" based on the website. Removed spacious office on the Old Arbat, appointed the CEO of the graduate of one of the western business schools, allowed it to make a team of highly paid recruiters and consultants. "Neither I, nor my partner did not want to be engaged in recruiting business personally — Zakharov says. — But financial performance of the new company could not but puzzle us. In them no logic was traced: one quarter of "Superdzhob" brought several tens of thousands of dollars of profit, and following came to an end with not smaller losses".

It was necessary to transfer the agency to the next office and to understand personally that after all in it occurs. The first contract puzzled Zakharov. The customer made necessary advance payment, then selected the manager from several offered candidates. But in the stipulated day the finalist did not come to work.

"It was necessary to go to the customer with cake and a bottle of cognac" — Zakharov remembers. Good relations managed to be saved, but prepayment had to be returned.

In the next three weeks this story repeated still four times. "I understood that so we on one cognac will be ruined" — Zakharov remembers. Therefore partners decided to close recruitment agency. In one and a half years $1.5 million Zakharov were invested in it considers it investments into own education. Without them nothing good from superjob.ru would turn out, he says. "I respect headhunters. But in what they are engaged, is not business, this art" — Zakharov notes.

Work for a fee

It was simply a pity to close the website. It was necessary to force somehow the employers posting information on vacancies on the website to pay for these services. The main complexity was in what most of competitors, including job.ru, any payment from employers did not demand. But even employees did not believe that employers will agree to pay for services. "I tried to overpersuade them in an individual order. But they returned to the workplace, and in couple of days everything had to be started anew" — Zakharov tells.

Then he held a general meeting. "And so far I was not convinced that one and all employees believed in our new model, any of my office did not leave" — he remembers.

Since January 1, 2003 superjob.ru ceased to post free declarations of vacancies on the website and to provide free access to the database of the summary. And it did the website only good. Employers began to treat more responsibly placement of vacancies that could not but affect interest level from candidates.

Growth limits

Affairs of the company were quickly been on the mend. In the first month of work on the new principles revenue made about $10,000. By the end of 2003 turnover of the company exceeded $300,000, in the 2004th — $1 million, and according to the results of this year will reach $4 million. "More than 1 million people through the whole country could find work with the help of our website" — with pride Zakharov speaks. The company is present at many large Russian, Kazakh, Ukrainian cities, he notes. Now on superjob.ru about 10,000 vacancies and more than 700,000 summaries are placed. But the company performs the majority of transactions from the uniform center. The exception was made only for the Ukrainian representative office. "We found out that the Ukrainian personnel market significantly differs from Russian. Therefore in April, 2006 we opened representation in Kiev" — Zakharov tells. Now in it two persons work: CEO and chief accountant. Their main task — collecting of payments. Support of the website and even order processing are performed from Moscow.

Since 2003 the company makes profit. And by the beginning of 2005 it was succeeded to return what was enclosed in the hedkhantingovy agency. Zakharov does not disclose profitability level. "Money is not necessary to us. We already earn more, than we manage to put in development" — he notes. But he is ready to talk seriously about sale to the company only to such investors who will be able to offer it "more, than money". For example, possibility of an entry into the European or world markets. While really interesting offers did not arrive, Zakharov says.

The website superjob.ru enters into top three of the thematic section Work of rating of Rambler Top 100 and its popularity steadily grows. If from October 10 to October 16, 2005 this website was visited by 240,500 people, then for the same period of 2006 — more than 457,000.

The size of the market of Internet recruiting Yury Virovets, the CEO of Headhunter company — the owner of the hh.ru resource, estimates at $10-15 million Zakharov agrees with such assessment.

But he does not feel any pressure from competitors. Potential of the Russian market of Internet recruiting is used hardly for 5%, he says. Therefore as three-four of its annual a turnover consider value assessment of the company wrong: "Practically without any efforts from our party our turnover can exceed $50 million. That's when we will talk".

Merchants from the Kontakt agency it is perfectly informed as far as capitalization of superjob.ru grew, but at all does not regret that once refused to purchase it. "We effectively are engaged in traditional recruiting, and I hope that our capitalization too grew since then repeatedly. I am very glad to progress of superjob.ru, but is convinced that everyone should go about the own business" — Kupchin says.