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Ahhh, the beauty of the Internet. Just a few short months ago I was a broker focused on Internet stocks when along came one of my merchant bank clients with an Internet investment. After performing some due diligence, I liked the company (and the opportunity) so much that now I'm the director of business development on a quest to turn a neat service (photo hosting) into a business. (And I'm working late far too often!) The name Tobias rings a bell from my old broker days (I'm only 29).

I just tried out the Quickbrowse service and am pretty impressed. I was considering putting together a similar service called NewsConsolidator.com. (The url is still available, but, shhh, don't tell anyone.) So, here's my solution:

Business Model for Quickbrowse

1. [Start] advertising -- utilize framing to serve up ads (Upside magazine does it, and nobody is suing them).
2. [Start an] aggressive affiliate program -- offer a cobrand version of the Qpage service combined with the framing technology mentioned above to augment ad revenue to be shared with the affiliates. They get access to an additional layer of ads -- ads on top of ads. What a concept.
3. Move to the Valley and do the Sandhill circuit.
4. Hire a CEO, if Marc has had enough. This may be a good idea even if he hasn't.
5. Quickly explore the possibilities of teaming up with a large partner (AOL) by offering a fully branded version.

I could go on (feel free to pass my name if you like). Essentially, Quickbrowse needs to follow the formula of turning viewers into members, members into customers, and customers into dollars. But first things first. The focus should be on conducting the largest member grab possible. Look at ICQ. How much focus was placed on turning the service into a business? None!

The biggest mistake that Marc could make is worrying about profit. It's way too early for that. First achieve critical mass, then worry about profit. I'd love to say more, but it's time to turn in.

Thanks,
Andrew Osmak
Director, business development
PhotoPoint.com

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