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Guidepoint is the second-largest expert network, providing business professionals with opportunities to talk with industry experts who can answer their specialized industry questions before making investment or business decisions. Guidepoint clients consult with experts over the phone, at a conference, teleconference, or custom event, or may gather primary research data through a survey, poll, or web-based data offering.
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The company has recruited over 300,000 experts, known as “Guidepoint Advisors”, who come from 110 different business industries.
Guidepoint is based in New York City and has additional offices in Boston, San Francisco, London, Düsseldorf, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Seoul.
History
Guidepoint was founded by Albert Sebag, Ph.D., who started as a bioorganic chemist, where he helped to develop anti-estrogen drugs for treatment of certain cancers. Sebag then moved on to law, earning his J.D. from Boston College Law School. During his legal career, he focused on intellectual property and biotechnology litigation for generic pharmaceutical clients. This experience eventually led Sebag to begin a matching service for oncology patients called Clinical Advisors. Launched in 2003, Clinical Advisors matched cancer patients with the clinical trial that best suited their case.
As Clinical Advisors expanded their network to include expertise in additional healthcare areas, the company progressed into other industries and sectors. In 2007, the company changed its name to Guidepoint Global to reflect this expanded business model. In 2009, Guidepoint Global acquired Vista Research from Standard & Poor’s, a subsidiary of the company formerly called The McGraw-Hill Companies, an expert network company that was active in Asia and had a strong network of experts in other industries such as technology and telecom.
Shortly after rebranding as Guidepoint, “the expert at finding expertise,” and premiering a new logo and website, Guidepoint acquired Innosquared, a Germany-based expert network firm. According to FINAlternatives, Guidepoint is “the only global expert network with a large research team based in Germany and one of only two with research locations in the EMEA region.”
Business Model
Clients use Guidepoint as a resource to find answers to specific industry questions that might only be answered by industry and subject-matter experts. The company essentially operates as a matchmaking service, connecting its users to recruited experts in the field they are looking to learn more about. Experts are categorized into six main industry sectors: Healthcare; Financial and Business Services; Consumer Goods and Services; Energy, Industrials, and Basic Materials; Tech, Media, and Telecom; and Legal and Regulatory.
Services are subscription-based and include hourly phone consultations, in-person events, teleconferences, surveys, custom research reports, and a monthly healthcare data offering called Guidepoint TRACKER, which features data on market share in the therapeutics and medical device sectors, such as the US Breast Implant market.
Experts are pre-screened and required to adhere to compliance policies and procedures.
Expert Network Market
Expert networks are a longstanding resource for qualitative and primary research. In 2009, IR Magazine reported there were more than 45 expert networks, generating between $400 - $450 million in yearly sales, around 20 percent of the independent research industry.
According to Integrity Research, Guidepoint is ranked as the second-largest expert network, with a network of more than 300,000 experts.
Compliance
Guidepoint’s Terms & Conditions are a complete set of conservative rules that govern every consultation through Guidepoint. They include limitations on the participation of current and former employees of any company that is the subject of any consultation, employees of companies involved in tender offers and IPOs, competitors, government workers, FDA advisory committee members, and clinical trial participants. In addition, Guidepoint conducts background checks on all new experts that joins its network.
In 2011, Guidepoint hired Catherine Smith, a former senior counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to head Guidepoint’s Legal and Compliance departments. During her seven years in the SEC’s Enforcement Division, she was responsible for the investigation and litigation of potential violations of federal securities laws. Smith was an inaugural member of the SEC Enforcement Division’s national Market Abuse Unit and the recipient of the Enforcement Director’s Award. Smith is also a fellow of the Regulatory Compliance Association.
Smith regularly speaks and writes about expert networks and compliance, including for the Regulatory Compliance Association, Boston Security Analysts Society, Private Equity International’s Private Fund Compliance Forum, Private Investment Forum, and The Hedge Fund Law Report.
Regulatory Focus
In 2010, there were allegations that an expert who provided expert network services gave confidential information to a third party who traded on that information in violation of the federal securities law. That resulted in a strong regulatory focus on the industry and its investment firm clients. Charges were not brought against Guidepoint and now, years later, the investigation seems to be in the past. According to Integrity Research, “Although Guidepoint was mentioned in insider trading complaints, its compliance procedures protected it from accusations of wrong doing.”
Philanthropy
Guidepoint donates to and sponsors a number of charitable causes, including Teach for America, Harlem RBI, New York Cares, City Harvest, and the United Way of America.
Guidepoint founder and CEO Albert Sebag is a board member for service organization Repair the World.