This is a subscriber-only article.

Save 20% on Entrepreneur+ during our Spring Growth Flash Sale

Use code SPRING20 at checkout.

Subscribe Now

Already have an account?

Sign in

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Interview day saw Hans Koch, the co-founder of Owners.com,celebrating with partner Jack Reibling their San Francisco"for sale by owner" home-listing firm's thirdanniversary as a Web service. A three-tier cake there was not--but"donut holes in the kitchen" were available for thetaking. Isn't humbleness in the face of a huge near-futureendearing?

Although he's proud of the kudos Owners.com has received(being recognized as one of PC Magazine's "Top 100Web sites" from fall 1997 to mid-1998 and all), Koch's egois in check. "We had five people [he now employs 30], and werebeing considered on the same level as Amazon.com," he says ofthe PC Magazine honor. "We don't have [their]resources, [but] there continues to be a lot of pressure to performat the level of our publicly traded counterparts with [huge]staffs."

Koch's been into business since age 6, when he sold seedsaround his neighborhood. "That company wasn't big,"he says. "I think I made $1.25 that summer." Hisfascination for real estate began at age 9, when a year ofhome-schooling coincided with his parents building an addition totheir house. The curious youngster hung out with thecontractors--observing, making suggestions. Throughout high schooland college, Koch volunteered to help planning and developmentcommittees in his southwest Michigan hometown with real estateprojects. He honed his entrepreneurial skills with a car-detailingbusiness that helped pay for college.