E-Commerce Division

AnandTech, Raleigh, NC

What makes AnandTech.com stand out in the sea of dot-com businesses on the Web? For one, it's still alive and well, despite the recent crash and burn of numerous other dot-coms. But even more amazing is the fact that it brings in over $1 million a year. "We started out without intending this to become a business," says Anand Shimpi, president of AnandTech, "I had started it as a hobby." When his newsgroup postings on computer hardware upgrades got huge notice, he continued the hobby until it grew into a giant money-making Website. Anand pins his success on the fact that there wasn't any competition around when he entered the market. He compares AnandTech.com to magazines that garage mechanics would read about building the baddest Mustang on the block. Techies look to his site for inside information on how to upgrade their computers into super powerful machines. Today, AnandTech.com is pulling in around 30 million page views per month and ad sales to match. Other than running an incredible Website, Anand gives speeches for school groups about getting involved in technology. He is also in great demand for media interviews due to the $10,000 public relations package from Entrepreneur PR that he received for ranking number one in the YoungBiz 100 last year.

	YoungBiz 100
1	Anand Shimpi, 18	AnandTech, Raleigh, NC What makes AnandTech.com stand out in the sea of dot-com businesses on the Web? For one, it's still alive and well, despite the recent crash and burn of numerous other dot-coms. But even more amazing is the fact that it brings in over $1 million a year. "We started out without intending this to become a business," says Anand Shimpi, president of AnandTech, "I had started it as a hobby." When his newsgroup postings on computer hardware upgrades got huge notice, he continued the hobby until it grew into a giant money-making Website. Anand pins his success on the fact that there wasn't any competition around when he entered the market. He compares AnandTech.com to magazines that garage mechanics would read about building the baddest Mustang on the block. Techies look to his site for inside information on how to upgrade their computers into super powerful machines. Today, AnandTech.com is pulling in around 30 million page views per month and ad sales to match. Other than running an incredible Website, Anand gives speeches for school groups about getting involved in technology. He is also in great demand for media interviews due to the $10,000 public relations package from Entrepreneur PR that he received for ranking number one in the YoungBiz 100 last year.
	YoungBiz 100
2	Ephren Taylor, 18, and Michael Stahl, 19,	GoFerretGo, LLC, Overland Park, KS These 'treps met in high school gym class, and have since created several successful joint business ventures both online and off. Harnessing the Web to match job-seeking teens with short-staffed companies is the secret of success for GoFerretGo, the first and largest company owned by Ephren Taylor and Michael Stahl. They also jumped from cyberspace to land space by starting Amoro Developments, a holding company with primary assets in real estate. GoFerretGo.com was recently valued at about $3.125 million. Now that's a prosperous partnership!
	YoungBiz 100
3	Will Thurston, 17	PayBar.com, Sacramento, CA Will Thurston knows the value of Internet advertising, and PayBar.com is making everyone's pay day a happy event indeed. People who sign up to be members of PayBar get paid to view ads on the Internet. If you refer your friends to PayBar, you get paid for the ads they watch on the Internet, too. Every month PayBar totals your account and sends you a check - it's that simple. The only drawback is that you have to be 18 to join or have the permission of your parents. With a rapidly growing membership, PayBar.com is now one of the top 500 sites on the Web.