Small Biz

Gabriel Erbst, 24; Will Geronimo, 25; Dwight Lee, 24

TableXChange
New York

TableXChange co-founder Gabriel Erbst liked eating at New York City's exclusive restaurants but often had trouble getting a reservation because his frenetic schedule as an analyst at an investment bank made it hard for him to plan ahead. Sensing that fellow professionals might be willing to pay a fee of around $20 to get a table on short notice, he launched the online marketplace to buy and sell restaurant reservations in June.

At first the business, which takes a 12% cut on each transaction, got its share of criticism from bloggers and local foodies, but Erbst says it is growing and will soon begin taking ads. "We're huge food enthusiasts, so it was great to leave our banking jobs and devote ourselves to this full-time," says Erbst, who expects the business to be profitable by the end of 2007. While there are plans to expand to big cities inside and outside the U.S., Erbst says the team is still taking it slow to fine-tune its platform and "avoid creating turmoil in the market."