Episode 206: Online Concepts That Work

Episode 206 originally broadcast on May 16, 2009

Our entrepreneurs this week have been rapidly successful with their online companies—and they’re telling us what worked and what didn’t. Brett Hurt created Bazaarvoice, a “social commerce” Web site where consumers can rate and review services, greatly increasing word of mouth referrals. Hurt has taken his concept a step further, tracking and analyzing the data. Then, flash back in an interview with Arjun Arora, founder of Retargeter, an Internet advertising company that “tags” visitors to a Web site, then follows them around on the Internet and plants ads in front of them after they leave the site. Retargeter is cash flow positive only one month after its launch.

School of Business 05/16/09

Russ and John present the show about the people that build businesses, create more taxpayers, and make everything run. Includes: BusinessMakers Quote of the Week—a pithy sound bite from an anonymous source; This Week in Business History includes such intriguing topics as the first ever Merry-Go-Round, Napoleon, bluejeans, welding, Spam and SpaghettiOs; Navigating Business Jargon—acronyms, technospeak and trendy new stuff; and Dumbest Moments in Business History—a good CEO turns bad.

Brett Hurt of Bazaarvoice

Esther Steinfeld sends in an “on-the-road” interview with the founder of social commerce Web site Bazaarvoice.com. Bazaarvoice connects customers to one another and drives sales through word of mouth by letting customers share experiences, make recommendations, rate and review products, in the process increasing buyer confidence. Bazaarvoice also tracks the results of its user-generated content using specific performance indicators. Hurt launched his company four years ago and today has 400 clients served through four offices worldwide and conducts business in 25 languages. Hurt has pushed the boundaries of his concept and, in this interview, discusses what worked and what didn’t.

Flashback - Arjun Arora of ReTargeter.com

Arjun Arora is a third generation entrepreneur and always knew he would start his own business. After taking classes in entrepreneurism at UC Berkeley, Arora tried several jobs before he took the leap. Russ visits with the founder of Retargeter, an Internet advertising company that works by “tagging” visitors to a Web site, then following them around on the Internet and presenting ads after they leave the site. This makes for a very focused effort, giving customers a chance to see ads for the sites they just visited. Arora launched his company in April and, one month later, has advertisers and is cash-flow positive.

PKF Texas: The Entrepreneur’s Playbook® - R-Cubed Framework

Do you have all the relevant, timely and accurate information you need to make decisions? Greg Price introduces the “R-cubed framework” and other ways to take your business to the next level in any economy.

Tech Talk Tip with The Planet - The Cloud

Have you heard the buzz about The Cloud? People everywhere are talking about it, but it’s often misrepresented. It can be flexible, scalable, but is not necessarily cheaper. So, how will you know if it’s a good solution for your needs? Web-hosting evangelist Kevin Hazard talks tech from the data center.