DayBlink Consulting

DayBlink Consulting is a rapidly growing boutique consulting firm with headquarters in the Washington, DC area. It’s a firm full of entrepreneurial professionals that come from varied backgrounds (especially when compared to what is considered a “traditional” background for consulting).

What is notable about DayBlink is its unique approach to consulting. It provides expertise to clients and creates impact in communities by fusing consulting, venture capital, and social initiatives. DayBlink has provided strategic execution and operations consulting for Fortune 500 companies, fast-start advisory services for early-stage startups, and pro bono consulting for nonprofits.

Specifically, much of the firm’s growth seems to be centered around its work on automation and cybersecurity initiatives.

If these opportunities sound intriguing to you, keep reading to learn why DayBlink Consulting may be a great place for you to continue your career!

Table of Contents:

1. DayBlink Consulting Key Stats
2. DayBlink Consulting History
3. DayBlink Consulting Careers
4. Practice Areas
5. Industries
6. Career Path
7. Exit Opportunities
8. Notable Alumni
9. Target Schools
10. Diversity Programs
11. DayBlink Consulting Culture
12. DayBlink Consulting Internship
13. DayBlink Consulting Interview
14. DayBlink Consulting Salary

DayBlink Consulting Key Stats

DayBlink Consulting Website: https://www.dayblink.com/
DayBlink Consulting Headquarters: Washington, DC
DayBlink Consulting Number of Employees: ~75
DayBlink Consulting Number of Locations: 3
DayBlink Consulting Chief Executive: Michael Wong
DayBlink Consulting Revenue: $16M

DayBlink Consulting History

Before getting into the specifics of what DayBlink does and how it operates, let’s start with some history.

DayBlink Consulting was founded in 2013 by CEO Michael Wong as a boutique management consulting firm and has experienced impressive growth since. It provides strategy and technology advisory services by leveraging its data-based expertise.

Currently, DayBlink services clients across the United States and Canada, and is expecting to engage in further geographical expansion in the near future. It also announced a partnership with Asana as part of the Asana Partners global network.

DayBlink stand apart from most consulting firms by its hands-on approach. It disrupts the traditional consulting model with a focused entrepreneurial approach to client service delivery (more on that later).

Another major part of its model is Ventures; DayBlink invests in and strategically supports a number of enterprises. It has funded all sorts of companies, such as The Consulting Consortium in 2016 and BearUp in 2018.

Finally, the firm has a practice known as DayBlink Foundation. Here, the firm provides pro bono consulting services to impact-based companies. This is the newest part of the business and is still in early stages of growth.

DayBlink Consulting Careers

While it’s not a name-brand consulting firm, DayBlink is expanding at an impressive rate.

DayBlink Consulting is always looking for people to be a part of the team across levels. If you’re a student or fresh out of school, DayBlink is a great starting point to get immersed in the world of consulting. If you’re more experienced, there are plenty of leadership opportunities that will challenge you at the firm. Either way, you will have the opportunity to grow within a firm dedicated to the development of its employees.

Practice Areas

To create insights and solutions customized to each client, DayBlink practice areas are organized around the following 6 specialties:

• • Agile Transformation—Training and coaching organizations into an “Agile” way of working (including a Strategy and Assessment, Implementation, and Optimization plan) to keep up with rapid innovation and unpredictable market conditions.
  • Cybersecurity—Services include security automation, cyber operation optimization, offensive security, and security readiness.
  • Digital—Initiate scalable solutions toward modernization; improving analytics and Cloud infrastructure, implementing AI and machine learning, guidance in data governance, seizing opportunities in emerging technologies, and more.
  • Finance Effectiveness—Operational efficiency (cost optimization, financial planning & analysis, etc), corporate strategy design (upskilling, automation), transaction services (M&A, IPO and Audit readiness)
  • Organization & People—Diversity, equality, equity, & inclusion; organization assessment & transformation; operating model design & development; strategic workshops; workforce development; change enablement; talent engagement.
  • Product Performance & Improvement—IT program acceleration, group purchasing organization, customer insights, product strategy/development.

Industries

The industries that DayBlink Consulting serves are highly varied. The firm does not focus on a core set of industries. Instead, it serves clients of all sizes across sectors – from startups to the Fortune 100 to non-profits.

Office Locations

DayBlink office locations are limited to the following 3 U.S. cities on the East Coast:

• • Philadelphia, PA
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • Vienna, VA (Washington, DC Metro area)

Career Path

The firm follows a traditional pyramidal hierarchy, where the majority of the team are Associates or Consultants, and far fewer are Directors or Partners. See below for the typical career path at DayBlink:

• • Analyst—Undertake a large portion of initial research and creation of deliverables; acquire good research, presentation, and client communications skills.
  • Consultant—Key contributors to several aspects of client engagements, supplying innovative ideas and solutions and developing business acumen and industry expertise.
  • Senior Consultant—Work as team leaders and contribute to workstreams in internal operations; oversee deliverables, manage small consulting teams.
  • Manager—A leadership role; address client engagement challenges, build a collaborative work environment, and guide program enablement and process improvement.
  • Partner—Responsible for business development, decision-making, overseeing projects, and overall success of the company.

Exit Opportunities

DayBlink exit opportunities are wide-ranging. If/when you decide to leave, you will be well-positioned for a role in three primary areas:

• • Consulting – Continue your career at a larger, more established firm in a more senior position
  • The start-up world – Join or found a start-up
  • Venture Capital/Private Equity

Any way you go, the skills gained at DayBlink will carry you a long way – provided your resume effectively tells a story of how you are a top performer and highlights the transferable skills you gained throughout your stay at DayBlink.

Notable Alumni

To better understand the opportunities available after DayBlink, you can take a look at the people who have held positions at DayBlink and since moved on. The list below is a brief sample of DayBlink alumni:

• • Senior TPM at Amazon Web Services (AWS)
  • Product Manager at Microsoft
  • CFO at NextHome Alliance and Managing Director at Pasaca Capital Inc.

DayBlink Consulting Target Schools

As a smaller firm, DayBlink relies heavily on referrals, but it does capture almost 40% of its applicants through campus referrals. The firm mainly targets undergraduates and MBAs from schools close to its offices, like the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Virginia. That said, if you’re not from a program in the area, you should still apply (we recommend you network with folks from the firm before applying!).

DayBlink Consulting Diversity Programs

DayBlink is limited in the official diversity programs it offers, however, the firm is taking steps towards remedying this. As the firm grows, you can expect to see a greater focus on DEI.

DayBlink Consulting Culture

DayBlink’s culture is highly entrepreneurial. The firm’s “nitty-gritty” spirit pushes teams to put forth their best effort and adopt a growth mindset.

At DayBlink, people want to help each other succeed, resulting in less of a dog-eat-dog environment than at firms that employ an “up or out” staffing model. Leadership is invested in your growth and Partners are approachable. Employees agree that Partners will provide informal mentorship for anyone looking for a little extra help.

But the real winner at DayBlink? It’s promotion policy. Promotion cycles occur every month, meaning that you could very well get multiple raises a year if your performance is up to par.

As with most consulting firms, time and travel are important commitments to contemplate. Since many clients are located across the country, DayBlink consultants are required to travel for client engagements, sometimes up to 4 days a week. 55-60 hour work weeks are the norm, but the workload is predictable and manageable. The firm is considerate regarding vacation time and remote work.

The absence of formal training may create a steeper learning curve for some. The upside of that is the opportunity to pave your own professional development path.

DayBlink Consulting Internship

Undergraduate students can pursue a DayBlink Consulting internship and participate in a 9-week long summer program at the firm’s headquarters on the East Coast. It is a highly competitive program with full-time hourly compensation.

To be considered, you must be a junior in a degree program at an accredited college/university. If you are interested, DayBlink looks for people with a record of strong academic performance and leadership positions. You must be proficient in Microsoft Office, detail-oriented and attentive, have good interpersonal skills, and be able to work well under tight deadlines.

Working in a firm with a strong culture, performing integral tasks like gathering data, interviewing clients, and preparing presentations and reports is a great way to develop consulting skills. And it’ll boost your chances at securing a position at DayBlink in the future, so keep an eye out for upcoming internship opportunities!

DayBlink Consulting Interview

Most candidates seem to have a positive experience with DayBlink’s interview process. Make sure to review and update your resume and, after reading this next section, get lots of quality case practice.

DayBlink Consulting Interview Process

The entire DayBlink Consulting interview process typically consists of two pieces:

1. 1. Phone screening
   2. Panel interview containing behavioral and case components

The phone screening will be focused on your interest in management consulting, what you know about DayBlink (you’re already getting started by reading this profile!) and your experience/skills.

Then it gets intense with a 2-3 hour group/panel interview with various levels of DayBlink staff. The interview is meant to holistically test for a number of things: personality, cultural fit, consulting skills, and more. The bright side? This is the last interview you’ll face.

To prepare for the fit/behavioral portion, prepare ~15 stories to share, pulling from your academic, leadership, and professional experience. In preparation for the case portion, out-loud practice with an expert partner is the way to go to develop proficiency. You may get prompts like “How would you start a new credit card program for Macy’s?” as well as some math and brain teaser questions (think “How many tires are sold in the U.S. each year?”).

The firm will get back to you quickly with a decision, often within 24 hours. Reach out if you need help preparing for an upcoming DayBlink interview.

DayBlink Consulting Salary

The base DayBlink Consulting salary is slightly below market for Analysts fresh out of their undergraduate or Masters programs, but the firm’s fast promotion cycles and nice year-end bonuses (mostly) make up for this. DayBlink pays Analysts around ~$75K/year – similar to the Big 4 firms.
DayBlink employees also enjoy numerous benefits, including insurance (100% company-paid premiums for Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, and Disability insurance), finance (4% 401(k) matching, opportunity for profit sharing, tax-free commutes, and student loan refinancing options), and personal (parental leave, benefits for buying, selling, and renting a home, generous paid time off, holidays, other wellness perks).

Check out our Consulting Salaries Report to see salary data for all the top firms.

Conclusion

If you’re interested in DayBlink’s unique consulting model, short promotion cycles, and are ready to assume control of your career path, it’s time to start an application. Let our expert team guide you through the process, whether you need resume edits, interview prep, or an expert opinion on where you fit inside DayBlink.

Additional Resources:

• Top 25 Consulting Firms
• Top 10 Boutique Consulting Firms in US
• Boutique Consulting Firms
• Consulting Resume: Complete Guide
• Case Interview: Complete Prep Guide