Bull's-Eye!

Lee and McConnell created the All Terrain Boarding Association in 1994. While their first competition was small-only six competitors-what was important was that the race attracted the attention of their target customers, who then started to look for the product and talk it up among their thrill-seeking friends. This word-of-mouth effect is typical of tight target markets. Prospects know each other, and they talk about what's exciting in the market. As Lee says, "We sold almost $1 million our first year because we had people talking."

This article was originally published in the July 2000 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Bull's-Eye!.