AlphaSights

Founded in 2008 by Max Cartellieri and Andrew Heath, who met at Stanford Business School, AlphaSights embarked on a mission to revolutionize how professionals access specialized business knowledge. Prior to AlphaSights, both founders had entrepreneurial success; Cartellieri co-founded Ciao AG, a European price comparison website later acquired by Microsoft, and Heath co-founded GoIndustry, an online marketplace for industrial goods. They identified a gap in the market for connecting decision-makers with frontline industry expertise, a space then dominated by a single pioneer with a less sophisticated model. AlphaSights was conceived to provide a faster, more efficient way to tap into the vast, uncodified knowledge held by individuals globally.

The company's journey began in London and quickly expanded, opening its New York City and Hong Kong offices in 2011. This was followed by new locations in Dubai (2012), San Francisco and Seoul (2015), Shanghai (2016), Hamburg (2017), and Tokyo (2018). This rapid global expansion was fueled by a commitment to not just match requests against a pre-existing database, but to custom-qualify experts for each unique client need. This approach, combined with a focus on hiring top talent and building a superior product that grew through word-of-mouth rather than a traditional sales team, set AlphaSights apart. The rise of platforms like LinkedIn also supported their model of directly recruiting experts for live projects. Initially focusing on core services like expert calls and meetings, AlphaSights later expanded its offerings to include surveys, insights projects, and a content library called AlphaView. The company has consistently been recognized for its growth, appearing on The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 and being named one of Europe's fastest-growing companies by the Financial Times. Today, AlphaSights stands as a global leader in knowledge on-demand, serving top investment funds, consultancies, and Fortune 500 companies from its nine international offices with over 1,500 employees.