Such is the promise of a new company called Relationship Science.
Never heard of it? Until recently, neither had I. But a few months ago, whispers began that this young company was assembling a vast trove of information about big names in corporate America. What really piqued my interest was that bankrolling this startup were some Wall Street heavyweights, including Henry R Kravis, Ronald O Perelman, Kenneth G Langone and Joseph R Perella.
It turns out that over the last two years, with a staff of more than 800 people, mostly in India, Relationship Science has been quietly building what it hopes will be the ultimate business Who's Who. If it succeeds, it could radically change the way Wall Street does business.
That's a big if, of course. There are plenty of other databases out there. And there's always Google. Normally, I wouldn't write about a technology company, but I kept hearing chatter about it from people on Wall Street. Then I got a glimpse of this new system. Forget six degrees of Kevin Bacon. This is six degrees of Henry Kravis.
Beyond primary contacts
Here's how it works: Let's say a banker wants to get in touch with Kravis, the private equity dealmaker, but doesn't know him personally. The banker can type Kravis' name into a Relationship Science search bar, and the system will scan personal contacts for people the banker knows who also know Kravis, or perhaps secondary or tertiary connections. The system shows how the searcher is connected - perhaps a friend, or a friend of a friend, is on a charitable board - and also grades the quality of those connection by identifying them as 'strong,' 'average' or 'weak.'
The major innovation is that, unlike Facebook or LinkedIn, it doesn't matter if people have signed up for the service. Many business leaders aren't on Facebook or LinkedIn, but Relationship Science doesn't rely on user-generated content. It just scrapes the Web.
Relationship Science is the brainchild of Neal Goldman, a co-founder of CapitalIQ, a financial database service that is used by many Wall Street firms. Goldman sold CapitalIQ, which has 4,200 clients worldwide, to McGraw-Hill in 2004 for more than $200 million. That may explain why he was able to easily round up about $60 million in funds for Relationship Science from many boldface names in finance.
"I knew there had to be a better way," Goldman said about the way people search out others. Most people use Google to learn about people and ask friends and colleagues if they or someone they know can provide an introduction. Relationship Science essentially does this automatically. It will even show you every connection you have to a specific company or organisation.
"We live in a service economy," Goldman said. "Building relationships is the most important part for selling and growing."
Comes at a price
Kenneth Langone, a financier and co-founder of Home Depot, said that when he saw a demonstration of the system he nearly fell off his chair. He used an unprintable four-letter word. "My life is all about networking," said Langone, who was so enthusiastic he became an investor and recently joined the board of Relationship Science. "How many times do I say, 'How do I get to this guy?' It is scary how much it helps." Goldman's version of networking isn't for everyone. His company charges $3,000 a year for a person to have access to the site. (By Wall Street standards, it's not expensive) Price aside, the possibility that this could lead to a deal or to a new wealth management client means it just might pay for itself.
"If you get one extra deal, the price is irrelevant," Goldman said. Apparently, his sales pitch is working. Already, some big financial firms have signed up for the service, which is still in a test phase. I-bankers, wealth managers, PE and venture capital investors have been trying to arrange meetings to see it, egged on, no doubt, by many of Goldman's well-heeled investors. Even some development offices of charities have taken interest.
Still a bit buggy
The system I had a peek at was still a bit buggy. In some cases, it was missing information; in others, the information was outdated. In still other instances, the program missed connections. Like, it didn't seem to notice that Lloyd C Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, should obviously know a certain senior partner at Goldman.
But the promise is there, if the initial kinks are worked out. I discovered I had paths I never knew existed to certain people or companies. (Goldman should market his product to reporters, too.) One of the most vexing and perhaps unusual choices Goldman seems to have made with Relationship Science is to omit what would be truly valuable information: phone numbers and email addresses.
Goldman explained the decision. "This isn't about spamming people." He said supplying phone numbers wouldn't offer any value because people don't like being cold called, which he said is the antithesis of the purpose of his database.
Ultimately, he said, as valuable as the technology can be in discovering the path to a relationship, an artful introduction is what really counts. "We bring the science," he said. "You bring the art."
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