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Despite growing demand for their services, the partners never ignore the provisions for "families, traveling, writing, and... personal development" stipulated in their agreement. For a few months in 1997, for example, Overholt cut back her Indigo hours significantly to lead the search for a new executive director for Big Brothers Big Sisters. Two years ago Ross left the partnership temporarily for a job as vice-president of marketing and business development at a start-up technology company.

The partners relish their almost limitless flexibility. But Ross's sustained absence brought home the difficulty of keeping a cart rolling when one of its wheels is missing. Eager to enlarge Indigo, in mid 2000 Overholt and Murguia sought out Karen Matthys, Liz Bradley, and Michelle Lee, three solo contractors they knew either by reputation or through professional engagements. Each woman had an impressive list of contacts, and their collective experience in consumer marketing, qualitative analysis, and computer hardware would broaden Indigo's expertise. More important, the newcomers ardently agreed with the partners' founding principles. "We liked their lifestyle philosophy," says Matthys. Matthys, Lee, and Bradley signed the partnership agreement and contributed a modest amount for new brochures, business cards, and changes to the Web site that their coming on board had necessitated.

As Big (or Small) As They Need to Be

Even with six members, Indigo is an "organization" only in the loosest possible terms. When a potential customer calls, two or three partners -- whoever's interested and available -- go to check out the project. Partners who are interested in acquiring new skills -- consumer research, for example -- often work with another partner who's already knowledgeable in that area. The expert is the lead; the others follow directions. Most collaboration takes place through E-mail and instant messaging, and partners willingly work around one another's hours. "I'm a night owl: 12 p.m. to 3 a.m. works for me," says Lee, who prefers to teach scuba diving on some afternoons rather than work indoors. "I realized happily that all-nighters don't have to end with college. And with partners, there's someone to cover the early-morning meetings."

"That's been the most surprising thing about Indigo Partners," says Matthys. "I can duck out for a few weeks without the business folding. And when I'm working, I can be part of this amazing period of time in the Valley. I used to complain that the M.B.A. wasn't a good 'mommy track' degree. Now I definitely think it is."

"We've all talked about going back to a 'corporate' job. The thing is, this is a great life. Why would I want to give it up?"

"Six partners seems like a good number, especially when people keep leaving to have babies," jokes Overholt, who is expecting her first child this fall. "But I wouldn't want to add anyone else. We might need to start having real meetings."

Just because Indigo is neither soloist fish nor small-consultancy fowl doesn't mean it has escaped all the problems of those more traditional arrangements. There are many more nonbillable hours than anyone expected, as partners cope with technical support, taxes, meetings with potential customers, and answering follow-up questions on projects they've completed. And as with any soloist or group, "every project, you're at scratch," says Matthys. "You need to learn everything, from the politics and org charts to where the bathrooms are."

Those projects are getting more complex, and the customers bigger, thanks to Indigo's new breadth of expertise. "We chose Indigo to help us after AOL acquired Netscape, because of their track record of successfully solving strategic complex branding problems," says Judy Logan, who at the time was a vice-president of marketing at Netscape. "They got up to speed faster than the traditional consulting firms and negotiated the organization without any hand-holding."

Indigo also has the attention of high-tech companies looking for depth and experience but not Andersen or McKinsey rates. "My project was too small for a big firm but too big for a solo person. These guys could start right away, add another person at crunch time, and add part-time resources for specific tasks as we needed them," says Steve Ghareeb, vice-president of sales at Voice Access Technologies, a company in Los Gatos, Calif., that provides voice-driven software, technology, and services to wireless carriers. "We gave them totally unrealistic deadlines, and they met them. I don't think McKinsey would have even called me back by the time these guys finished the entire project."

Of course, Indigo's rise coincided with the Internet boom, and the partners recognize that the economic downturn could take its toll. "We practically had calls every day when the Valley was hot," says Bradley, who adds that Indigo is approached with about a dozen jobs each month. But the consultants remain optimistic. "Small companies have less money than ever to hire a permanent team," says Lee. "At the same time, strong strategic planning and marketing are even more critical in this economy. So I think we're still going to be needed."

"We've all talked about going back to a 'corporate' job," admits Overholt. "The thing is, this is a great life. Why would I want to give it up? People used to ask me, 'So, when are you getting a real job again?' Now, if I had a dollar for every person that wished they could do this, I'd retire."

Julie Bick is the author of several books, including the best-selling All I Really Need to Know in Business I Learned at Microsoft: Insider Strategies to Help You Succeed.

Copyright © 2001 Julie Bick.

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