Part of Trilogy's attraction is teaching new hires during an extensive summer training program dubbed "Trilogy University" (TU), which educates them to start working immediately on projects that can turn into products.

"You build something and you can to try to convince [Joe] to run with it," Surdulescu says.

TU, although intense, allows Trilogy to mentor its new hires with its top executive "stars," including President and Founder Joe Liemandt. The training and working experience are so substantial they cause new hires to reconsider their plans after Trilogy.

"When I got here, I was 99 percent sure I wanted to go to B-School," Miri says. "Now I am 60 percent sure."

Trilogy's success is part of a larger trend in the market for college graduates, where smaller companies are stealing people away from Wall Street and Silicon Valley.

"[Five year ago], if you had an offer from an I-Bank or consulting firm, you took it," says Gary L. Albert, president of Wetfeet.com, a San-Francisco job researching company that profiles firms. "There has been a market shift to careers that are more entrepreneurial."

While initial salaries can be lower, it's the growth potential that makes companies like Trilogy so attractive, Albert says.

"Right off the bat, they may be getting a lower base salary," he said. "[But] you could end up doing better than your wildest dreams."

Part of Trilogy's appeal: The multi-million dollar company has yet to go public. When it does, employees will be offered stock options that could be worth millions.

"I won't kid you that it isn't an issue," Miri says.

The Anti-Corporate Company

Software companies are known for being more laid back than Wall Street, and Trilogy is no anomaly. In fact, a critical part of Trilogy's pitch to prospective employees is its culture.

From the lack of a set schedule or dress code to company trips to Hawaii and Las Vegas, Trilogy defines itself as an exception to the power-suit, power-lunch rule.

The rules--or lack thereof--stem from a larger corporate philosophy that stresses individuality and allows employees to make their own decisions, says Joe Liemandt, president and founder.

"If you work best at 2:30 [a.m.] eating Doritos and drinking Gatorade, that's great. If you wake up at six and go to the gym for an hour and come in at seven, that's great as well," he says.