Contestant's Case to Win

My company publishes online media for handweavers. I’m an example of how passion and audacity can triumph over inexperience and lack of funds.

Three years ago, on a whim, I started WeaveCast, a podcast for handweavers. I had never done audio production, but was willing to learn. To my surprise, it quickly attracted an audience of dedicated listeners. When grant funding fell through, they came across with donations to cover server fees and recording equipment.

Based on that success, I decided to publish an online magazine for weavers. At that point I had only a couple of thousand dollars in donations, no experience as an editor, had never done professional photography, had never managed a team of writers, and had never sold advertising.

But I was willing to learn. After six months of intensive research and planning, I launched WeaveZine. In its first year it has an audience of 10,000 and has turned a profit. As we go into the second year, I’ve added to my staff and am expanding my website into a multi-media social network.