SchoolRack

What it does: Makes Web sites for teachers
Founder: Artia Moghbel, 22
Web site: www.schoolrack.com
Based: Los Angeles

Then: After building a Web site for his English teacher, Artia Moghbel launched SchoolRack in 2003. The online platform was designed for teachers to create Web sites to communicate with students and parents outside of the classroom. It made money from advertising and premium subscriptions, bringing in over $1 million in revenue during the 2008-2009 school year. Moghbel employed four people full-time and expected to be profitable by June 2009.

Now: In June, Moghbel launched a new version of the SchoolRack platform. It offers secure messaging, public and private message boards, and a mailing list feature for teachers. Around 25,000 high schools in the U.S. use it. The majority of the services are still free, but Moghbel charges teachers $6 a month for a premium package. He says the company broke even in 2008, and he hopes to have a system compatible for school accounts (it currently operates on an individual member basis) up and running this fall.