Small Biz

Mitch Cohen, 20

ClixConnect
Virtual company; Cohen divides his time between Chicago and Montreal

Mitch Cohen, an undergraduate studying business at McGill University, started his latest company, ClixConnect, to help online retailers improve customer service on their Web sites. Cohen, who started his first business when he was 16, got the idea after watching his parents become frustrated whenever they shopped online, often turning to a brick-and-mortar shop, where they relished being able to talk to a human and getting questions answered quickly.

Cohen says the six-employee business, which he launched in January, has landed about 70 clients so far. They pay to use ClixConnect's proprietary live-chat software, which they install on their Web sites, to speed response times. Some also outsource customer-service duties to ClixConnect reps instead of hiring their own reps. How do these reps handle specific questions? "The business owners complete a detailed questionnaire, and we train them," Cohen explains. He says because ClixConnect has no physical offices and spends little on marketing and advertising, it has been profitable since its first month.