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Jesse Vickey '97
Fresh out of college, you sit down for your
first business lunch amid a whirl of colleagues, clients, plates,
silverware, glasses, and napkins. Quick! "Seize the moment," advises
Jesse Vickey. Grab that napkin and plant it in your lap--before
you end up the odd man out with "an origami swan staring at
you."
Vickey is the president of Cap & Compass, a company dedicated
to giving college seniors and recent graduates the lowdown on what
life demands--1040 forms, apartment leases, dinner etiquette--but
professors don't.
Founded in 2000 by Vickey and his wife, Nicole Kelly Vickey '97
(now the director of the coastal program for the Nature Conservancy
of Alabama), Cap & Compass is the product of his long-standing
ambition to run his own business.
The company's unusual offerings were inspired by a series of gaffes
by recent college graduates that he witnessed while working on
Wall Street during his first two years out of Duke. Some of the
nearly fifty seminars offered every year are "Avoid Looking
Stupid at Dinner," "Love Your Money," "Getting
Your Apartment," and "W4401kHMO: Translating Day 1 at
Work," which had its debut at Duke in the fall of 2000.
"
We are trying to play the role of a big brother or big sister," Vickey
explains. "Just laying down these things for you in a simple
way can save you an awful lot of time and frustration."
The biggest pitfall for recent graduates is trying too hard to
stand out, Vickey says. Human-resources representatives report
that they often see new hires working to impress, when they should
be working to fit in.
Managing money is another challenge, Vickey says. In the seminars, "we've
had a couple of situations where someone would raise a hand and
say, 'What do I do? I've got $20,000 of credit-card debt.' And
a number of people in the audience roll their eyes and say, 'Oh,
girl, you've got problems.' And she would say, 'But I've got a
lot of student loans on top of that.' "
Cap & Compass has no silver bullet for attacking monstrous
amounts of personal debt, but Vickey is confident that his experience
selling investments for the Swiss Bank Corporation gives him the
ability to explain basic finances in language students will understand.
For college-age audiences, delivery is key, and a little entertainment
goes a long way in drawing good audiences. Vickey's sole employee
is Andy Ferguson, an amateur stand-up comedian and former elementary-school
teacher who tells jokes and leads audience members through skits
like "The Apartment Dating Game," as well as sharing
useful information.
Humor also helps enliven the pages of life after school. explained.,
a how-to book written by Vickey that includes much of the information
provided through the seminars. The comic strip "Mitch in Wonderland," created
by classmate Matt Gidney '97 when he was an undergraduate and updated
to reflect post-graduate life, introduces each of the book's chapters.
The book sells well, and Vickey is continually thinking of new
seminars to add to the mix. A session on budgeting is on the way,
but he says he plans to avoid "soft" topics like office
politics and dating. The company recently launched "starter-kit" websites
with city-specific information on utilities, apartments, voter
registration, and more for students headed to major metro areas.
Gradual growth is the goal for Vickey, who doesn't have an exit
strategy or long-range business plan--and doesn't feel he needs
one. "I honestly love the job," he says. "So, as
long as I continue to really enjoy myself, I think I'll just keep
doing it."
Besides, if he stopped, who would come to the rescue of each year's
throng of fresh graduates ready to pick up a wine list and rhyme "Merlot" with "forgot"?
www.capandcompass.com
--James Todd
Todd '98 is a freelance writer who lives in Chapel Hill.
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