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Intuit stands as one of the few companies able to beat Microsoft. Ironically, many don't know what Intuit does. Well, it's best known as the maker of the extremely popular personal money management software package known as Quicken. Intuit controls more than 80 percent of the market.

Several years ago, Jeff Hyman, 29, fresh out of the MBA program at Kellogg, following a stint at Black & Decker, joined Intuit and became a product marketing manager. There, he learned the secrets of beating Microsoft. First of all, says Hyman, "You must focus like a laser. Next, there must be an obsession with customer service. Having the best technology is not enough."

At Intuit, Hyman met Lun Yuen, 32 (who had joined Intuit in 1988 and was its third engineer). Both had a similar interest: starting their own business. The idea was to provide an online service that would help MBAs find jobs and help employers find the right MBAs. The name of the company would be MBA Central. "From the start, we focused on this market and did not divert our attention to other markets, like lawyers or CPAs. Our goal was to be the best online job service for MBAs. Period," Hyman says. So, as is taught in business school, Hyman and Yuen immersed themselves in researching the MBA market -- and what a market. It has grown 376 percent since 1967, with about 100,000 students graduating each year. Having an MBA is becoming a prerequisite to getting on the corporate fast track.

Interestingly enough, an MBA will change, on average, his job every three years. This represents 450,000 job changes each year -- which is very good news for job placement services. The MBA recruiting market is about $500 million per year. However, the market is highly fragmented, because there are more than 7,000 search firms in the United States. The top three take only 4 percent of the market.

Hyman and Yuen viewed competition in the same way as did Intuit. "Intuit did not look at online competitors to Quicken or Turbo Tax," says Hyman, "Rather, Intuit looked at the 'old-way' of doing things; that is, using a checkbook or filling out tax forms. We did the same with our MBA job service." The traditional way of job placement for MBAs, particularly midlevel managers, is definitely archaic. It can take months to get job leads. And a search can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000. The next step was to determine what the customer wanted. Hyman and Yuen conducted exhaustive interviews with several hundred MBAs. The interviews revealed that the typical MBA is not very technically savvy. Many of them had old browsers (thus, the site does not use Java) and did not have CD-ROM drives. So, Hyman and Yuen developed software that fits on one diskette (much like the America Online concept). The packaging is very colorful (also like AOL) and the instructions are very easy to understand.

Once the software was finished, Hyman and Yuen did extensive usability tests. "We wanted the software to be as easy to use as possible." The other challenge was to make the service affordable. "Our strategy," says Yuen, "is to automate all levels of our business. For example, instead of using the phone, we use e-mail. "

Here's how an MBA (whether business school student or graduate with years of experience) registers for the service:

1. Either call MBA Central or go to its Website to request the registration software. You can also find this software at many business schools.

2. Install the Windows software. You will then -- in an easy, step-by-step process -- fill in information about yourself, such as what your ideal job would be, your work history, your educational background, your certifications (Series 7, CFA, CPA, etc.), languages you speak fluently, and so on. This should take about 20 to 30 minutes. When done, you press the Submit button and the information is transmitted to the MBA Central database via modem (or you can print out the information and send it by snail mail or fax).

3. The MBA Central JobCast technology will scan the job market and filter those jobs appropriate to your skills and experience. If there is a match, the job lead is e-mailed to you (to see a sample go to JobCast e-mail). If you are interested in the job, you reply and attach your resume to the e-mail. MBA Central will forward a clean copy of your resume to the hiring company. In no circumstance will MBA Central release your information to a company unless you give approval.

Compared with job bulletin boards (such as the Monster Board and Career Mosaic), MBA Central is much more effective. You do not have to spend hours looking at long lists of jobs. Rather, by using MBA Central, you get jobs that are based on your criteria. Also, the service is confidential (that is, your resume is not posted on a Website).

And this is all free.

So how does MBA Central make its money? From employers. When an employer needs to fill a position, it sends MBA Central a job description (which MBA Central will help refine in order to maximize search effectiveness) and search criteria (industry experience, functional experience, international experience, business school). MBA Central's sophisticated technology filters its huge database and creates a short list of about 10 to 20 qualified candidates, which will be sent to the employer in five business days (the resumes are printed on premium-bond paper and Federal Expressed). "Our experience has been that employers do not want a long list of candidates," says Hyman. "Less is more. Simply put, employers do not have enough time to interview 50 candidates. For this service, employers are willing to pay."

The fee structure for MBA Central is as follows:

· $295 for first-year summer interns
· $995 for second-year graduating MBA student
· $1,995 for MBA alumni

The search is backed by an unconditional guarantee. So, if the employer is not satisfied, it can get its money back. Basically, there's no risk. What's more, if MBA Central is unable to find at least 10 candidates for the position, there is no fee.

Marketing

MBA Central uses a variety of ways to market its service, such as public relations, direct marketing, campus events, and traditional print advertising and banner ads. MBA Central has also established relationships with more than 100 business schools, as well as all the top ranked schools, such as Yale, Harvard, Georgetown, and Wharton -- and MBA Central pays for all the costs. But the most effective marketing tool has been the student representative program, in which students get their fellow students to register for the service. "Peer-to-peer marketing is very effective," says Hyman, "because of the credibility factor." Furthermore, the student rep is compensated for the efforts, in the form of money donated for the class gift. So far, the MBA candidate database has about 25,000 live candidates, ranging from seasoned MBAs with 5 or 10 years of experience to current business school students.

Funding

From a two-man venture, MBA Central has grown to a small company with more than 20 employees. Hyman and Yuen have been very successful in obtaining capital to fund growth. In its third round, MBA Central raised $3 million. "But we don't just only look for money," says Hyman. "We want a strategic fit." For example, MBA Central's investors include Softbank, IDG Ventures and Arthur Rock (a legend in the VC community, who funded Intel and Apple), and Allen & Company, a leading media investment bank in New York City. "The synergies we've gained from our relationships with Softbank and IDG have been tremendous," says Hyman. "Both of these firms have extensive portfolios of companies, all of which are a great pool of potential customers who need to hire MBAs. Also, these companies have large databases of corporate advertisers, who also need MBA talent. It has been a good marriage."

How did Hyman and Yuen attract such investors? "There are many reasons," says Hyman. "We had a comprehensive business plan, about 150 pages. We supported it with customer and market research, not our personal opinion and conjecture. We have a strong management team and a solid business model." As for the future, don't be surprised if MBA Central goes public. True, very few recruitment companies have gone public. But then again, as Hyman and Yuen have shown, why do things the old way?