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1. How did you start your online business?
AskMe.com was the brain child of former Microsoft executive
Ramesh Parameswaran. In July 1999 he and co-founders Digvijay Chauhan, also
from Microsoft, and Udai Shekawat, a former director for MSI Consulting,
began planning a new type of Web site where people could ask questions of
experts, enthusiasts, and others with experiences to share. By the end of
September they had hired 12 employees, raised $1.9 million, and launched the
beta version of the site, then known as XpertSite.com.
2. How does your business help webmasters?
AskMe.com helps Webmasters by providing them with free
access to experts who can help them with information, tips, and advice on
designing, building, and maintaining Web sites. These experts range from
developers, to other Web masters, to everyday individuals. What's more, we
find our experts appreciate offering advice on the site because helps keep
them in touch with current issues.
3. How did you go about promoting your web site?
In the beginning we focused on grass roots and viral
marketing campaigns, those that targeted friends and family. From there we
branched out into Web campaigns, placing advertising on select sites to
promote the service to potential users and experts. To date we have not
conducted any traditional marketing campaigns, but we have been very
proactive with public relations activities.
4. When did you start your business?
The company was founded at the end of July, 1999
5. How has your business grown?
AskMe.com is best described as a hyper growth Net company.
Our business has grown extremely fast, from the original 12 employees in
August 1999 to over 80 employees in April 2000. It is difficult to pin down
actual numbers given the exponential growth we're currently experiencing,
but we've grown from 1,000 registered users in September 1999 to more than
600,000 users in April 2000, from a handful of experts to over 60,000
registered experts, and from a few hundred questions answered to more than
550,000 answers in our knowledge base. The site currently has over 2.3
million unique visitors per month and is doubling in size each month.
6. Do you have any tips for webmasters?
Visit AskMe.com to get answers to all your questions - from
art and alternative medicine to Web design and Web marketing, plus
everything in between.
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