On this wonderful Monday Sanjay Sathe shares his experiences, gives advice, talks about investors and the economy.  Sanjay Sathe is the President and CEO of RiseSmart.com.  He saw a problem and found a solution with RiseSmart.com.  Dig in and enjoy the great insight from Sanjay Sathe!

Introduce yourself, Sanjay.  Please give us some background.

Prior to launching RiseSmart, I served as an executive for Sabre Holdings, the $2.5 billion parent company of Travelocity.  As vice president for enterprise data management, I led the company’s efforts to leverage business intelligence to create new revenue streams.  I have also held leadership roles with Brierley & Partners, Lufthansa and HSBC.

I started RiseSmart when I discovered firsthand how cumbersome it is to search for jobs online, particularly for senior managers.  There are a myriad of job boards out there, and trying to find the right job from thousands of listings can seem like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  It’s frustrating.

I created RiseSmart to solve this problem.  We bring together millions of job listings through sophisticated search technology and match them to jobseekers’ preferences. We then present them to skilled HR pros (Job Concierges) who handpick relevant job opportunities and deliver them to the individual jobseekers.  We do the online job search so you don’t have to.

As the founder of RiseSmart, what can you tell us about RiseSmart (concept, how it works, etc.).

RiseSmart is focused on cutting through the weeds to help people find jobs.  We do this in two ways: through our corporate outplacement services, and through our job-search services for individuals.

We offer corporate outplacement services to Fortune 500 companies like ACS, as well as smaller and mid-sized companies.  Our services are really a breath of fresh air for corporate clients, because they are focused on results.  Traditional outplacement consultants provide laid-off employees with office space and seminars and training; they teach people how to find a job.  RiseSmart’s outplacement services are focused on helping people to actually find a job.  And that’s what most employees really want.

To help laid-off employees find new jobs, a dedicated RiseSmart HR professional is assigned to each employee. Utilizing state-of-the-art search technology, the HR professional searches hundreds of thousands of job listings across the Web, returning only the listings that best match the employee’s specific criteria. RiseSmart then listens to employee feedback to continually enhance the results it delivers.  Through our corporate outplacement packages, employees typically receive this service for six months or until they find a new job.

You can learn more about our corporate outplacement services at www.TransitionConcierge.com.

In addition to our corporate outplacement services, we offer a version of the service for individuals who pay a monthly subscription fee.  You can sign up for this service at www.RiseSmart.com.

Did you need to get investors for RiseSmart?  If so, what was that experience like (recommendations)?

We secured $1.5 million in seed funding in 2007, followed by $3 million in venture capital from Norwest Venture Partners that we announced in December 2008.

The experience of raising money is hard work.  You call everyone you know, use every connection you have.  You have to have a compelling story to tell. You just gotta be at it — never saying no. It is a percentage game with a low-percentage penetration, so you’ve got to keep on trying and never get disappointed for more than an hour…then get back up and start all over again.

Raising money is an ongoing part of our business at this stage of our growth.  Selling your company to potential investors, and keeping your investors apprised of your progress, is as important as selling your service to customers.  You can’t do one without the other.

What problems have you faced and how have you gone about solving them?

The biggest challenge you face as an entrepreneur is that there are many choices you can make, many strategic directions you can follow.  You can’t spread yourself too thin. From time to time, when we decide we’ve taken on too much, we look in the mirror and reel it back in.  We focus on the core value we deliver to our customers.

At the same time, you have to be open to opportunities.  Because of the economy and other factors, we’ve seen tremendous demand for our corporate outplacement services, so we’re focusing more of our resources there.

Being an entrepreneur is like being on a roller coaster – without paying for one.  You have to constantly prioritize, and be a quick learner across an array of subjects. I think one of the most important things is getting the right talent into the company. Always aim to get people smarter than you and give them a sand box to play in.

The economy is what everyone is talking about.  How have you been able to succeed?

It obviously helps that our business is countercyclical.  Corporate outplacement services and job-search services are in high demand.  Additionally, our corporate outplacement services are  a far better value than the services offered by traditional transition management consultants – so our corporate clients can deliver a better service to their employees while also saving money.

What inspires you? What advice can you give?

There’s nothing like dreaming up an idea and then making it a reality.  I encourage everyone to try it. Also, persistence pays… be at it, stay focused and healthy as everything depends upon you.

Thanks to Sanjay Sathe for doing this interview!

Be sure to check out more about Sanjay Sathe and RiseSmart.

Have a great week everyone!