Hi @CleverLongboat
Below are a few thoughts.
Firstly, I agree that Schrole has a superior business model. Search Associates operate as a franchise whereby each regional associate buys out a share of the business. So the likelihood of SA changing their model is low due to the complexities of the existing model and the number of stakeholders involved.
To clarify, whilst revenues are gained through a ‘headhunter’ model with SA, it is anything but a guided placement process for teachers using their database.Teachers have full access to all jobs advertised on the SA database and are free to apply to any job they wish. So in this sense, the core user experience for teachers is similar between SA and Schrole.
Truth be told, the associate or ‘headhunter’ with SA provides between zero to minimal value. Minimal value tends to apply to teachers new to the international school system. Once teachers are on to their secondand third posting, their associate really serves no purpose but to chase up the placement fee from the school once a job is secured. So again, the model from a business perspective deserved to be disrupted in the way that Schrole have done.
As mentioned, the challenge for Schrole lies in taking market from SA. If schools direct all their applications through Schrole Advantage, then the pool of candidates is heavily limited.Conversely, if teachers only sign up with Schrole and not SA, then given SA’s larger database, they’ll miss out on jobs they didn’t even know about.
So what you end up with are schools that advertise their easier-to-fill positions on Schrole only, whilst their harder-to-fill positions are cast with a wider net across multiple recruiters.
For example, NIST, an elite international school in Bangkok are currently advertising 13 positions advertised through Schrole.
https://iss-schrole.com/school/NIST-International-School
Whilst on Search Associates, NIST only has 11 positions currently posted. The 2 positions that are omitted are relatively easy to fill elementary homeroom and secondary humanities positions.
So currently, at best, schools will use Schrole in tandem with SA. Likewise, teachers may use Schrole, in addition to SA. But a Schrole only account for either schools or teachers doesn’t make sense at this stage of Schrole’s evolution.
I do think Schrole will continue to grow. However, I would like to see evidence of it steal market share from SA, rather than only adding to the addressable market.
Given the profitable future that I think lies ahead for SCL, there’s a price I would pay for it. However given more favourable opportunities elsewhere, it is a price considerably less than the current $25 million market cap on offer. I will continue to watch with interest.
(20min delay)