When I first met Allen, he was fairly new to the job board industry but talked about its similarities with the newspaper digitization industry which he pioneered beginning in the early 80s. Launching in 2005 his company onTargetJobs.com has built a substantial portfolio of niche job boards. His most recent acquisition of RegionalHelpWanted.com valued near $100 million was onTargetJob’s largest to date. I had been planning to interview Allen for some time and with the changes in management at onTarget, this seemed like the right moment. Don't miss reading Allen's bio and resume while listening to techno music.
Eric: Allen, with nine job board acquisitions under your belt now, in what ways is this industry different from the print digitization field when you started acquiring companies?
Allen: The print world was a more mature industry that we migrated to online applications and products. The online classified market is relatively young and the companies are still in early stage development. While the industries are different, in the end they are similar in that it is all about online delivery of products that fill customer needs. Products have to be relevant and convenient.
In terms of my acquisition experience in both industries, I found myself coaching job board owners through the acquisition process a bit more. Most have never sold a company and building a strong bond with the owners is paramount. I have been in their shoes as an owner/entrepreneur and it can be an intimidating process. I think I relate to them and help them succeed in realizing their dreams.
Eric: Have you learned any new lessons you can share about acquiring and merging job boards?
Allen: One of the key differentiators in this industry is the importance of traffic metrics. I am still learning the secrets of SEO and traffic analysis and the subtle impact best SEO practices can have on a site.
Eric: What do you look for in a job board entrepreneur that makes an ideal acquisition target?
Allen: Good companies are built by talented people, so the leadership is foremost in our evaluation. We look for ethics, passion for the business, performance driven mindset, and strong jobseeker and employer relationships.
Eric: What have been your biggest challenges or headaches building your portfolio?
Allen: Without a doubt, integrating nine (9) different technology platforms that we inherited has been a challenge.
Eric: Have you lost any acquisition candidates to your competitors that you really liked?
Allen: We were fortunate to be the first in the market to focus on the value of niche sites, so we had a jump on the market and were able to buy our core companies before hardly anyone realized who we were or what we were doing. But even now with a bit more market activity, we have built a strong track record as a credible and trustworthy buyer, so we have not had many disappointments.
Competitive bids have not hurt us. We have in fact acquired at least two companies where I found out we were not the highest bid. More than price is considered in these transactions by owners. Structure of the deal, who they are dealing with, and where the best home is for their company, are important factors.
Eric: Rumor has it that the RHW acquisition hit some snags and that you are retiring from the business. Can you share what really happened?
Allen: We are very happy with the acquisition of Regionalhelpwanted (RHW). Every acquisition I have done in my career has surprises, but RHW has actually been our easiest integration of all of the companies we have bought and is performing well. The people at RHW are enthusiastic and have made the post acquisition plans work wonderfully well. Eric Strauss is a lot of fun to work with and definitely has passion for the business.
I am not retiring. I founded the business and we have grown dramatically in three years to the point we needed to expand our management team. We were ready for a strong operational executive that could focus full time on running the day to day business. We think we found the right guy for the job in Mike Tansey.
We have had to pass on some opportunities in the past because of lack of bandwidth. I most enjoy building relationships and working the acquisition and strategic development side of the industry. Mike is more detailed oriented and I am big picture strategy. We make a good team and now have the bandwidth to do more.
Eric: What changes do you see coming to the job board industry? Do the niche job boards being launched by monster.com and career builder.com threaten independently owned niche job boards?
Allen: It is difficult to see how niche sites that do not have strong employer relationships in their industry will survive. I think the larger companies will have difficulty competing against niche boards that know their industry and the employer and jobseeker needs.
The owners I meet typically come from the industry they serve…they have the passion and they have the rolodex of relationships to be successful. They are focused. If you look at the history of other media…whether it be print, broadcast or internet…market segmentation has occurred and the large generalist give up considerable market share as a result. We see that happening in the online classified space.
Eric: What strategy or theme unifies your portfolio of job boards?
Allen: Focus, focus, focus. We want to be the leader in each of our niche markets in matching quality candidates to the best employers.
Eric: What type of buyer might eventually buy OnTargetJobs.com?
Allen: Believe it or not, we do not really think about this. Our goal is to focus on building a great company. My experience is great companies tend to attract attention for the right reasons.
Eric: Do you think running a job board is getting easier or harder as time goes by?
Allen: Harder. The sophistication of the competition is getting better as the industry comes into adolescence. Technology and user habits are a moving target on the internet. Building companies in this environment is not for the faint of heart.
Eric: What advice would you give an entrepreneur about to launch a job board? What does it take to succeed from where you stand?
Allen: I think I covered this previously…but you have to be patient and invest not only if the technology, but in sales infrastructure. A unique value proposition to differentiate is important.
Allen: What advice would you give an entrepreneur who wants to sell a job board?
Allen: Talk to me first.
Eric: What do you read?
Allen: Everything I can get my hands on that relates to shifting trends on the internet…after that I am a history buff, so nonfiction is always by the bedside.
Eric: What websites do you visit everyday besides your own?
Allen: I most often visit onTargetjobs’ partner or potential acquisition sites. I follow ad and ecommerce trends at places like Google, Yahoo, etc. I really like bizjournals.com for local business news around the country.
Eric: What do you enjoy most about this business?
Allen: I enjoy the people I have met and worked with. The industry is also exciting because it is still maturing. Finding the right jobseekers where they are on the internet is a challenge. Helping HR professionals improve their recruiting workflow solutions is in its infancy as well. This creates an opportunity to innovate…and that is fun to me.
Eric: What do you do for fun? How does running your business fit in with your lifestyle?
Allen: I am passionate about this business, so work is a huge part of the lifestyle…I do not shut it off when I go home at night…I am constantly living and breathing onTargetjobs. Outside of work, I have fun with my family (5 kids!). We like to ski, golf, river raft and anything else active outdoors.
Eric: Thank you so much for your time Allen... I have enjoyed this and I think many job board owners
will find your advice useful!
