Quote:
Originally posted by shap
I guess I?ll follow DH?s story. I wouldn?t call it Rags to Riches but it was definitely building something from nothing.
I started 7 or 8 years ago while I was studying in university and living with my parents. I had stumbled across Persian Kitty while surfing with lynx (anybody who remembers lynx knows it was no way to find porn). After a month of lynx I finally surfed with a browser and went back to Persian Kitty. I was in shock when I saw her hit counter. It was the old Digits one and the number of visitors it displayed blew me away. I couldn?t believe that many people would be going to a site. Immediately my brain kicked into high gear.
So I built my first Free site. I hosted it on my free account with the university. It was all pictures, no banners and a web counter. It went up on PK around 6pm on Friday. OH MAN! That was the beginning of my new career. I was getting hits like there was no tomorrow. A friend of mine was over and I showed him the hit counter and I?d reload and say look 100 people just visited in the time I clicked reload. It was a great night. I made no money but I knew I was onto something big. Monday morning at 8am I got a phone call from the university. Apparently I had used 99% of the bandwidth in 3 days that the university had used in 5 years. They were pissed. I was banned from all internet and computer accounts in the school.
I won?t bore you with the rest of the details. But from that day on I put my heart and soul into building up my business. I worked my ass off. I would pull all nighters with my Wife. We?d go out for coffee around 3am then finish working between 8 and 10am go out to breakfast come home sleep for a few hours and do it all over again.
I started with nothing, just a regular young guy going to university. I sacrificed a lot of friends and a lot of good partying to have what I have now and it was all worth it. Thanks to this industry I met my kick ass beautiful Wife (who is also my business partner). I?m living in the Bahamas. I sit at my desk everyday and have the ocean staring right back at me. We get to travel to amazing places. Rent exotic cars, stay in amazing hotels, have fantastic meals. We?ve got our own boat. We?ve got a business that is continually growing. Most of our best friends have been people we?ve met thanks to this business. I don?t regret a thing. It was all worth it and I honestly can not picture my life without it.
One word of advice. I remember going to a dinner back in 1998. It was the first time I ever met people from the industry. Carol and Danny Cox, Saus, Serge (who probably still remembers I didn?t say hi to him), James and Victoria. Anyhow, back then a few of the people there were discussing free sites and how anybody who hadn?t started a free site by then was too late. This is 1998. Imagine if myself or others would have listened to the advice that it was TOO LATE to start something. I heard the same thing about paysites 3 years ago when I started Twistys. I?m glad I didn?t listen then either. Remember it is NEVER TOO LATE! If you have the idea and have the determination it is never too late. Put your heart and soul into it and you?ll be successful. 
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You're the reason college fees have skyrocketed!!!
Good post Shap! Viva La Canada!!!
DH