• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly

2

After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history

3

26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave

1

MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly

2

After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history

3

26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
TechProfessional Services

Al Gore’s Former Partner Is Back With Another Web Venture

By
Heather Clancy
Heather Clancy
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Heather Clancy
Heather Clancy
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 11, 2017, 7:30 AM ET
Globality
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Serial entrepreneur Joel Hyatt sold his previous startup, progressive TV channel Current TV, to news broadcaster Al Jazeera four years ago. Long before that, he lent his name and leadership to two innovative legal services firms, one of which sold to MetLife in 1997.

On Wednesday, the long-time Democratic Party insider officially premiered his latest Internet venture after two years of fine-tuning: A service for quickly hiring consultants for specific, short-term projects. It’s intended to be a speedier alternative to how large businesses typically hire consultants by issuing requests for proposals, or RFPs, that are better suited for the glacial pace of the industrial age, Hyatt told Fortune.

“The RFP is an analog process in a digital world,” he said.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Globality, Hyatt’s startup, matches multinational companies with prequalified specialists in countries where they have a limited on-staff presence. Often, these consultants are pretty small, not business partners that would not typically have relationships already.

“Traditionally, these smaller companies haven’t had access to the large multinationals because it is too costly to qualify companies operating in all these different markets,” said Dennis Nally, a Globality board member and former chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers, told Fortune. “This really changes the procurement process.”

There is a caveat: The minimum contract size is $100,000.

Globality is a return to Hyatt’s roots in the business world. In 1977, he co-founded Hyatt Legal Services, which focused on providing legal services to middle and lower income families nationwide. He was also behind Hyatt Legal Plans, one of the first companies to focus on employer-sponsored services; it was acquired by MetLife. But most people probably know Hyatt for his partnership with Al Gore on media company Current TV, which pioneered the concept of “user-generated” content before YouTube barely existed. The sale to Al Jazeera in 2013 raised eyebrows . It also spawned a lawsuit over escrow funds, one that was eventually settled (finally) last fall.

Which leaves Hyatt free to focus more of his energy on his latest venture. At launch, Globality represents approximately 350 consulting services companies in 55 countries specializing in marketing, energy strategy, compliance, environmental issues, and domestic legal issues. Hyatt said more firms are being invited and approved for inclusion in the “marketplace” every day. The site also includes software applications for managing contracts, non-disclosure agreements, and for holding video meetings.

The companies buying services through Globality’s site don’t pay a fee for doing so, Hyatt said. Rather, the consulting firms pay a commission based on the value of contracts they get through Globality; Globality doesn’t disclose the size of that fee.

That’s a price that Fortitude Partners, a U.K. consulting firm that specializes in advising companies about their corporate reputations and is signed up for Globality, is willing to pay. “It’s worth the investment,” co-founder Sean McKnight told Fortune. “It costs us a lot of time and money to develop opportunities.”

Globality won’t share names of its initial corporate customers, but Hyatt said “major multinational” companies have committed to using Globality including several from Western Europe that are already using it to manage projects. The startup’s main competition will likely come from established, mammoth consulting firms. Globality will also need to convince consultants that being listed is worthwhile—many trade organizations and consortiums boast referral networks, although they are often little more than marketing directories.

Hyatt co-founded Globality with Lior Delgo, a technologist whose sold two previous startups to Microsoft and Yahoo. Delgo is officially Globality’s president.

So far, Globality, based in Menlo Park, Calif., has raised more than $37 million from a group including former Vice President Gore, one-time Apple retail executive Ron Johnson, and Yahoo CFO Ken Goldman. In addition to Nally from PricewaterhouseCoopers, Globality’s board has several members with many years of experience in professional services, including Oracle co-CEO Mark Hurd, former IBM CFO John Joyce, and Andersen Tax CEO Mark Vorsatz.

“What we’re very confident about is that we’re solving really big problems with what we’re doing,” Hyatt said. “We’re getting tremendous response on both sides of the equation.”

About the Author
By Heather Clancy
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

usa
AIearnings
Why IBM just suffered its worst stock crash of all time—and what it says about the market’s two bubbles
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 15, 2026
28 minutes ago
mark
LawSocial Media
YouTube appeals verdict, argues it isn’t a social media platform
By Kaitlyn Huamani and The Associated PressJuly 15, 2026
29 minutes ago
A woman at a police commission meeting stands behind a podium speaking animatedly.
North AmericaPrivacy
LAPD was one of Flock Safety’s biggest government customers. Now it’s renegotiating its partnership over ‘serious concerns around civil liberties’
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 15, 2026
34 minutes ago
OpenAI wants its speaker to feel alive. Apple says it’s a stolen idea
AIOpenAI
OpenAI wants its speaker to feel alive. Apple says it’s a stolen idea
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 15, 2026
1 hour ago
Murati’s Thinking Machines releases first AI model for broad use
AIMira Murati
Murati’s Thinking Machines releases first AI model for broad use
By Shirin Ghaffary and BloombergJuly 15, 2026
1 hour ago
Job interview in office
SuccessThe Interview Playbook
Bending Spoons only hired 0.04% from its 800,000 job applications last year—its CEO says its cutthroat hiring process is unlike ‘useless’ interviews
By Emma BurleighJuly 15, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly
Newsletters
MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are rewriting the rules of billionaire giving—one quietly, one strategically, one very publicly
By Sydney LakeJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago
After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history
North America
After donating $48 billion to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett is quietly ending one of the biggest philanthropic relationships in history
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago
26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
Law
26 Meta employees accuse Mark Zuckerberg of using AI to target 8,000 layoffs against workers on medical, parental or family leave
By Barbara Ortutay, Alexandra Olson and The Associated PressJuly 15, 2026
7 hours ago
Jamie Dimon understands why people are anti-rich: 'We have, in fact, left the lower-income folks behind' and 'that's kind of annoying'
Economy
Jamie Dimon understands why people are anti-rich: 'We have, in fact, left the lower-income folks behind' and 'that's kind of annoying'
By Eleanor PringleJuly 15, 2026
9 hours ago
Current price of gold as of July 14, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of July 14, 2026
By Danny BakstJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, July 14, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 14, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.