Worldprints.com one of Net’s best sources of online images

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third in a series of exclusive Boulder County Business Report question-and-answer interviews with the chief executive officers of leading e-business companies in the Boulder Valley.

BOULDER — With 30 million page views a month, Worldprints.com has become one of the Internet’s largest sources of online images.

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Founded in 1997, the image portal company brings people to its site by offering free screensaver and wallpaper downloads of photos and paintings that range from fine art to extreme-sports images. To receive this free service, users must register online with Worldprints.com, providing their profile information. The goal is for customers to eventually purchase their favorite art as prints, posters and greeting cards.

The company of 59 employees, led by Founder and Chief Executive Officer Rich Schmelzer, expects to begin turning a profit by March 2001.

BCBR: How did you become one of the Internet’s most visited sites?

Rich Schmelzer: We advertised with different sites and in magazines until we figured out how to perfect customer acquisition. In the old days, we spent $20 per customer, now we just spend a buck.

BCBR: How did you bring that cost down?

Schmelzer: We did a lot of optimization and a lot of testing. We had to optimize the performance of our banner ads and make sure potential customers registered for our free service. Once someone registers with us, if they want, we send weekly updates on other products they might like, based on their profile. About 70 percent of our customers ask for this personalization and customization.

BCBR: What’s the most up and coming prospect for Internet-related business?

Schmelzer: Anything that gets you closer to the goal of total customization — the marrying of online and offline data. We’re starting to see some customization in place now. Let me give you a brick-and-mortar scenario: You’re driving to Crossroads Mall, and as you drive up, the architecture changes to the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, a style you really like. Everything you see to the left is geared to your taste and everything to the right is geared to your taste. I’d love it if when I logged on to the Internet, up popped what I like and in my size.

BCBR: What concerns do you have about the e-commerce industry?

Schmelzer: We’ve got perfect integrity — I wish everyone did. When one person gets burned on the Net, 50 other businesses suffer. Also, in my business, there are a lot of sites that use products illegally with no concern to the copyright holder. We get permission from everyone. My brother (Rob Schmelzer, Worldprints.com co-founder and executive vice president) spent 10

years at National Geographic doing contracts and copyrights, so we know what we’re doing.

BCBR: What’s your opinion about the amount of financing that’s available for startups now?

Schmelzer: It’s definitely there, but you have to have the right stuff to get it. Venture capitalists are counting on you having the experience that’s necessary. You need drive, vision and to like what you’re doing. If you’re not passionate about it, stop now and go get a job. Everyone thinks that if you have a computer, you can launch a Web site, and that’s just not true. You can’t have a slow site or a graphically poor site. You also need a great infrastructure and a great team of people.

BCBR: What advice do you offer startups?

Schmelzer: If you’re not that experienced with the Internet and you want to get into the business, make sure you get the right venture capitalists who have the experience you lack. Write an executive summary as opposed to a full-blown business plan, and take it to them. Let them figure out the rest of your plan. There are venture capitalists with years of experience who can tell you if you’re barking up the wrong tree. You also need to pick the right board members. Typically your investors will want to be on your board. We continue to rely heavily on our board and on our advisors. That’s the difference between raising smart money as opposed to raising dumb money.

BCBR: You seem to have a pretty extensive background in this industry. How did you get started?

Schmelzer: My partner Jon Gordon (Worldprints.com founder and CEO) and I have been together for 12 years. We founded Global Entertainment Systems and developed video compression technology that was later licensed to Scientific Atlanta. We also founded SkyConnect, an advertising distribution and insertion company that was recently acquired by nCUBE, a company owned by Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle. In addition, we founded VR-1, the largest developer of games for the Net. My original background, however, is in music. It was the age of digital drum machines, and I had to figure out how computers worked to use them.