As the nation strains to regain its economic footing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, technology leaders are rediscovering the importance of connecting with peers externally to address challenges in real-time, according to Leah Williams, CEO of The Mercury Company, which today announced it is now accepting applications for membership in its vendor-free network.
Mercury’s platform, developed by a Fortune CTO, is a secure, vetted network geared toward technology executives who don't have the time to sort through a massive personal Rolodex to figure out which of their many contacts has the right mix of background, experience, and successes to help answer mission-critical business decisions. Williams, a University of Georgia graduate who recruited Fortune 1000 executives for private industry events for more than 13 years, said she was inspired to create Mercury after realizing that tech leaders needed help sifting through the noise that often hampered their efforts to obtain unbiased data. She recounts, "Executives trusted me to connect them with like-minded peers at other best-in-class organizations for insights to improve their business. I hated that they had to leave the office to be able to access those conversations and, worse, that when they got there, they were hounded by salespeople. My clients attended to meet each other, not to listen to industry trends, and not to hear a sales pitch. That made it clear to me that these leaders needed a vendor-free space for collaborating regularly and even for just the comfort of knowing that others who faced similar challenges were able to overcome them." The Mercury platform provides three channels: Peer Match, Forum, and Private Chat. Peer Match utilizes AI technology to connect a member with an experienced counterpart – someone who has 'been there, done that. So, instead of hearing 'This is what we are seeing' from paid analysts, the members jump directly to 'this is what worked'.
Williams said that Mercury's more traditional channels, Forum and Private Chat, are organized in five levels, arranged by company revenue, that lets members interact with full confidence that they will reach the audience most qualified to answer.
Other benefits of belonging to the network include obtaining vendor references, earning top contributor rewards, and invitations to hyper-exclusive programs in select cities.
A founding member and Chief Technology Officer from a multi-billion dollar financial institution said of Mercury, "Connecting with peers at other organizations who have been there, done that is the missing part of the buying process."