Fast-growing PowerStats, established by Dima Ivanov in 2014, has developed an online benchmarking platform that analyses selected data and generates competitive market insights in real time.
PowerStats formed a strong relationship with Staffing Industry Metrics (SIM) in Australia following an introduction from ATEED. SIM benchmarks recruitment companies across more than a hundred specialised metrics, including for example the split of revenue from temporary contracts to permanent placements.
SIM switched to the PowerStats online platform under a licensing agreement and quickly expanded internationally. SIM became one of PowerStats’ biggest `white-label’ clients after a major British recruitment agency with 40 branches in 14 countries started using the SIM/PowerStats platform for its global financial intelligence.
"Despite being guided by a formal vendor-client relationship, we are effectively working in partnership (with SIM)," says Ivanov. "If we make SIM successful, then we are successful."
Global coverage in the marine industry
PowerStats provides industry statistics services for the International Council of Marine Industry Associations, which covers 36 countries and is based in Brussels. The National Marine Manufacturers Association in the United States also engaged PowerStats to collect and supply data on sales of outboard diesel engines, boats, boat trailers and personal watercraft.
"With the marine industry we nearly have full world coverage – Europe, parts of Middle East and Africa, Russia, United States, Australia and New Zealand," says Ivanov.
Users of the PowerStats platform supply data, in an agreed format, on a monthly basis and PowerStats aggregates and analyses the information automatically. Once sufficient data has been received by the system, the users received notifications by email and can log-in to view the various reports available to them (such as market trends, market share, productivity, wastage and profitability).
"We are getting granual data from the participating competitors in the industry cluster, aggregating it and then displaying the results back to each user in a confidential way," says Ivanov. "It allows each business to see their market share and positioning without being able to understand the performance of competitors.
"The value of PowerStats is that it provides business owners with undeniable facts and they can make decisions on `where can we improve, where are we spending too much money, where are the gaps in the market, and are we winning or losing market share’.
"Once, a user in Australia rang me after looking at the data and was happy that his sales doubled in December over November, but was confused why the entire market grew nearly 100 per cent during the same time. We pointed out that everyone gained. Without PowerStats he was making the assumption that his business was doing well when in fact the whole industry went up," says Ivanov.
Eyeing up the United States market
PowerStats operates with a lean team of three – developer Vasily Levshin, tester Tanya Levshina and Ivanov who looks after sales and marketing and the day to day business activities.
PowerStats is looking to expand its business in the United States – but first it is awaiting a report from a group of MBA students in late 2017. PowerStats was accepted into the University of California, Los Angeles Global Access Programme (GAP), valued at $US17,000 ($NZ23,500).
"Six MBA students are visiting expos, seeking out prospective partners and devising a market entry strategy into the US for us. The programme takes up 2000 hours of the students’ time. Considering the fee we pay is almost entirely used for the students’ travel to the various expos and conferences, the programme is phenomenal value for money," says Ivanov.