Part 2: Affiliate marketing, cost-effectiveness and investing in ideas

One of your holdings, Mojam.com, has a very strong affiliate program. Can you tell us about how it works, specifically the content issue?
Mojam has content that many websites want. Mojam typically charges companies for this content. But it found that many companies didn't want all of the content and often couldn't pay cash for the syndication fee. So, Mojam launched an affiliate program to allow such companies to take a slice of its content for free.

In regard to creating your program so "large and small can take advantage of functionality," how do you maintain this aspect on your site?
We have made the affiliate program very automated so that anyone could use it without picking up the phone. That's the beauty of technology.

What was the most important goal in your site options available to your affiliates? And why are affiliate programs so important to a successful e-commerce plan?
Our goal was to provide compelling options for our content. Affiliate programs are important because they offer a cost-effective way to acquire users and or customers. The Web is challenging in terms of customer acquisition because there are so many web sites out there with traffic.

One approach is to go to portals to acquire traffic, but that's expensive. The other approach is to go to 10,000 smaller websites whose targeted traffic collectively adds up to Yahoo's. If you can offer those 10,000 sites something compelling, then you can get what you want for less cost.

There are a million ideas out there for business ventures on the Web. What does a hopeful e-commerce business person need to know in order to sell their idea?
One just needs to know the following: What they want to build, how they'll support a business out of it and what the investor/shareholder gets out of it. And I think that one has to know what they're selling, if they love it too, that's great.

Do you think people should view the Internet as a new way to generate income or as a way for them to apply themselves and see their "dreams come true" in regard to an idea?
I think that the Internet can be a way to generate income or a way to see their dreams come true, or even both. But the important thing is to identify the criteria for success.

I'll give you a real world example: The Grateful Dead musical group was asked very early on, (when only a few people attended their shows) what their measure of success was. The band all agreed that they just wanted their music to be heard and enjoyed by as many people as possible. Money wasn't their motive.

Well, they decided to drive a flatbed truck into the Pan Handle park in San Francisco, plugged in their music, and just started performing. At first, only a few people stopped to listen but they kept at it and, five hours later, they had 10,000+ people in attendance. That was success! The money came later for them.

The Internet is no different. If you have a vision of simply wanting a bunch of people coming to your website, regardless of making money, you could see your dream come true. If you want to make money at it, then you have to bust out your calculator and do some math.

What do you think one can learn from a "business failure" on the Web?
All business failures come with lessons. I like to look at each independently and figure out what happened and apply it to businesses I'm involved in. I'm not sure if trial and error is the best approach but it certainly is better than sitting back and doing little to nothing.

What do you enjoy most about your job, and fostering the hopes and dreams of hopeful entrepreneurs?
I like to see useful products and services built. It's fun.

What areas do you see as the most poised for growth, providing successful business opportunities on the Web?
I think the areas of growth are still virtually unlimited. The important criterion I look for is leverage - businesses that truly leverage the uniqueness of the Web. The more that something leverages the Internet, the more growth there is because the Internet is still in its infancy.