Mingle2 is a free online dating website developed by one entrepreneur who had so much success with his first venture that he was able to sell it to a competitor and shortly thereafter begin work on another project. His second project is a website called The Oatmeal, which revolves around comics created by this unique entrepreneur. In the time span of only 4 years this entrepreneur has been able to launch two successful startups online. For this and more we take a look at entrepreneur Matthew Inman in the spotlight this week. We’ll look at just how he did it and highlight what lessons any upcoming entrepreneur can learn.
Summary:
Name: Matthew Inman
Age: 27
Location: Seattle, Washington
Claim to fame: Mingle2 (Free online dating service) & The Oatmeal (Social commentary comics)
Initial cost: <$1000
How He Did It:
Matthew Inman lives in Seattle, Washington. From Inman’s early to mid twenties, he worked as a freelance web developer and online marketer. In 2006, Inman started looking for new avenues that would allow him to expand his skills and break away from the traditional web developer role. In 2007, he created a free dating website called Mingle2 from concept to public launch in about a 1.5 weeks working nights and weekends after getting home from his day job. Inman figured he would try something new as the worst that would happen is Mingle2 would fail, he would be out a few hours, and ultimately have to fall back into his day job like nothing ever happened. As luck would have it though, Mingle2 took off in the months to come generating over 2 million hits in a 6 month period. Inman would go onto sell his new startup to a rival competitor within the year, which allowed him to turn to his next venture. Inman always had a passion for comics and quirky humor, which he often used in his online marketing projects. In 2009, he launched The Oatmeal, which is a blog style website that provides humorous comics drawn by Matt. Thanks to social networking sites like Digg, The Oatmeal has seen massive growth in the past 8 year shooting the site up to 4,076 in the Alexa rankings. Inman has since gotten a book deal through the site, which is scheduled to be released later this year. Inman continues to work full time with his latest site The Oatmeal.
Lessons Learned:
- The last thing you want to do when you come home is work, but using free time such as nights and weekends are how many entrepreneurs test the waters and get started. You need to make time.
- Enjoy what you do. If your heart isn’t in a particular idea, then don’t waste your time or you’ll end up hating it down the road.
- Don’t be afraid to run with more than one idea.
- Creating a business plan it vital to your long-term success. Do the research and take the time to plan.
- Keep a notepad or journal for all your ideas and thoughts.
Did you miss last weeks spotlight? Check it out here: The Entrepreneur Spotlight: Alex Tew.
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 and his entrepreneurship characteristics. Also, please let me know if you have an entrepreneur you would like to see featured here in the weeks to come.
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