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Flying Cart Media

Flying Cart Media

Rishi Shah, 26
www.flyingcart.com
Madison, Wis.

Then:
Founder Rishi Shah saw his business, a Web site that lets small businesses create online stores for free, pick up some speed. Last year, over 1,000 businesses used Flying Cart Media, and about 30 new e-stores were created everyday. Shah's company makes money when users purchase premium features like the ability to track inventory or conduct unlimited transactions. As of October, Shah expected Flying Cart would be profitable by the spring of 2008.

Now:
Growth for the company, which is now profitable, has accelerated in the past year. Now, Shah says about 45 new stores are added every day, and over 4,500 small businesses have signed up for the company's e-stores. Revenue for 2008 will be in "the six figures territory," and is doubling every three to four months, he says. The site is rolling out several new features, like one that lets store owners embed YouTube videos on their Flying Cart profiles. Another upcoming feature will allow store owners to communicate with each other by linking their stores with other vendors, and offering cross-promotions. Shah's goal is to emphasize the social networking aspect of e-commerce by letting customers set up fan clubs and review products for Flying Cart Media stores. "The best e-commerce sites are the ones with communities around them," he says. Shah was also excited to note that the company has recently been invited to the TechCrunch50 conference in September 2008.