We visited with Jeff Gordon and Geoff Allen because they were entrepreneurs who had been in business for almost ten years and one of them was still in his 20s! They had over 60 employees and $10M in annual revenues.

Nine years earlier, 1987, Jeff started his first business at the age of 24 and by the time we found him, he was well along the way to morphing into the ad agency of the future.

There would be no traditional print or television ads; this group would only produce multimedia, interactive kiosks and web sites. They were redefining a marketplace using technologies very few barely understood. These folks were not among the Beltway Bandits. They did no government contracts but generated sales from customers such as McGraw-Hill, Motorola, and America OnLine.

In 1990 Jeff Gordon met Geoff Allen and the two immediately became partners and started a joint business called Source Data. Where Jeff's group, Image Communications, would produces high tech corporate marketing vehicles, Source would build the delivery systems needed for the product. For example, Image completed a multi-media presentation called, "What is medicine?" for the pharmaceutical giant, Glaxo. Source then built the technology needed to run the display. This particular kiosk was on display at the Olympics in Atlanta then traveled around the country for five years.

Update: Talk about little fish getting eaten by the big fish. Since we were visiting Image Communications was acquired by iXL which merged with Scient, which then merged with SBI & Company which sold in part to aQuantive (which now has AvenueA | Razorfish, Atlas, DRIVEpm and others as well).

Contacts:
aQuantive
821 2nd Avenue, Suite 1800
Seattle, WA 98104
Tel: 206.816.8700 Fax: 206.816.8808
URL: http://www.aquantive.com/

Source Digital Systems was also sold. Geoff Allen started over he's CEO of Anystream:
Anystream
21335 Signal Hill Plaza
Sterling, Virginia 20164
Tel: 703.450.7030 Fax:703.450.1936
E-mail: Click here.
URL:http://www.anystream.com/

• GO FURTHER: Spend some time with the ten key points of the case study guide (just above in the green box) and each of the related transcript segments.

• Interactive Agencies: AdWeek's top 20 interactive agencies today.

• Business Type: Study other episodes of the show by industry or business sector. Though ADVERTISING, Marketing and PUBLIC RELATIONS is a huge industry, we have a ways to go to fill out examples of these businesses. We learn most profoundly by analogies, by seeing how others are doing it. The laboratory is life, and our teachers are other business people.

• JOIN, JOIN, JOIN: Your professional associations in your industry are your key to continuing education, market research, collaborations, strategic partnerships, capital and so much more ... often you'll find that you enjoy like-minded people and many will become friends for life.
  » American Association of Advertising
  Agencies
  » American Advertising Federation
  » International Advertising Assoc.

• FIND YOUR STEP AND CHART A COURSE TO THE NEXT. If you already have a business, explore Steps 5 - 8. If you’re just getting started, spend time going through Steps 1 - 4. Three-dimensional business modelling is part of our research of critical ratios.

• STEP 1: "I'm Going to Start a Business. You have to at least say these words to yourself. It is the first step and a big step. Tere is at STEP 8; Zubi Advertising is at Step 7.

• FIRST PRINCIPLES: Starting a business is the road to economic independence for most of us average people. Read a little more to see why incorporating a business keeps the passion of the American revolution alive!

• SUPPORT PUBLIC TELEVISION: Become a member of your local station. If you are already, great. If not and your business is doing well, consider joining the Producers' Club ($1000).