Derflan
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HQ: Seattle Additional Offices: Chicago Billable Consultants: 48 2009 Revenue: $2.4M 2010 Revenue: $4.9M Revenue Growth: 104% 2011 Revenue: $6.4M (projected) Client Industries: High Tech Service Lines: Strategy |
No path to consulting, it seems, is clearly marked. But Shanaz Diefendorf, president and co-founder of Derflan, came to consulting by way of a high school teacher in New York City.
As in, she was a New York City high school teacher for five years before leaving to pursue an MBA. "If you told that high school teacher back then that I'd be owning a consulting firm, I would never have believed you," Diefendorf says. "But then again, the threads of similarity are there, and, for me, it was always about helping people."
After business school, Diefendorf first worked for an Internet start-up, then in Microsoft's marketing department focused on customer campaigns. Part of her job, incidentally, was hiring and working with consultants. Although she enjoyed the work, the travel was grueling, and she had just started a family. In 2002, Diefendorf decided to launch Derflan with Ellen Sova, a former business school colleague. The business model was to help small and medium-sized businesses, which couldn't afford chief marketing officers, realize their full marketing potential.
