Executives at Merkle, a Columbia-based marketing services company, blow off steam racing dune buggies across the Baja California peninsula, climbing Mount Rainier, bouncing along Colorado River white water and running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.
I have written about sexier companies than Merkle, which — to put it simply — collects and analyzes massive amounts of data, then advises clients — from Clorox to Disney — on how to find new customers and keep them happy.
(COURTESY OF MERKLE) - “We are a work-hard, play-hard kind of company,” said David Williams, the chairman and chief executive of Merkle. “Merkle is not for everybody.”
There are no set hours for Merkle’s 1,500 employees, including the 419 who work locally. You do the job, keep the clients satisfied, and push the envelope on what you can do for them. Drive by the five-story suburban headquarters any weekend or weeknight, and you’ll find a dozen cars in the parking lot.
“We are a work-hard, play-hard kind of company,” said David Williams, the 48-year-old chairman and chief executive. “Merkle is not for everybody.”
Don’t talk to Merkle about “work-life balance.”
“If some person is going to miss a kid’s recital tonight because they are taking care of a client, [that] is a practical reality at Merkle,” said the hard-charging entrepreneur. “We are willing to do what it takes to take care of business. A lot of people aren’t willing to work that hard.”
One of the company’s mottos is “business is personal.”
It isn’t easy to get hired. The screening process includes making a presentation before three people, who then vote on whether they want you.
The rewards are high. The average Merkle salary is about $90,000, and all employees get health-care coverage. Every quarter, the company awards a handful of “dream grants,” from $1,000-to-$5,000, that allow a person or small team to do whatever they want, whether it’s go to Boston for a Red Sox game or climb down a cave in Belize.
“We really want hard chargers,” said Williams.
The company grossed around $300 million in 2011, and earns a profit of about $50 million based on a profit percentage in the mid-teens. It also has little debt.
A recent investment of $75 million by Technology Crossover Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, pegged Merkle’s worth at $400 million. That means Williams, who owns just shy of half of the company, is a happy man.
This is a focused bunch. And like most corporate cultures, Merkle’s starts at the top — with a boss whose hobby is driving race cars.
Williams grew up in Philadelphia and studied marketing and finance at Shippensburg University in south-central Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1985.
Like most entrepreneurs, Williams pined to own his own company. He planned on growing a landscaping business that he had begun in college, but one of his customers said he “was on a path to nowhere” and suggested he become a stockbroker.
Williams — born with a talent for numbers — took the stockbroker exam in 1985. He was hired by Butcher & Singer, a storied Philadelphia investment house, where he thrived.
Acquiring Merkle
His “aha moment” hit when he noticed that his wealthiest clients were entrepreneurs who had sold their businesses at some point in their lives.
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