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                                                                   EXHIBIT 10.19

                     AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

     This Amendment No. 1 to the Employment Agreement between Hoover's, Inc. and
Russell Secker effective October 1, 2001 ("Agreement") is entered into as of
July 22, 2002 ("Amendment").

1.      The parties wish to eliminate Sections 6(a)-(e) and replace them with
            the following:

(a)     We each recognize that due to the nature of Executive's employment, and
your relationship with the Company, you have and will continue to have access
to, will continue to acquire, and will continue to assist in developing,
Proprietary Information (as defined below) and additional confidential
information with respect to its present and prospective services, technologies,
systems, clients, customers, agents, and sales and marketing methods. Executive
acknowledges that such information is of central importance to the Company's
business and that disclosure of it to or its use by others could cause
substantial loss to the Company. We each also recognize that an important part
of Executive's duties will be to develop good will for the Company through his
personal contact with the Company's clients, and that there is a danger that
this good will, a proprietary asset of the Company, may follow if and when your
relationship with the Company is terminated.

(b)     Executive agrees that during the term of his employment with the Company
and at any time thereafter, he will not disclose any Proprietary Information of
the Company without the prior written consent of the President or Board of
Directors of the Company, which may be withheld in their sole and absolute
discretion, except in connection with your duties to the Company (the
"Nondisclosure Agreement"). Executive also agrees that in connection with this
Nondisclosure Agreement, you are also bound by the non-compete provisions below.
Executive further acknowledges and agrees that the Company's conduct in
providing you with Proprietary Information in exchange for your Nondisclosure
Agreement gives rise to the Company's interest in restraining him from competing
against the Company as set forth below (the "Non-Compete Agreement"), and that
his agreement to the Non-Compete Agreement is designed to enforce his
Nondisclosure Agreement. Executive further acknowledges that all Records (as
defined below) are and shall remain the exclusive property of the Company, and
agrees that upon termination of his employment with the Company he shall return
all Records in his possession.

(c)     "Record" is defined as the Company's assets, including its: files,
accounts, records, customer lists, logbook, documents, drawings, models, plans,
specifications, manuals, books, forms, notes, reports, memoranda, studies,
surveys, software, flow charts, data, computer programs, listing of source code,
calculations, recordings, catalogues, compilations of information,
correspondence, confidential data of customers and all copies, abstracts or
summaries of the foregoing in any storage medium, as well as computers, computer
equipment, laptops, instruments, tools, storage devices, disks, equipment and
all other physical items related to the business of the Company (other than
merely personal items of a general professional nature), whether of a public
nature or not, and whether prepared by the employee or not.

(d)     "Proprietary Information" is defined as follows: any confidential
business or technical information or trade secrets of the Company which an
employee acquires while employed by the

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Company, whether or not conceived of, developed or prepared by the employee or
at his direction and includes:

               i.    Any information or compilation of information concerning
                     the Company's financial position, financing, purchasing,
                     accounting, marketing, merchandising, sales, salaries,
                     pricing, investments, costs, profits, plans for future
                     development, employees, prospective employees, research,
                     development, formulae, patterns, strategy, inventions,
                     plans, specifications, devices, products, procedures,
                     processes, operations, techniques, software, computer
                     programs or data;

               ii.   Any information or compilation of information concerning
                     the identity, plans, requirements, preferences, practices
                     and methods of doing business on specific customers,
                     suppliers, prospective customers and prospective suppliers
                     of the Company;

               iii.  Any other information or "know how" which is related to any
                     product, process, service, business or research of the
                     Company; and

               iv.   Any information which the Company acquires from another
                     party and treats as its proprietary information or
                     designates as "Confidential," whether or not owned or
                     developed by the Company.

               v.    The identity, skills and compensation of employees,
                     contractors, and consultants.

               vi.   Information related to inventions owned by the Company or
                     licensed from third parties.

(e)     Notwithstanding the foregoing, "Proprietary Information" does not
include any of the following:

1.   Information which is publicly known or which is generally employed by the
trade, whether on or after the date that an employee first acquires the
information;

2.   General information or knowledge which an employee would have learned in
the course of similar work elsewhere in the trade; or

3.   Information which an employee can prove was known by the employee before
the commencement of the employee's engagement by the Company.


     2. Section 7(a) is amended as follows:

(a)  The Company shall have the right to terminate the employment of Executive
under this Agreement at any time, and without notice, for "Cause" as hereinafter
defined. "Cause" is defined as any of the following, if they occur during the
period of your employment with the Company:

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     (i)   You have been or are guilty of (i) a criminal offense involving moral
           turpitude, (ii) criminal or dishonest conduct pertaining to the
           business or affairs of the Company (including, without limitation,
           fraud and misappropriation), (iii) any act or omission the intended
           or likely consequence of which is material injury to the Company's
           business, property or reputation, which act or omission continues
           uncured for a period of ten (10) days after you have received written
           notice from the Company, and (iv) gross negligence or willful
           misconduct which continues uncured for a period of ten (10) days
           after you have received written notice from the Company;

     (ii)  You persist, for a period of ten (10) days after written notice from
           the Company, in a course of conduct reasonably determined by the
           Company to be in material violation of your duties to the Company,
           including without limitation duties of care, loyalty and/or fiduciary
           duties;

     (iii) Your death; or

     (iv)  The continuous and uninterrupted inability to perform your duties on
           behalf of the Company, by reason of accident, illness, or disease,
           for a period of sixty (60) days from the first day of such inability
           to perform his duties.

3.   The parties wish to amend and replace entirely Section 7(g)(i) of the
Agreement with the following:

           (i)(A) as Severance Payments where there has been no Change in
           Control of Company, his then applicable salary compensation (payable
           monthly) for a period of six (6) months from the date of such
           termination, less all applicable withholdings required by state or
           federal law (and the Executive shall be under no obligation to
           mitigate his/her damages or seek other employment).

           (B) As Severance Payments following a Termination Upon Change in
           Control:

           1)  his then applicable salary compensation (payable monthly) for a
               period of twelve months in accordance with the Company's regular
               payroll schedule.

           2)  If after termination he elects COBRA continuation coverage for
               health insurance, the Company will pay the difference in premiums
               between what he paid while employed at the Company and the actual
               cost of the COBRA premiums, until the earlier of the date he is
               no longer eligible for COBRA or the conclusion of the Severance
               Payment Period.

           3)  He will also be entitled to receive the pro rata portion of your
               bonus for the then-current fiscal year, calculated by determining
               the maximum bonus for which you would be eligible for such full
               fiscal year and multiplying such amount by the number of days in
               such fiscal year through the date of termination divided by 365.
               For purposes of determining the maximum bonus for which he will
               be eligible, such maximum bonus is currently set at fifty percent
               (50%) of your base salary for the

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               fiscal year ending March 31, 2003; in the event that at any point
               in a subsequent fiscal year, the Company has not yet specified a
               bonus plan for him, then the maximum bonus to which you were
               entitled in the previous fiscal year will apply for the purposes
               of this Section.

           3)  In the event that any payment or distribution by the Company to
               or for the benefit of him as a result of a Termination Upon
               Change of Control (whether paid or payable or distributed or
               distributable pursuant to the terms of this Severance Agreement
               or otherwise) (a "Payment") is determined by the Company or its
               designated auditors or accountants to be subject to the excise
               tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code, or any
               interest or penalties are incurred by him with respect to such
               excise tax (such excise tax, together with any such interest and
               penalties, are hereinafter collectively referred to as the
               "Excise Tax"), then the Company shall pay to him an additional
               payment (a "Gross-Up Payment")

           4)  "Change of Control" shall mean:

                  1. The acquisition by any individual, entity or group (within
                  the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) or 14(d)(2) of the Securities
                  Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act")) (a
                  "Person") of beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule
                  13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act) of 35% or more of
                  either (A) the then-outstanding shares of common stock of the
                  Company (the "Outstanding Company Common Stock") or (B) the
                  combined voting power of the then-outstanding voting
                  securities of the Company entitled to vote generally in the
                  election of directors (the "Outstanding Company Voting
                  Securities"); provided, however, that, for purposes of this
                  Section, the following acquisitions shall not constitute a
                  Change of Control: (i) any acquisition directly from the
                  Company, (ii) any acquisition by the Company, or (iii) any
                  acquisition by any employee benefit plan (or related trust)
                  sponsored or maintained by the Company or any affiliated
                  company.

                  2.      Individuals who, as of the date hereof, constitute the
                  Board (the Incumbent Board") cease for any reason to
                  constitute at least a majority of the Board; provided,
                  however, that any individual becoming a director subsequent to
                  the date hereof whose election, or nomination for election by
                  the Company's shareholders, was approved by a vote of at least
                  a majority of the directors then comprising the Incumbent
                  Board shall be considered as though such individual were a
                  member of the Incumbent Board, but excluding, for this
                  purpose, any such individual whose initial assumption of
                  office occurs as a result of an actual or threatened election
                  contest with respect to the election or removal of directors
                  or other actual or threatened solicitation of proxies or
                  consents by or on behalf of a person other than the Board.

                  3.      Consummation of a reorganization, merger,
                  consolidation or sale or other disposition of all or
                  substantially all of the assets of the Company (a "Business
                  Combination"), in each case, unless, following such Business
                  Combination, (A) all or substantially all of the individuals
                  and entities that were the beneficial owners of the
                  Outstanding Company Common Stock and the Outstanding Company
                  Voting Securities immediately prior to such Business
                  Combination beneficially own directly or indirectly, more than
                  60% of the then-outstanding

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                  shares of common stock and the combined voting power of the
                  then-outstanding voting securities entitled to vote generally
                  in the election of directors, as the case may be, of the
                  corporation resulting from such Business Combination
                  (including, without limitation, a corporation that, as a
                  result of such transaction, owns the Company or all or
                  substantially all of the Company's assets either directly or
                  through one or more subsidiaries) in substantially the same
                  proportions as their ownership immediately prior to such
                  Business Combination of the Outstanding Company Common Stock
                  and the Outstanding Company Voting Securities, as the case may
                  be, (B) no person (excluding any corporation resulting from
                  such Business Combination or any employee benefit plan (or
                  related trust) of the Company or such corporation resulting
                  from such Business Combination) beneficially owns, directly or
                  indirectly, 20% or more of, respectively, the then-outstanding
                  shares of common stock of the corporation resulting from such
                  Business Combination or the combined voting power of the
                  then-outstanding voting securities of such corporation, except
                  to the extent that such ownership existed prior to the
                  Business Combination, and (C) at least a majority of the
                  members of the board of directors of the corporation resulting
                  from such Business Combination were members of the Incumbent
                  Board at the time of the execution of the initial agreement or
                  of the action of the Board providing for such Business
                  Combination; or

                  4.      Approval by the shareholders of the Company of a
                  complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company.

           5)  "Termination Upon Change of Control" is defined as any of the
               following, if they occur within eighteen (18) months following a
               Change in Control:

                        i.  The Company terminates his employment without Cause;

                       ii.  The Company reduces his base salary from its current
                            level and he resigns within 30 days of such action;
                            or

                      iii.  The Company relocates his office more than fifty
                            (50) miles from his current office and he resigns
                            within 30 days of such action.

4.   The parties agree to eliminate Section 8(a)-(e) and replace it with the
following:

(a)  During Executive's employment with the Company, he will not, directly or
indirectly, participate in the ownership, management, operation, financing or
control of, or be employed by or consult for or otherwise render services to,
any person, corporation, firm, or other entity that competes with the Company in
the state of Texas, or in any other state in the United States, or in any
country in the world, in the conduct of the business of the Company as conducted
or as proposed to be conducted, nor shall you engage in any other activities
that conflict with his obligations to the Company. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, Executive is permitted to own up to 1% of any class of securities of
any corporation in competition with the Company that is traded on a national
securities exchange or through Nasdaq.

(b)  Executive agrees that for 12 months following the termination of his
employment for any reason:

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           (i) Executive will not directly or indirectly, in any jurisdiction
           where the Company is operating as of the date of your termination,
           whether as a partner, proprietor, employee, consultant, agent or
           otherwise, participate or engage in any business with any of the
           following companies without the prior written consent of the Company:

                          OneSource
                          Factiva
                          Multex/MarketGuide

           (ii) Executive will be restricted from employment with the units of
           Bloomberg, Dun & Bradstreet, Reuters, Reed-Elsevier, Thomson,
           InfoUSA, Dow Jones or Yahoo, as well as any new entities, that are
           actively engaged in the provision of business information to users on
           a paid, subscription basis; provided that in order to enforce this
           non-competition restriction as against any additional entity other
           than those set forth in Sections (c)(i) above or this paragraph (an
           "Additional Entity"), the Company shall have given notice to you of
           the inclusion of such Additional Entity to the restricted employer
           list at least thirty (30) days prior to the date on which you were
           terminated; provided that if the existence of such new company does
           not become generally known within the business community until within
           30 days of the date of his termination, the Company shall have thirty
           (30) days from the earlier of the date on which it became aware of
           the existence of such entity, or the date on which it should
           reasonably have become aware of the existence of such entity based on
           publicly available information, to inform you of the application of
           this provision to such entity.

(c)  Executive agrees that for 12 months following the termination of your
employment for any reason, you shall not, directly or indirectly:

           (i) For his own account, or for the account of others, interfere
           with, solicit, or accept for yourself, or for the benefit of anyone
           other than the Company, as measured at the time of your termination,
           any of the clients or customers of the Company, or perform any
           services of any competitive nature in connection with said clients or
           customers for anyone other than the Company. The restrictions will
           not prohibit Executive from soliciting clients or customers of the
           Company with respect to the provision of products or services that
           are in no way competitive with any products and/or services offered
           by the Company at such time.

           (ii) Urge any client or customer of the Company to discontinue
           business, in whole or in part, or not do business, with the Company.

(d)  Solicit, hire or arrange to hire any person who at the time of such hire or
within three (3) months prior to the time of such hire was an employee of the
Company, for yourself or for any business entity with which you may be, or may
be planning to be, affiliated or associated with, or otherwise interfere with
the retention of employees that the Company desires to retain as such.

(e)  Executive expressly acknowledges and agrees (i) that the restrictions set
forth in this entire Section are reasonable, in terms of scope, duration,
geographic area, and otherwise, (ii) that the protections afforded to the
Company hereunder are necessary to protect its legitimate business interests,
and (iii) that the agreement to observe such restrictions form a material part
of the consideration for this Severance Agreement. Executive specifically agrees
that the Non-Compete Agreement is to be enforced to the fullest extent permitted
by law. Accordingly, if a court of competent jurisdiction determines that the
scope and/or operation of any provision of the Non-

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Compete Agreement is too broad to be enforced as written, the Company and
Executive intend that the court should reform such provision to such narrower
scope and/or operation as it determines to be enforceable, provided, however,
that such reformation applies only with respect to the operation of such
provision in the particular jurisdiction with respect to which such
determination was made. If, however, any provision of the Non-Compete Agreement
is held to be illegal, invalid, or unenforceable under present or future law,
and not subject to reformation, then (i) such provision shall be fully
severable, (ii) this Agreement shall be construed and enforced as if such
provision was never a part of this Agreement, and (iii) the remaining provisions
of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect and shall not be
affected by the illegal, invalid, or unenforceable provision or by its
severance.

     5. The parties agree to delete Section 9, Options and replace it with the
following:

Executive acknowledges receipt of all stock options issued to him pursuant to
the Agreement. Attached as Exhibit A are the salient terms of these stock
options.

     6. In all other respects, the Agreement shall remain in full force and
     effect.


HOOVER'S, INC.                                 EXECUTIVE

By:
    -------------------------------            --------------------------------
                                               Russell Secker
Its:
    -------------------------------

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[HOOVER'S LOGO]

                                    EXHIBIT A

                                 HOOVER'S, INC.

                        NOTICE OF GRANT OF STOCK OPTION,

                       PENDING BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPROVAL

     Notice is hereby given of the following option grant (the "Option") to
     purchase shares of the Common Stock of Hoover's, Inc. (the "Corporation"):

           OPTIONEE: Russell Secker

           GRANT DATE:  June 28, 2001

           VESTING COMMENCEMENT DATE: JUNE 29, 2001

           EXERCISE PRICE:  $4.51

           NUMBER OF OPTION SHARES: 13,000

           EXPIRATION DATE:  June 28, 2010

           EXERCISE SCHEDULE: The Option shall become exercisable with respect
     to fourteen percent (14%) of the Option Shares upon Optionee's completion
     of six months of Service from the Vesting Commencement Date. Thereafter,
     The options will vest ratably and monthly over the remaining 36 months of
     the vesting period. In no event shall the Option become exercisable for any
     additional Option Shares after Optionee's cessation of Service.

Optionee understands and agrees that the Option is granted subject to and in
accordance with the terms of the Hoover's, Inc. 1999 Stock Incentive Plan (the
"Plan"), and formal approval of the Corporation's Board of Directors. Optionee
further agrees to be bound by the terms of the Plan and the terms of the Option,
as set forth in the Stock Option Agreement to be provided by the Corporation
upon formal approval of the Option by the Corporation's Board of Directors. A
copy of the Plan is available upon request made to the Corporate Secretary at
the Corporation's principal offices.

NO EMPLOYMENT OR SERVICE CONTRACT. Nothing in this Notice or in the attached
Stock Option Agreement or in the Plan shall confer upon Optionee any right to
continue in Service with the Corporation. or its subsidiary, Hoover's Online
Europe Limited, for any period of specific duration or interfere with or
otherwise restrict in any way the rights of the Corporation (or any Parent or
Subsidiary employing or retaining Optionee) or of Optionee, which rights are
hereby expressly

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reserved by each, to terminate Optionee's Service at any time for any reason,
with or without cause.

     EMPLOYEE INDEMNITY. As a condition to acceptance of the Option, Optionee
will agree to the following: (i) in the event that PAYE is payable, Optionee
will indemnify the Corporation and/or Hoover's Online Europe Limited to the
extent of such PAYE; and (ii) in the event that secondary class I National
Insurance Contributions are payable by the Corporation or Hoover's Online Europe
Limited, Optionee will indemnify the Corporation and/or Hoover's Online Europe
Limited to the extent of such secondary Class I National Insurance
Contributions.

DEFINITIONS. All capitalized terms in this Notice shall have the meaning
assigned to them in this Notice or in the attached Stock Option Agreement.

DATED: June 28, 2001