Superhero Dating Service (SHDS) is a 5-year human resources project that aims to place 30 high-potential graduates at 5 leading European companies each quarter. Graduates will develop their own start-ups over 3 months while receiving support and evaluation from SHDS to create profiles highlighting their skills. Companies will receive these profiles and bid on candidates in an auction to receive exclusive access for interviews. Universities partner with SHDS by providing workspace in exchange for strengthening ties to businesses and graduates. SHDS expects to profit after 1.5 years and cover initial investments while creating opportunities for over 1,500 graduates and companies.

1. no more blind dates in
human resource

2. Though superheroes are, well, super heroes, they tend to be single or unlucky
in relationships at best. Graduated, the superheroes of university do not
always know with how or with who to spend their lives with either.
Super Hero Dating Service, #SHDS, is a company which matches newly
graduated master’s students to employers. During a three month period
the fine fleur of European graduates build their own, real-life and registered
start-up. SHDS supports them and simultaneously shapes precise and
personal profiles on the graduates personality and competencies, to serve
as a document to facilitate human resource initiatives of leading European
businesses.
SHDS enables graduates to add real life commercial practice to their high
level theoretical knowledge and complete their palette of competencies.
SHDS enables these high potentials to discover their passion and tune
their goals and dreams in their professional careers, in a unique, exciting
and risk-free way.
SHDS enables multinationals to pick from 30 high level graduates,
Photo: flickr.com/photos/wiseacre/
based on precise, rich and specifically rendered reports, built on 3 months
of extensive and relevant research on the candidates.
SHDS enables universities to strengthen ties with leading businesses,
and present themselves as thought leaders.

3. Summary
no more blind dates in
human resource
Superhero Dating Service is a human resource
agency aiming to place 30 high potentials at 5
leading European enterprises each quarter, for the
duration of 5 years.
SHDS has an intended lifespan of 5 years. Each Each quarter, 5 European multinationals join the A number of the graduates will find a loving
quarter, a new project starts for a duration of 3 project as well. The companies receive concise relationship with their fresh employer that will
months as depicted below. 5 groups of each 6 updates on the start-ups frequently. be pleased to have their carefully selected new
graduates are formed. During 3 months these colleague aboard.
The 3rd month, they receive rich and relevant
groups will each develop their own start-up.
reports on each of the 30 contenders, so they Contenders that do not get picked, or cannot
The groups receive intensive guidance by SHDS can decide which candidate would fit their job come to an agreement with the employers, can
employees. The groups will report on their openings and company requirements the best. choose to continue running their start-up.
progression by creating videos.
In the 11th week, companies bid on the graduates The teams and #SHDS will work at a location
After the 8th week each participant presents in an auction. The company with the highest bid provided by a European university. In doing so,
him-/herself, through a short video and resume. for a specific graduate receives exclusive rights to the university can strengthen contacts with
SHDS will add a sophisticated and personal engage in job-offerings for this student for half a leading businesses and be in direct contact with
analysis on each candidate to create a full report. year. high potentials, to approach them for post-
graduate programs.
SHDS works in quarterly projects. This represents the typical planning of one such a quarter.
Week 1 week 2 week 3 week 4 week 5 week 6 week 7 week 8 week 9 week 10 week 11 week 12
Start-up 1
Start-up 2
Start-up 3
Start-up 4
Start-up 5
presentation presentation presentation reports on presentation auction Drinks
start-up start-up start-up candidates start-up

4. Why I created this start-up
Why?
My first reaction when reading the assignment to create a start-up was: “Which one
will I choose?” I actually keep a folder containing all my business plans I bothered to
delineate for the fun of it. The folder holds 30 potential businesses in sub folders.
Choosing one did not feel like a challenge though. And apparently I did not choose
one to become my daytime job. I like having new high impact projects regularly
and prefer to work in changing professional teams. Stuff you will not find easily if you
pursue one particular product or service concept.
Then it hit me: I should sell start-ups.
I like to believe that I am better than others in thinking of unexpected businesses and
Photo: flickr.com/photos/epicharmus/ & flickr.com/photos/omargutierrez/
presenting them in a rough, though appealing form. And I enjoy doing it.
But no: this won’t sell. New entrepreneurs want to work on their own plans; they
do not want to buy ideas. Plus: an abundance of money is not a typical trait of starters.
Then I figured that in a good start-up, it is not the idea but the people that represent
the real value. So I had to come up with a start-up in which I could be busy everyday
creating start-ups that make a difference, but make money by ‘selling’ the people.
So Superhero Dating Service was born. This three-person human resource start-up
exists of a partner specialized in sales and acquisition, one specialized in the psychology
from a human resource perspective, and me as an innovation specialist.
As elaborated in the subsequent pages, this start-up
enables high potential graduates to build
their own start-ups.
By doing so the graduates earn a position at mayor European businesses, that pay for
the high-quality headhunting services.

5. the Graduates
no more blind dates in
human resource
The success of SHDS depends on the quality of
the graduates. If they are the best, companies
will be interested as an employer and willing
to pay to get in touch and head-hunt them.
In Europe, around four million people graduate Each group will work full-time and independent. After these three months, the two possibilities
annually from tertiary education. SHDS aims at Two days per week a SHDS employee will join are: either the graduate is hired by the
the best 5%: 50.000 per quarter. the team and help them develop and sharpen multinational: #winning.
their concepts and business plan using their
To make the principle function, SHDS Or, when the candidate is not picked for
experience, network and expertise.
needs 30 high potential students per interviews, or does not like the offer that the
quarter. The recruiting will be done The groups will report on their project on a company makes, he/she can continue to develop
through extremely narrow targeted restricted blog. Once every two weeks they will the start-up, possibly with other graduates.
advertisements on social media as post a 5-minute video on the progression. The The candidates that do not get hired
Facebook and LinkedIn: 10.000 very suited 8th week all candidates will present themselves, keep the ownership of the company they
candidates will be approached, using a budget their resume, dreams and vision. developed themselves with the support
of 1$ per approach (click). of SHDS: #winning.
During the first two months SHDS will create
A conversion rate of 1% is attainable because a rapport on each candidate. Because of the As there is no such thing as a free lunch, the
of the specifically attractive offer. intensive teamwork, SHDS will be able to sketch graduates are required to pay for this service,
a precise, rich picture describing competencies, without scaring them away at the moment when
Of the 100 applicants, 30 will be selected on
character and promises on the candidate. they are typically low on cash. Therefore they
resume and motivation letter.
will pay 2% of their annual salary for the
After the 11th week the best candidates will be
The former students will be grouped in five first three years to come after finishing the
invited for job interviews with the company they
balanced groups. The participants will project: With a typical $50.000 annual income
get selected by.
receive a monthly $500 compensation to average over the first three years, this will be
cover expenses. All candidates and company representatives will around $250 per quarter. This seems a reasonable
all meet each other at the final party. charge for the service, always proportional
The start-up will get a $2500 budget for to your income. Possibly the graduates can
small investments, like Facebook ads, a camera,
negotiate for compensation as well with their
material for prototypes or whatever the group
future employer.
sees fit.

6. the Employers
no more blind dates in
human resource
Potential employers pay SHDS to receive
rich profiles on 30 high potential graduates
within 3 months, and exclusive access to their
favorite candidates.
& the University
The target group on the flip side of the system current employees on candidates that turn out A third participant in this project is to be
consists of the 300 largest companies in Europe. not to fit. found among Europe’s leading universities.
This prestigious project of SHDS is an
Each quarter five potential employers Contact for this project within the company
attractive activity to welcome on the
are needed to make this project work. will typically be an human resource manager,
campus as leading multinational businesses will
As SHDS is essentially a 5-year project, or a more strategy/focused member of the
be involved, plus the most promising students
this means that 1/3* of the mentioned management team.
of the continent: Those graduates who do not
companies in Europe have to be convinced
With these reports on the candidates they join get hired by the companies may be offered post
to join in the end, by a rate of 20 per year.
the four other companies in an auction the last graduate careers at the cooperating university.
Therefore the offer has to be tempting
month of the project. Each company gets 100
and low risk. A tender will go out to all leading European
virtual tokens, they can divide as stakes on the
universities to partake in this project. For a
The price of joining is $17.500. candidates as they please.
university to join they will have to provide
This buys the company a very sharp and
It is a blind bet, in the sense they do not know a place for the five startups to work, and
elaborate picture of 30 of European top-tier-
how the other companies place their bets: They a quarterly fair of $5000 to get mentioned as
graduates.
could put 100 tokens on one candidate, or three partner of the initiative.
The project appeals because of the depth and on each candidate.
Many European universities already provide
relevant richness of the information provided on
When a company places the highest bid space and support for start-up companies,
the candidates. They can be observed on the basis
on a specific candidate, it gets exclusive and often are very willing to provide suitable
of a 3 month, real-life test, on professionalism,
rights to engage in job interviews for six accommodation for this kind of initiatives.
accountability, communication, presentation,
months with this person.
smarts, but most of all entrepreneurship. It is This role can be taken by one university, or the
like providing 30 high potential a valuable project can touch down in several different cities
internship in three months, that come over the years.
with agile and elegant measures to compare
candidates and without losing production from
* It could turn out to be less than 1/3 if companies
decide to join the program more than once.

7. SHDS itself
no more blind dates in
human resource
SHDS is ran by three people: A hero in sales,
a hero with a psychological/human resource
education and me, the innovation specialist.
SHDS has three basic activities: and the projected figures look quite acceptable. SHDS alumni network with very appealing
specifications.
Each graduates-ran start-up is coached 2 days Critical to the success of this project is the
a week by one SHDS partner: this takes 2/5 of participation of leading European businesses. A third option to follow-up after the fifth year lays
the workload and is led by the innovation My assumption is that with 100 participating in non-profit. The SHDS principle might prove
expert. companies in 5 years this market will be to work as well for people with lower education
saturated. Furthermore the limited existence outside the western world.
The second task is the formulation of personal,
will add to the exclusivity of the proposition,
rich and relevant report on the candidates. This By providing people an opportunity of well guided
both to companies and graduates.
process is led by the HR-specialist. learning by doing, they could put themselves
Competition of SHDS is playing in a whole other, in the spotlight of locally leading businesses.
Remaining time is spent on the recruitment of
red colored ocean. They play for the people with Then the project might initially need some more
suitable graduates, cooperating companies and
>100K salary, where SHDS aims at starters. thorough financial support.
universities, managed by the sales specialist.
Plus, SHDS has a very own way, that provides
As appears from the rudimentary numbers on the graduates and employers with time to get
the next page that provide an impression on a more precise picture of what they are
the money in/out of this business, the predicted actually searching for, instead of having an
profits are modest compared to the risk contained external person cater both sides to a fit. The
in the question: will this project fly after the initial long-term successes of SHDS will be happier
investments in cash and labor? clients on both sides.
Therefore it makes sense to explore possibilities After 5 years the project could be repeated
to gain a subsidy: the European Union is quite within the U.S., or the brand name, knowledge
keen to support cross-nation initiatives that and experiences connected doing so could be
help develop a knowledge driven economy. sold to people who will.
Nevertheless, the start-up is expected to be
A second possible sequel lies in the
profitable after the first 1,5 years without help,
simultaneously created a 600-person

8. Numbers
no more blind dates in
human resource
This business case is based on quite some assumptions and non-confirmed information. These
numbers serve a basic check. Next step would be checking assumptions and perform research into
the willingness to pay of the various parties involved.
All amounts mentioned are x 1000 U.S. Dollar, taxes excluded.
Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8
Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 / Q4 Q1 / Q4 Q1 / Q4
university 0,0 0,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 0,0
companies 0,0 0,0 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 87,5 0,0
premiums 0,0 0,0 0,0 6,3 12,5 18,8 25,0 31,3 37,5 43,8 50,0 56,3 62,5 68,8 75,0 75,0 75,0 75,0 75,0 75,0 75,0 75,0 262,5 162,5 62,5
loan 32,5 32,5 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 0,0
total income 32,5 32,5 92,5 98,8 105,0 111,3 117,5 123,8 130,0 136,3 142,5 148,8 155,0 161,3 167,5 167,5 167,5 167,5 167,5 167,5 167,5 167,5 262,5 162,5 62,5
compensation 0,0 0,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 -45,0 0,0
start capital 0,0 0,0 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5
costs -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5 -12,5
recruitment -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0 -10,0
pay back dept 0,0 0,0 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7 -3,7
total costs -22,5 -22,5 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 -83,7 0,0
total income - costs 10,0 10,0 8,8 15,1 21,3 27,6 33,8 40,1 46,3 52,6 58,8 65,1 71,3 77,6 83,8 83,8 83,8 83,8 83,8 83,8 83,8 83,8 262,5 162,5 62,5
annual income 40,0 72,8 172,8 272,8 335,3 335,3 262,5 162,5 62,5
income/employee 13,3 24,3 57,6 90,9 111,8 111,8 87,5 54,2 20,8
Years: costs start in year-0, with the recruitment Premiums: Graduates pay 2% of their salary the 3 Recruitment of students is done as described
of companies and students. A loan of $65.000 is years after the project. Typically this will be $250 before with a $10.000 quarterly budget.
needed to invest in promotion and to provide the per quarter. The assumption is that 25 out of 30
The loan taken in the first half year will be paid
people of SHDS with $6.667 each for a half years will actually pay. So each group generates $6250
back in five years at a 5% interest rate.
work. Project and costs stop after year-5. for 12 quarters: This explains why the project
keeps paying after work and costs have stopped. Year-0 is half a year, so the income in that half
University: To join the project, one university
a year is $20.000 and consists purely out of
pays a 5000$ quarterly fee to be mentioned as a Compensation: Each student will get 500$
the loan. Later the income is predicted rises to
partner and the right approach students for post- monthly, and each start-up receives $2500.
$335.300 in year-5. Since SHDS consists out of
graduate positions after each quarter.
Per quarter, the general costs to run the SHDS three equal partners, the lower row tells the
Companies: Each quarter, five companies join as business itself, like travel and hiring an intern for income per partner.
potential employers, paying a $17.000 fee each. support is estimated to amount to $12.500.