Maven Research
Maven Research Review
Maven Research describes itself as “the largest micro-consulting company globally.” Maven connects experts with deep knowledge of a product, market, or industry with clients, usually investors or management consultants doing deep Research on that topic.
Sophie – Our Expert Network Specialist: Sophie is from Hamburg, Germany and is our specialist on Expert Networks. After several years of working as a top executive, Sophie is now an independent consultant and is signed up as a council member of several networks. When she is not helping HuginX write Expert Network reviews, she can often be found enjoying thrilling Nordic noir crime series.
Maven Research was founded in 2008 and has offices in San Francisco, New Hampshire, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Although it receives fewer calls and surveys yearly than industry heavyweights GLG and Guidepoint global, Maven sends a few survey invitations to in-demand experts.
“Maven makes direct access to expert advice and knowledge on any topic easy. Connect with top minds in any field and get fast answers to critical questions that demand specialized expertise.” Maven Research
Is Maven Research legit?
Maven Research is a legitimate business and certainly not a scam. Working with several Fortune 500 companies and investment firms, you can expect a steady flow of projects as a member of Maven’s network of experts. Note that Maven is using a third-party identity verification process as a condition for paying experts.
How do Expert Networks operate?
New to expert networks? Here is a quick guide to 10 key steps networks take when matching experts with clients for ad-hoc phone consultations.
Expert Networks explained in 10 steps
1. Client request recived
Expert Network receives specifications from client.
2. Search for candidates
Internal network checked for matching candidates
3. External resources utilized
Additional external candidates are sourced if needed
4. Vetting of candidates
Candidates are vetted over phone or through screener questions
5. Compliance and confirmation
Candidate undergoes compliance training
6. Scheduling of consultation
The phone consultation is scheduled
7. Consultation takes place
Phone consultation is conducted, usually on a single blinded basis.
8. Post-call confirmation
You receive confirmation of compensation amount after the call
9. Request payment
You'll fill in your payment details and request payment
10. Payment received
You receive the payment. Usually through bank-transfer, PayPal or pre-paid credit card.
Read more about how expert networks operate
How does the consulting process work?
Your first warm-up to Maven is often through a note on LinkedIn, where a network development associate will woo you with an invitation to partake in a paid one-hour consultation. While being offered a high hourly consulting rate to have a quick phone call with a client can sound too good be too good to be true, working with expert networks like Maven is the rare anomaly to that rule!
Presenting the opportunity
The Maven associate will generally want to organize a short call with you to present the concept and the project they are sourcing experts on. If you’re interested and a good fit with the project, you’ll be invited to create a profile on the Maven platform and answer a few short questions about the project. These qualifying questions help the associate (and ultimately the client) evaluate how well you match the project specs.
Compliance training
Like most other expert networks, you’ll need to review a compliance training and checklist to ensure you understand that no confidential information can be shared during the call. Eventually, you’ll get the chance to specify an hourly consulting rate and provide your availability for a client call.
Final selection is up to the client
Suppose the client decides to go forward with you as an advisor for the specific project. In that case, you’ll receive a calendar invitation for the call during one of the available time slots you provided earlier. The Maven network development associate will submit your profile (along with other potential matches) and responses to the client for their final shortlisting. All these steps generally take roughly a week, from the first invitation to the client consultation on the call.
What should be my rate?
You can charge high rates when you’re engaged as an advisor through a firm like Maven Research. You deliver highly concentrated and valuable knowledge during these calls, so feel free to reflect that in your rate, though you should try to get some sense of where you are pricing yourself out of the opportunity. While the Maven representative will likely try to guide you to set a low rate initially, your pricing is ultimately up to you.
Scarcity impacts the consulting rate
The scarcity of the knowledge you have obtained through the years, recency, and seniority are essential ingredients in how expert networks and their clients will value you as an advisor. If you are an early career professional, $100 – $200 per hour is a typical starting point. Director-level professionals can expect to charge $200 – $300, while Vice presidents and C-level executives frequently command rates of $300- $500+. Some networks boast of paying experts $1,000 an hour or more. However, that rate is usually only accessible by elite-level professionals, such as Fortune 500 CFOs, former elected officials, or highly specialized physicians. For paid surveys, Maven Research usually offers a flat rate of $40 – $70 for a 10 – 20 minute online survey.
Advice on how to conduct the one-hour expert network call
Getting paid a high rate to share your expert opinion can sound daunting, but you’ll frequently find calls relatively easy and exciting. You don’t need to prepare for calls – the client wants to know about the domain you’ve operated in for years. Things that seem ordinary or humorous to you, like how you assign a budget or make a decision, can often be intriguing chunks of knowledge to clients trying to comprehend how a business functions.
Straight forward questions
The structure of most consultations is highly conversational, and you’ll be able to answer most queries without too many complex deliberations. Notably, do not share confidential or non-public information during the call. Maven will provide compliance guidelines before your client interaction to help you better understand what is and isn’t permissible. Clients seldom press you for information that you are uncomfortable providing. Strict compliance standards and monitoring have been essential in helping the expert network industry move past a massive insider trading scandal during its nascent years.
The client will take the lead
Clients use expert networks like Maven Research to rapidly gain industry knowledge and help with their understanding of a company, industry, or product of interest. Often as a step in the process of due diligence before making an investment or other strategic decision. The client will lead the conversation and come equipped with well-thought-out questions.
This is how we review gigs
Disclosure: While HuginX is editorially independent, we may earn commissions on sign-up links.
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