Names and ages: Warren Adams, 31; Brian Robertson,
24
Company name and description: PlanetAll is an
online service designed to keep people in touch. The service
creates a network of links between you and individuals who may live
thousands of miles away, as well as those you haven't seen in
several years. "It's the ultimate address book,"
explains Adams.
Based: Cambridge, Massachusetts
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Founded: 1996
1997 sales projections: $725,000
Inspiration: "[One time while I was in
business school], I was traveling through Africa and ran into
people I hadn't seen in five years. It made me realize there
was no good way to keep in touch with that wider circle of
friends," says Adams.
How it works: The information members can access
with permission includes travel plans, birth dates, home and work
addresses and phone numbers, and personal contacts.
Start-up costs: $1 million through angel
investors. After five months in business, PlanetAll secured
additional venture capital financing.
Vital stats: PlanetAll tallied 8,000 registered
members by year-end 1996; the company expects to have 550,000
signed up by the end of this year. Approximately two-thirds of its
members are from the United States; the other one-third hail from
120 countries worldwide. Every month, PlanetAll's home page
gets an average of 15 million hits.
Miscellaneous offices: From a lakeside cottage to
a friend's kitchen to an incubator. Now it's located in a
historic church.
Secrets of success: The relaxed management style:
Although many put in long hours, employees can crash on the
office's futon for a quick nap.
An obstacle encountered: "When you have a
vision that is radically different from what's out there
now," says Adams, "it's difficult to convince people
that vision can be a reality some day."
Future focus: Says Adams, "Ultimately,
we're going to have tens of millions of people in
PlanetAll." The partners are also developing alternatives to
accessing the virtual address book for those who are not always at
their computers.
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