Overview

Introduction

Keystone provides strategy and economics consulting to global brands and law firms. The firm’s expertise is in strategy, economics, data analysis, product development, intellectual property, and antitrust. Keystone works with an array of Fortune 50 technology companies as well as global consumer brands, including Amazon, Facebook, GE, Intel, Roche, Microsoft, Oracle, and Yeti, among others.

Company Stats

More

Employer Type

More

Size

More

Featured Rankings

Vault Consulting 50...
More

Major Departments/Practice Areas

Economic Advisory...
More

Major Office Locations

Boston, MA...
More

Employment Contact

Firsthand Findings

An overall entrepreneurial spirit and collaborative culture encapsulate life at Keystone Strategy. Smaller in size, this dynamic and innovative boutique firm is not for those who require a great deal of structure and bureaucracy. Keystone Strategy is certainly a place where you can chart your own career path—development opportunities are plentiful, but you have got to be proactive in pursuing them. For those with an enterprising mindset and a passion for learning, this is an excellent place to dive headfirst into the deep end of the pool.

Insiders at Keystone Strategy are truly enthusiastic about the diversity and excitement of the firm’s client portfolio. According to those who responded to our survey, the firm makes a point of keeping its finger on the pulse of...

About the Company

Keystone Strategy is an innovative economic, technology and strategic advisory consulting firm with locations in Boston, New York, San Francisco, and the Seattle area. The firm brings an uncommon approach to deliver transformative ideas for tech clients, global law firms, and Fortune 500 companies facing complex and often not-yet solved business challenges. Keystone brings an interdisciplinary approach (the “Triad”), leveraging the intersection of economics, technology, and business strategy.

Tech Experts

Keystone has expertise in a wide variety of fields, including competition, economics, digital transformation, operations, tax transfer, data platform management, and expert witness consulting. The firm has worked with a myriad of blue-chip clients, including Intel, Microsoft, Facebook...

Vault Top Ranked shield

2021 Vault Rankings

#34

Vault Consulting 50

#4

Best Consulting Firms for Innovation

#12

Best Consulting Firms for Exit Opportunities

Employee Reviews

  • “Our culture—hands down—is one of the most amazing things. Our clients—we work with some of the biggest companies doing interesting work. My intellect is constantly challenged, stressed, and pushed further.”
  • “I think we have developed a unique set of skills and understanding of the technology space and how big data is changing the business landscape. One thing that sets us apart is our strong expert network, with whom we have a close relationship.”
  • “A caring team with a transformative impact and a passion for technology.”
  • “If you are looking for a highly structured consulting experience, Keystone might not be the right place for you. If you are looking for a highly entrepreneurial experience where you can contribute to building something transformative, then come to Keystone.”
  • “Intelligent, kind people working together to solve interesting problems in the technology industry.”
  • “Keystone only takes on extremely interesting projects at the cutting edge of technology and economics. If firm leadership believes that another firm has solved the problem before and could offer them better value, we are unlikely to take the project.”
  • “The firm has an excellent culture across all offices and is well-connected between all. The travel requirements are minimal. The hours can sometimes be long, but the firm is flexible given communication.”
  • “As I am writing this, it is currently still in the [middle] of the quarantine period of COVID-19, and our firm is consistently growing and hiring. Additionally, they have been more than accommodating when transitioning to a work-from-home status, by offering desks, computers, monitors, etc. Overall, the firm is very go-with-the-flow -- they will help in any way they can to see you are placed on projects you enjoy and are interested in, learn valuable skills, and support you when starting, or continuing, your career.”
  • “Generally, very good with a strong focus on [work/life balance] and minimal travel for most projects. Occasionally there are unpredictable client requests but think that happens much less often here than elsewhere.”
  • “The firm does a good job with health and wellness benefits. Healthcare is 100% reimbursed and health activities like company-led yoga exercises are well promoted. The company also promotes some adventure activities such as a hike to the top of Mt Rainier. Additional perks include an in-office ergonomics review and massage…”
  • "[The firm has implemented best practices to] foster a supportive [culture] for families within the structure of client services. We have a top-notch parental leave. We have overflow/emergency childcare and other flexible work arrangements. We pair those with Keystone health initiatives.”
  • “The firm is completely understanding and respectful of one's vacation time. HR actively encourages us to utilize what vacation time we have as well as provides the opportunity for rest days after strenuous engagements. The groups we work in are tight-knit so everyone understands when someone takes time off, what the responsibilities are to pick up any slack.”
  • “The compensation package is very competitive, and salaries go up quickly with promotions. All employees of a certain level are paid the same base salary plus bonus.”
  • “The compensation rates are published by the firm, making it very clear what everyone makes. However, all offices receive the same compensation, and with varied costs of living, this means that in some offices the income goes significantly farther than others.”
  • “The firm's salaries are extremely competitive. They rank with the top tier of firms. The firm has instituted individual and collective bonuses so there is collaboration and performance culture enhancements. Progression comes much more quickly than at other firms, as does early responsibility.”
  • “I am extremely satisfied with the compensation—it's a relief to know that my benefits are completely paid for as well as a sizeable 401k bonus. It's also a relief to know that my base salary is published, competitive, and determined by level. Keystone recently added a performance bonus to the compensation package. While this is nice in terms of a salary boost, it takes away some of the performance equity and could be a cause for diversity concern later.”
  • “Salaries are pretty decent and transparent, though the firm tries to hire people who are experienced technologists who can also get higher salaries at large tech firms. Progression is a straightforward process. Reviews can be tanked if you get stuck on a challenging project as it's difficult to normalize between projects. Unlimited sick days and semi-flexible WFH/telecommuting helps tremendously. Some people face difficult travel situations, but many don’t travel at all.”
  • “Very transparent and equitable.”
  • “At Keystone, the partners, engagement managers, economists, and consultants care about your personal development if you do. If you want to develop certain skills and pursue certain new areas, you're more than actively encouraged to do so. The partner I work with actively tries to push me to develop my skills that are both suitable for the firm and my personal goals. I'm more than satisfied with my development opportunities at Keystone.”
  • “Genuine focus on learning and supportive development environment. Very flexible although not as routinized for those looking for a more formal structure.”
  • “Keystone prioritizes learning and development within all levels by allowing individuals to express their preference in staffing. This results in projects focused on the areas that matter most to one’s personal interests and goals. This creates a great environment to learn and develop with the assistance of others and ensures that you can build the skills that lead to strong exit opportunities. The largest downside of Keystone is that due to the smaller size, formal training material isn't always available. To help compensate for this, Keystone spends significant effort in providing past work samples and team-based support networks.”
  • “We have been in the process of rebuilding our formal training program and have made some real improvements this year including hiring a VP of People and Director of Learning & Development. Developing training content for our company is generally challenging because we are constantly working on new areas that haven't been explored before. This makes our development of new content very bespoke and it can take time. The flip side is that when these materials are ready, they provide a unique set of learning opportunities for our employees.”
  • “The best aspects of the firm are the outstanding colleagues really driven to solve novel problems with transformative ideas. The firm provides remarkable opportunities for entrepreneurial expression and business growth. Our strategic positioning with first-tier clients like Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, and many other firms ensures we work on the most impactful issues in technology today. Finally, we have novel approaches combining management and computer science with economics and data science. Our biggest challenge lies in recruiting and the ability to tell our story at scale and grow as fast as our demand requires.”
  • “Keystone's offices are small and tight-knit. As a result, you really do get to know everyone working at the firm; providing incredible opportunities to develop informal mentorship networks. Furthermore, because of the small office sizes, you are always performing high-value client deliverable work.”
  • “Keystone prioritizes diversity in hiring, promotion, and mentoring. They sponsor Women in Tech clubs, LGBTQ clubs, and people in the office are very receptive and welcoming. They also frequently bring in guest speakers through their internal Diversity Initiative. I appreciate how transparent Keystone is in prioritizing diversity and how senior leadership allows for open discussion on all decisions, to make sure that these goals are met.”
  • “Keystone tries to create progression plans that remove any gendered language and focuses on the development of skills for assessing when someone should be promoted. In practice, this seems to present an environment in which all groups receive promotion at similar rates and frequency.”
  • “The firm makes a conscious effort to make sure the female/male ratio is well balanced at each level and pay is equal for people performing similar work.”
  • “The firm makes a serious effort at ensuring that we consider and are equitable toward diversity. There has been some success in hiring and promoting women who exist at positions across the range of the company…Racially, we have some success with promoting and maintaining diversity, but generally emphasize that less.”
  • “The firm's Diversity Initiative is more than five years old at this point and has transformed our internal practices and leadership. We have changed to a transparent pay structure where compensation and bonuses are checked by gender. We also heavily invest in other forms of diversity recruiting and retention particularly for underrepresented minorities and LGBTQ leaders. We have a Diversity Speakers Series and Book Club. Our senior team (Engagement Managers and above) has a strong gender mix.”
  • “We constantly collect diversity metrics for every aspect of a consultant’s lifecycle within the firm and during the recruiting stage. After every proposed decision, there is an active discussion around diversity. Additionally, we have a diversity initiative that collects data, provides insights on how well our diversity measures up, and conducts regular events like book clubs and speaker series to continue to reinforce this as a part and parcel of the Keystone culture.”
  • “As the COVID-19 pandemic is currently in full force, our firm is experiencing growth—gaining new clients daily, bringing in summer interns, hiring new staff. Due to the relatively small size of the firm, it places us in an advantageous position to be very maneuverable during such times, and it shows. Additionally, due to the tech-focused area that the firm is known for, the boundaries are always being pushed, and the firm must maintain that edge to be able to assist its clients.”
  • “The current crisis will put all firms and their leadership to the test. We have high confidence in our business prospects. We have seen sales grow through the crisis and have a fully engaged team delivering for top-flight and durable clients. We feel blessed to be in an industry—technology—that is less affected than some others and we are doing everything we can to protect our employees and clients...”
  • “The firm is expanding quickly in a lot of domains and is succeeding through bringing greater technical depth and insight in all projects. This is a very powerful value proposition and helps us win many cases that might be considered out of our league by size or broad-spectrum notoriety. I think that poses the firm extremely well for growth. On the other hand, the firm is going through substantial growth pains as this occurs. The firm needs to invest much more heavily in operational tasks that better support project management, client management, and internal development to continue this growth.”
  • “Keystone is well-poised to continue operating well in a digital age, due to the firm's history and connections with experts in the digital economy, as well as the growing need for technology-focused consulting.”
  • “Keystone Strategy is in an amazing position. It continues to grow and thrive despite turbulent times in the economy and job market. Clients are Fortune 100 companies who view Keystone as a confidant in their digital transformation and technology strategy cases. The amount of work that is in the pipeline is abundant and exciting.”
  • “Keystone is in an extremely strong position given its focus on cutting edge technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence and deep learning. The firm is growing rapidly and consistently securing new clients. It aims to double in size over the next three years.”

Getting Hired Here

  • “We have a hands-on process, so you feel like you are communicating with a person rather than a HR bureaucrat. The ideal candidate is smart, takes initiative, is interested in tech, and can articulate a clear passion for economics, tech, and strategy.”
  • “Keystone is seeking innovative, driven, and quantitatively proficient candidates. The firm really values creativity in problem solving and diversity of thought, and this is evident during the interview process.”
  • “Keystone is very competitive in its hiring process in terms of candidate selection and competes with major management consulting firms, as it should. We are also rapidly hiring now due to our hyper growth.”
  • “[We are looking for] someone who loves technology and thinking about how it will shape the future, more than someone just interested in consulting. A curious and interested individual who is comfortable with ambiguity and ownership.”
  • “We have a first screening call with HR, then a phone screen with a consultant, and then finally a super day with 4 interviews in person. Our ideal candidate is an extreme team player who possesses strong analytical skills and is passionate about how technology shapes our lives.”
  • “Keystone is focused on hiring candidates with strong critical thinking skills, a passion for learning, and a humble and friendly attitude. This contributes to a broader can-do culture where candidates are given great responsibility at a young age.”
  • “Analyze an algorithm's performance to understand the impacts it has on an online business and its customers. Brainstorm and prioritize digital innovation opportunities for a specific enterprise. Analyze an operations pipeline to identify key areas for improvement.”
  • “Cases are tech-focused and about experience with certain technologies or ideas. Additionally, they are conversational in nature and seek to understand who you are.”
  • “We use out-of-the-box as well as standard case interview questions for all candidates. We try to ensure that all candidates get at least one economic question that wouldn't fit into the standard 3 Cs framework. It is important that our candidates can be creative and can show strong business acumen on the spot.”
  • “Our case questions are structured based on real project work, creating great testing cases for candidates. One such example would be asking a candidate to work through assessing simplified and abstracted data to generate client-focused suggestions for technological change at a leading online travel agency.”
  • “Everything from Uber or another digital company launching a new product (including developing a pricing model) to deep investigation of AdTech to examining in depth how FB and Google make money. No knowledge beyond standard case prep needed, despite sometimes fewer common concepts covered.”
  • “Provide an example of a challenging situation at work. What steps did you take to overcome?"
  • “If I asked your colleagues to describe your strengths and areas of improvement, what would they say?”

Perks & Benefits