Small Biz

WineCommune and WineZap

Launched: 1999 (WineZap launched in 2004)
Founded by: Michael Stajer and Shaun Bishop
Number of employees: 28
Traffic: 400,000 monthly unique visitors
Founders' favorite wine at the moment: Pax Syrah

What it does: Wine auction site, search engine, retailer
How it makes money: Direct sales, auction fees, advertising

Michael Stajer started WineCommune, a wine auction site, in 1999 after years of trading wine on eBay (EBAY). He also launched an online wine retailer, J.J. Buckley. The company, based in Oakland, Calif., expanded in 2004 with WineZap, a search engine and price comparison site that recently added social networking functions. Stajer, who practiced law full-time until 2003, treated the enterprise as a hobby at first. His biggest challenge was being a self-funded startup vying with venture-backed competitors. "All those avenues of venture capital and whatever were closed to me," Stajer says. "I kept my day job, and I built my hobby slowly." Now he expects his former hobby will bring in $17 million this year.

Secret to success: Without investors' cash to burn, Stajer had to make sure every feature added to the site helped build the business. "A lot of choices were made for me," he says.