Two Teen Tech Titans Make the Grade
Published:
26 May 2001 y., Saturday
Jud Bowman and Taylor Brockman developed their Pinpoint search engine in high school. Verizon and Terra Lycos rate it an A+ tool for the wireless Web When Jud Bowman and Taylor Brockman were looking for backers two years ago to help finance their Internet startup -- which would build customized search engines for Web sites -- they had one awkward problem: They didn't have a phone to receive incoming calls. That's because Bowman and Brockman were only 18, and like other students at their North Carolina boarding school, they weren't allowed to have a phone in their dorm rooms. So the duo gave out the number for the pay phone down the hall -- and implored their rowdy dorm mates to take down any messages.
Since graduation, Bowman and Brockman have had no problems lining up support for their Research Triangle Park (N.C.) venture, now known as Pinpoint Networks. While dot-coms headed by far more seasoned entrepreneurs folded long ago, these teen upstarts are still in the hunt to become the search-engine-of-choice on the wireless Internet -- which Bowman believes will soon explode in popularity.
Already, it appears that youth is being served: The company signed its first major wireless customer last September, when Terra Lycos agreed to integrate Pinpoint's search technology into its wireless application portal (WAP). And Pinpoint scored another coup this past March, when telecommunications giant Verizon Wireless agreed to incorporate the company's search feature into its Net-enabled phones. Given that Pinpoint sits at the sweet spot of the wireless Web, some analysts see the startup as a perfect acquisition candidate some day for one of the major Internet portals, or possibly a cell-phone manufacturer like Nokia, that could integrate the company's technology into its products.
By all indications, Bowman and Brockman might view a buyout as a fitting close to their adventure, giving them a chance to rediscover their teen years before they're gone.
Šaltinis:
businessweek.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
Software company announced new structure_ of it_s business.
more »
Congress is set to more than double the number of federal copyright cops.
more »
Indian hackers always thought they were too sophisticated to fall into the hands of the rough cops in this country, whom various human rights groups routinely accuse of brutality.
more »
One in four Australian households and businesses can't use a phone line to download a simple Web page in less than six minutes, the Australian government's Productivity Commission said.
more »
How Sircam can help turn your most private documents into a worldwide joke.
more »
After months of hullabaloo over online music subscription services, it appears as though the industry big boys are finally ready to test the waters.
more »
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is preparing to file a complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about Microsoft Corp.'s plans to bundle its Passport identification service with Windows XP
more »
SUN MICROSYSTEMS AND Hewlett-Packard are expected to announce separately Monday that they will make projects under development at the companies available to developers under the open-source model, adding further support to the collaborative development mo
more »
Servers Struck by 'Code Red' Virus
more »
search.lt presents newest links
more »
A malicious piece of software
more »