A 21-year-old entrepreneur is paying his way through University by selling one million pixels of space for $1US dollar each from his ad hoc website.
Alex Tew, who is studying business management in Nottingham, took to the Web in August with his advertising and marketing brainchild, The Million Dollar Homepage.
It offers companies and entrepreneurs the chance to buy one 10X10-pixel block for $100 US dollars, which can be used to display an ad or logo, together with a link to their site.
After only a few months in business, Tew reportedly netted $339,500 US dollars – about £195,000 within the first few weeks of October.
Already his dream of paying off student debt so he can explore the world of work unburdened is beginning to take shape.
“I'd rather not to be riddled with debt when I graduate, so I decided to think of a way to make money before I start," said Tew, who claims Million Dollar netted him over $1,000 US dollars in just 10 days.
He said that eventually the pixels would offer good value because the homepage will be kept online for at least five years, although the aim is to have it up for as long as possible.
“It will be like an internet time capsule. Once all the pixels are bought the homepage will never change,” Tew explained.
He concedes that starting up the project required a boost from a family member, who was prepared to float the idea to encourage ‘real’ customers to pay up.
"I knew Alex would pester me about it, but if it catches people's attention, then it's worth having my logo on there," said brother Will, whose go-Karting venture was the first to advertise on Million Dollar.
More recent advertisers include a London entertainment portal and The Times newspaper.
Tew believes his advertising and marketing service will appeal to entrepreneurs and large companies alike, as interested parties are free to decide how much space – or how many pixels, they can afford.
"I think this will mostly appeal to businesses, and perhaps larger companies will buy up lots of pixels to have a more prominent position on the site.”
Imitation sites have since sprung up keen to follow in the footsteps of the student entrepreneur’s success, but not one of these also-rans are yet to seriously rival Million Dollar.
Completing his business management course can only enhance Tew’s chances of achieving further successful projects, yet it’s not known whether these will be hosted on the Web.
Responding to what he might do if he reaches his target earnings of $1m, with cash to spare, Tew revealed: “After covering the cost of my degree I'd like to pay for my parents to have some time off, because they work really hard and deserve a break. Then I have some business ideas in the pipeline that I'd like to invest in.”
Oct 19, 2005
Email this article
Printer friendly page
Previous Page
