Image: Courtesy of Joi
TechCrunch.com is a name very familiar with most tech enthusiasts and internet entrepreneurs. TechCrunch is a technology, social media, and internet start-up focused blog that now attracts over 3,000,000 visitors monthly! For this reason and many others, this week in the spotlight we take a look at entrepreneur Michael Arrington, who created the popular technology driven blog known as TechCrunch. We’ll look at how he did it and then highlight the important lessons to be learned for any upcoming entrepreneur!
Summary:
Name: Michael Arrington
Age: 39
Location: US
Claim to fame: TechCrunch (Popular technology, social media, and start-up business blog)
Initial cost: < $2000 (estimate)
How He Did It:
Michael Arrington grew up in california for most of his younger life. He would go onto graduate college with a degree in economics and then onto law school following that. Arrington then spent several years in the 1990′s working at a law firm during, which time he co-founded Achex – a internet payments company. He would go onto sell the company for about $32 million. TechCrunch was created and launched by Michael Arrington in June of 2005, which gave him his recognition by many as a true internet entrepreneur. TechCrunch quickly gained popularity in over the next few years and as of 2009 has over 3,000,000 subscribers. Estimates indicate that TechCrunch takes in roughly $200,000 per month in revenue – that’s $2.4 million each year!
Lessons Learned:
- You’re never too old to become an entrepreneur (Arrington was in his 30′s when he launched his now successful TechCrunch blog.)
- You don’t have to start your caeer as an entrepreneur (Many current entrepreneurs worked the standard 9-5 job before finding their own path. – Use your free time wisely!)
- Blogs can make a lot of money! (I think people often underestimate the power of blogging, but more people make a nice living off of it then you might think. That’s not to say you will make millions or even anything, but the potential is there for the right idea)
- Never be satisfied! (Always have your next idea on the back-burner. Arrington and many other entrepreneurs continue to develop and try new ideas out because you never know which ones will take off.)
- Keep your primary goal at the forefront of your work in order to stay focused on where you want to go with an idea and what you want to get out of it.
Did you miss last weeks spotlight? Check it out here: The Entrepreneur Spotlight: Reid Hoffman
Be on the lookout for our next entrepreneur spotlight article in this ongoing series. In the meantime, be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think about the success of this week’s entrepreneur. Also, please let us know if you have an entrepreneur you would like to see featured here in the weeks to come.
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