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To keep this interview appointment and catch alast-minute business flight, Surya Jayaweera had to juggle a cellphone and defensive driving. No problem for this model member ofGeneration Tech, who handled both tasks with the same skillhe's used to steer his company to success.
Growing up, Jayaweera's dreams bounced between scientist andinventor, but age taught him entrepreneurship was the practicalroute to making his mark. Before getting his engineering degree inMay 1996, Jayaweera brainstormed product ideas with businesspotential. A day at the park with a pile of magazines sparked thewinner: An article on two-way pagers catalyzed images of a pagerthat could access e-mail and the Web.
Two days later, Jayaweera drove to Las Vegas and pitched hisidea to Motorola at COMDEX, the major computer and electronicsshow. After a meeting at company headquarters, he penned a deal:He'd create the software; they'd make the pagers. In 1997,Jayaweera's vision, the Motorola PageWriter, was launched--andhis business, WolfeTech Corp., was born.
What started as four people working from an apartment has grownto a payroll 22 strong working in several offices in Claremont,California. Jayaweera's staff: brilliant young people"who'd normally take $80,000 jobs at Microsoft, butinstead are working for minimum wage where they can take onhigh[er] responsibilities," says the 24-year-oldentrepreneur.
Although Jayaweera's initial funding involved just $12,000in savings and credit cards, in mid-1998, connections at his almamater, Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, led him to angelinvestors. Today, he frequently turns down buyout offers for his$15 million company. Says Jayaweera, "My goal is to helpWolfeTech grow into something really big so we can take thistechnology as far as it can go."
Holy Smokes
Dave Sabot may be the king of his domain, but as a result, hepractically needs a closet for all the shoes he fills. You see,since May 1997, when he started Dave's Humidors Inc., thosecigar havens have literally taken over his Glen Cove, New York,home. Though Dave's is strictly an online venture,humidor-related gear crowds almost every room (not to mention anentire garage devoted to inventory and order-packing).
The invasion first began in 1997, when Sabot's brother gavehim some cigars. With no means of keeping them fresh, Sabot shoppedaround for humidors but found the market pricey. "I foundcheaper [options] and figured other people would want them cheaper,too," he says. A single $45 initial investment (the price ofhis first humidor) and one Web design service (provided by himself,for free) later, he was in business.
But 26-year-old Sabot, who also does interactive marketing fulltime, wasn't always business-savvy. "I didn't draft abusiness plan [or] do test marketing," he says, though hevaguely remembers taking "half a marketing class" incollege.
Turns out, Sabot's exemplary of what a business novice canachieve using the Internet. Still a one-man operation, Dave'sHumidors grossed $250,000 last year. His philosophy: Pairlow-priced products with all the customer service he can muster.Each humidor comes with instructions he authored, and his Web site(http://www.cheaphumidors.com)offers "newbies" clues on crucial topics such as how tohold and light cigars. "We're not just running a conveyorbelt here," jokes Sabot.
Advertising tactics also rate high on the scale of elementsfueling his success: So far, Sabot's started a"win-a-free-humidor" contest on his site, an affiliatesprogram for linking with other sites and an online newsletter,Cigar Bargains.
What about the possibility of cigar-smoking dropping a notch onthe hot/not meter? Sabot is confident: "The boom's dieddown, but my sales haven't reflected that at all."
Contact Sources
Dave's Humidors Inc., (888) 674-8307, http://www.cheaphumidors.com
WolfeTech Corp., (909) 596-2700, surya@wolfetech.com
