Category Archives: Internet
Johns Wu – Founder, Developer, Sole Employee, and eventual Seller of Bankaholic.com
Founder, Developer, Sole Employee, and eventual Seller of Bankaholic.com, a consumer banking portal, to Bankrate, Inc.
October 2008.
For nearly $15 Million.
From his LinkedIn profile:
“Retired Internet Marketer”
Before his 23rd Birthday.
Aaron Patzer of Mint.com Talks to CNET about Branding
An article at CNET yesterday, interviewing the founder of Mint.com, put a smile on my face for the rest of the day… OK, I admit it. I tend to smile a lot, but nonetheless, it was a very interesting read. Aaron Patzer, who sold Mint.com for a reported $170 million last year to Intuit, about the importance of the name when for branding… in this instance in particular, the domain name Mint.com. Here’s an excerpt of what Patzer had to say:
Entrepreneur Ira Zoot – Founder of Ticketstub.com
What I have come to know in 46 years: – Have a friend with a pool – Have a friend with a boat – Have a friend that can get good tickets! Meet my friend Ira from Ticketstub.com Entrepreneur Ira Zoot – Founder of Ticketstub.com The ticket industry looks pretty straightforward from the outside looking in, but spend some time trying to navigate the inner sanctum as you write your business plan and you may decide that sitting in a 6 by 8 cubicle at corporate headquarters ain’t so bad after all… But Ira Zoot has managed not only to learn the infrastructure of this enormous industry, but also to thrive with his website Ticketstub.com. If you’ve looked into purchasing tickets online in the past few years (who hasn’t?), chances are you have been a visitor on Ira’s website. MO: Ira, you have carved out an online business in a complicated and highly competitive space. What attracted you to the niche and how did you “cut your teeth” in the business? What year are we talking about and how old were you at the time (if you don’t mind sharing :))? Did you learn the ropes in an offline business first and then bring that experience to begin selling online, or did you go online right out of the gate? Ira Zoot: Mo … where to start? Well, I got my first domain in late ’95 . . . Zoot.com. I wish I had some idea of where domain names were going to go. But it was for my photo/design/Illustration business that I registered it. That and hey, it’s my last name. I started “collecting domains” in ’98 when a friend of mine who was doing it turned me on to the “game.” It was amazing how quickly I got [...]
Entrepreneur Jeff Edelman – Student.com
Jeff Edelman Student.com Based in New York Entrepreneur Jeff Edelman – Founder of Student.com If you want to read about the evolution of a great social website for students, be certain to check out the history of Student.com here: Student.com/history I think this is a great read on how something that started “very, very small, with not much content” can evolve into a website with 940,000 members. Folks, we’re talking about nearly a million members! MO.com only needs a million more members to hit that mark. About Student.com The site was founded by Jeff Edelman in 1995. I’d venture to guess many reading this interview were not yet even ON the Internet yet in that year, let alone founding a website. I’m not even sure I could spell “www” at that stage of the game. The website caters primarily to high school students and college students, providing helpful articles, forums, blogs, advice, and much more. MO: Jeff, you were clearly an early mover on the web. How were you introduced to the Internet? Were you a student at the time yourself? Jeff Edelman: I was already over the hill by the mid 90′s. :) I had a friend from college who was one of the original computer nerds. He was one of the founders of Physicians Online, a successful Internet community for Doctors. In early 1995, I was the head of a catalog of New York City designed t-shirts, hats, and boxer shorts called Soho Design. My friend called me over to his office to show me the Internet and told me that I had to get my catalog online. In time, I saw that it made sense to create a community of students online just like he had created a community of doctors. And we got the site up [...]
Bruce Marler – Show Me The Entrepreneur
We believe a “feet-on-the-street” sales team is the only way to accomplish our goals. Although we focus on search engine optimization and bringing businesses online, at the end of the day many of these businesses in the rural areas need to be educated on the value of being found in the proper places online. They also need to be taught to realize how the Internet is changing their marketing plans for the future.
This means we are conducting seminars, speaking to chambers of commerce, and in some cases going business to business. We have been fortunate to get 100 customers in less than 6 months of selling.
Entrepreneur Raymond Troy – The Nuclear Entrepreneur
When meeting a group of business minded people for the first time, you often get a sense of who in the group might have that super heated passion to launch, thrive, and succeed in business. I got that impression very quickly from Ray when listening to him at an entrepreneurs meet-up here in Columbia, MO. Only later did I discover he had a Masters Degree in Nuclear Engineering and he was starting his PhD program at Mizzou. I’m not really sure what Nuclear Engineering is, but it seemed a good match with someone of Ray’s energy and drive. His website NineAPair.com is one among several opportunities he is pursuing, so I expect him to be a repeat interview as his ventures take shape.
Entrepreneur Terrell Miller – Rancho Media, LLC
Terrell Miller Company: Rancho Media, LLC RanchoMedia.com Blog: Keeping it Rural KeepingItRural.com Software: EquineMax EquineMax.com Terrell Miller – Rancho Media One of my favorite things about talking and networking with other entrepreneurs is learning about the almost endless opportunities that exist for niche businesses. I constantly find myself shaking my head and grinning “wow, I had no idea there was a business niche for that.” I met Terrell Miller on an online forum for domain name investors and have been impressed with his understanding of domains, search engine optimization, and other aspects of doing business online. It was later that I discovered Terrell was actually a successful business owner providing software solutions to help folks manage their animals… e.g., cattle and horses. MO: Terrell, you seem to have combined two passions: software development and love for animals. Which came first and how has the blend of passions helped build your business? Terrell Miller: My wife (Penny) and I were approaching graduation from Texas A&M University in 1999, her with a degree in Agriculture Leadership and me with a degree in Business/Information Systems. I had job offers in the large cities while her experience was in rural areas. Finding a location that would offer each of us satisfying career paths was difficult. We decided that since we couldn’t find our dream job we would have to create it. Terrell and Penny Miller Rancho Media Our first product was a software application for cattle ranchers to manage their beef cattle, based on a program we created in college. We later added software for Texas Longhorn cattle and horses. The income from the software businesses has funded our expansion into websites and domain names.
Domain Names and Branding:
Domain Names and Branding: A person can compile a long list of successful Internet companies that built their empires on a domain name that doesn’t immediately communicate what their business is: Amazon.com Google.com eBay.com Twitter.com YouTube.com Yahoo.com These web brands are all household names, but they certainly didn’t start that way… they had to pour considerable funds into marketing and branding these domain names in a way that communicated what to expect at a website called “Amazon” Other well-known brands started with investing their funds into the domains that immediately told their story. Their domain names are often referred to as “category killer” domains: Hotels.com Golf.com Trails.com Classmates.com Ancestory.com Dictionary.com And then there are the tweeners, where once you hear what the website is about, the domain name instantly makes sense: Facebook.com Match.com Business.com Ask.com Naming strategies for startup companies will often just come down to the the founders going with their strengths, and aligned with their wallets. When I acquired control of the domain name MO.com, it was with the intent to build an online resource about my home state of Missouri (MO). As things progressed it became clear the domain name was highly versatile and very brandable. I think domain owners may have invented the word “brandable” because Bill Gates keeps telling me it isn’t a word by underlining it in red when I use it to describe domain names. But for domain owners and investors, how brandable a domain is will often factor into the value and price of a domain name. To date, I have leaned heavily in favor of the middle group; generic domains that clearly communicate what the website will be about, and define a niche, such as OfficeSupply.com and GolfCourses.com. By switching MO.com from being a website about Missouri and instead focusing on [...]
Brian Benko: Backbay Ventures
The web makes it easy for everyone. Nobody, for the most part, gets preferential treatment. We are all given free access to powerful tools, and we can work with anyone on the planet to build the next best thing. I really got started in 1998. Not too early and not too late. What 12 years will provide is a little bit of wisdom and a priceless rolodex.
