 |
||
|
|
||
| |||||||||||
It's the Information Age Through advanced satellite technology, PCQuote supplies financial market data to brokerages, fund managers, banks, investors, and consumers. The company was founded as On-Line Response in 1975, with primarily institutional financial services firms (banks and money managers) as its clients; founded by options traders, the company's first product was a real-time option analysis system. The company was renamed PCQuote in 1983. High product-development costs kept the company's profits low until a cost-cutting campaign coupled with new big-name contracts in 1994, brought earnings to a record $1.5 million in 1995. However, the company has suffered since that high point, losing money in each year since, even postponing a planned IPO late in 1999. To help shake things up, former chairman Louis Morgan resigned in 1997, and CEO Jim Porter took over as chairman. It's not about PCs; it's about the Net HyperFeed, the company's parent, broadcasts (via satellite) real-time trading information, financial news, and other financial data. Unlike its competitors, PCQuote lets users slice and dice its data, using PCQuote's own software or 3rd party software. In March 1999, the company introduced HyperFeed 2000, its latest data feed technology. The company also offers its services through its site on the World Wide Web and through the Microsoft Network and other online content providers. PC Quote is increasingly looking to expand its Internet services. Revenue from these services grew from 6 percent of the company's revenue in 1996 to nearly 30 percent in 1997, although today subscriptions to PCQuote services account for 80 percent of revenue. The company's web site, pcquote.com, receives about 34 million page views each month (and close to 1 million visitors). In December 1998, the company created an Internet division to focus on its Web strategy; in February 1999, PC Quote unveiled a redesign of its site. PCQuote has signed an agreement with Schaeffer's Investment Research to provide real time information on options and is looking to ink a deal with Motorola to provide stock information to Motorola's wireless devices. In an effort to expand the appeal of its products, PCQuote released PCQuote Orbit, a scaled down version of its professional software intended for the individual investor.
PC Quote is a an extremely small company, with just over 100 employees. The company does not provide any job information on its web site, and advises that job seekers send or fax resumes to the human resources department.
"Cool" environment Described as "a pretty cool place to work," employees praise PC Quote's friendly environment. The relaxed atmosphere starts with the company's dress code. Explains one insider: Dress code is business casual, but other than the executives, a lot of people stretch that to jeans without any problem." Says another: "Everyone up to Jim Porter, the CEO, is on a first-name basis, so it's a really nice atmosphere." The loose atmosphere isn't just a culture thing: it impacts the work at PC Quote. Explains one insider: "It's not unusual for small companies to be a bit less organized but that can also translate into a lot of opportunities to stretch the job description a bit." Great diversity Insiders at PC Quote also give their employers high marks when it comes to diversity issues. According to one, "The majority of our employees are female, and we all come from a variety of backgrounds." Another longtime employee agrees that "we've certainly got a very diverse mix of people working here." And yet another contact, a former employee, reports that "my boss was a woman, and many key positions in sales, PR, marketing, and product management are held by women." Still, one employee notes that many management-level employees "tend to come from the old boy's network, or are the old boy's female friends." PC Quote insiders report some points of discontent. One employee reports a high turnover rate in some departments, "though sales and advertising tends to be more stable." And with the company's poor fiscal performance in recent years, employees say that "money's not exactly something they're throwing around, but things are definitely not as bad as they had been." However, in addition to competitive pay, employees say benefits are "better than most places." Sums up one longtime employee: "In general, it's a pretty good place to work."
Ramez Dahleh Human Resources 300 South Wacker Drive1 Suite 300 Chicago IL 60606 (312) 913-2900
ADP;Bloomberg;Data Broadcasting;Dow Jones;Quote.com;Reuters;Yahoo! More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
