No matter what the industry, every business benefits from better information, stronger research, and savvy insight. Minneapolis-based
Knowteria provides all three.
The company is helmed by Alisa Coddington, who earned a degree in library science, and then branched out into the realms of analysis and insight.
"By definition, I'm a librarian, that's my skill set," she says. "I've always loved research, though, and the investigative aspect of that. No matter how bland a topic might appear, it always becomes interesting the further I get into it. It's a good way to learn a little bit about many different subjects."
Coddington started the firm in 2009 and still works as a solo entrepreneur, but she draws on a large network of other information professionals, and benefits from robust collaboration.
Before starting Knowteria, she worked in an ad agency, and noticed that many smaller, specialized agencies began popping up on the scene. She anticipated that Knowteria would cater only to those agencies, but instead, she's found a broader client base than she expected.
Now, a client might be an investor who needs to get up to speed on a particular industry, or an entrepreneur who's refining a business pitch. Coddington provides customized information packages that she calls "value-added brainpower."
"This type of business research and intelligence is geared toward helping to win business and gain a competitive advantage," she says.
Although her research ranges across industries and topics, she's noticed a trend lately toward questions about emerging markets, from companies that want to expand internationally. Also, she's getting more requests about technology use, leading her to dig into statistics like iPhone usage.
Coddington currently does mainly secondary research--which means that she finds the studies, insights, and stats that others have published and compiles them into a cohesive whole--but she's hoping to begin doing some primary research as well. It's all part of being an information sleuth, she believes.
Source: Alisa Coddington, Knowteria
Writer: Elizabeth Millard