The Cdnow Story: Rags to Riches on the Internet [Paperback]

Jason Olim (Author), Matthew Olim (Author), Peter Kent (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0966103262 | ISBN-13: 978-0966103267 | Publication Date: January 1999

Learn how CDnow founders Jason Olim and Matthew Olim turned a small investment into a big business on the Internet, beating MCI, Blockbuster and Tower Records. Readers will also learn the tricks of the trade from these two successful Internet entrepreneurs, and discover how to apply the techniques to their own businesses.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Top Floor Pub (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966103262
• ISBN-13: 978-0966103267
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,686,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kids, don't try this at home....unless you read this first., February 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cdnow Story: Rags to Riches on the Internet (Paperback)

Jason and Matthew Olim, along with veteran Internet writer Peter Kent, have done a marvelous job of documenting the meteoric rise of the Internet's number one online music service. The CDNow Story takes the reader from the conceptualization stage, through the rocky startup, into the current stabilization and growth phase, and finishes with a look to the future. While this story chronicles a music-oriented business, parallels can be drawn to just about any business or industry.

The CDNow Story begins just five years ago with an idea that Jason Olim had about starting a music distribution business online. Joined by childhood and college friends, as well as his twin brother Matthew, this unlikely group gave birth to CDNow in the basement of their parents' home. Using a cobbled together collection of computers and networking hardware, they built the initial iteration of the CDNow system. Not only were they met with a challenge of putting together the hardware, but also the software that goes along with such an endeavor. This was years before your average computer store even had a shelf full of Internet books. Most of what they used as part of their system, was written by either one of the brothers, or one of the band of friends that followed the Olims. Add to the rest of the success is the supportive parents, often maxing out their credit cards to support the CDNow corporation.

Once the Olims had their prototype system up and functioning, the unanticipated growth presented very interesting problems. Moving from the basement to a less than suitable office, these two novice entrepreneurs continued to move forward, taking on a tremendously steep learning curve along the way. Many lessons were learned the hard way, from the basic facts that it takes money to make money...to the fact that there's a time and a place for a ponytail and sneakers in big business. Meeting with venture capitalists is one of those places where trips to the barber shop and shoeshine center make sense. The lessons learned might have been painful and sometimes embarrassing, but the brothers' Olim were able to find the expertise they lacked in order to make the business self sustaining. Like Ronald Reagan, these young men surrounded themselves with the expertise they would need to go forth and slay dragons, real or imagined.

The CDNow Story preaches very sound Internet commerce principles. These principles go to the heart of another book by Peter Kent, Poor Richard's Web Site. The key concept covered champions the merit of providing Internet Web Surfers exceptional content and a reason to return to the site. It fights the notion that a cool website will bring in lots of money and surfers. The truth of the matter is that there are still many web surfers out there still using 56K or slower modems...and they are not willing to wait the length of time many web sites take to load. Due to current downloading bandwidth restrictions, the bottom line answer is that content will out perform "cool" any time on the Web.

Towards the end of the book where the tone of the story goes from historical to projecting into the future, I began to get a little bit scared. This is where the average reader might be tempted to go out and start something on the Internet, just for the sake of doing it. The discussions of the kind of profits businesses can handle are deceptively alluring. The book goes on to warn people that the profits of those businesses will be astonishing, while the losses will be horrendous.

I think that anyone reading this book will learn a great deal about what a business might want to consider when setting up shop on the information superhighway, but there are many twists, curves, and stretches along this road that are definitely negotiated at a safe speed. An enjoyable and informative book, the CDNow Story should definitely make your Internet reading list. Like most things though, it might be good to keep this in mind: Kids, don't try this at home. These are professionals!

A postscript added by Peter Kent sets an impressive hook with a reader. This much-shortened outline of Kent's recent work, Poor Richard's Web Site: Geek-Free, Commonsense Advice on Building a Low-Cost Web Site is an excellent quick reference guide for any potential Internet entrepreneur. Poor Richard's Web Site is a must read for any entrepreneur interested in getting their product, company or image on the World Wide Web.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating story of an idea turning into a business., June 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cdnow Story: Rags to Riches on the Internet (Paperback)

If you want to understand what's involved with starting an internet business from scratch, this book will provide a detailed look at how CDnow became successful, despite humble beginnings. The story of Jason and Matthew Olim's business, from concept to profitable operation, is fascinating, and instructive for entrepreneurs and corporate types alike. With the able guiding hand of Peter Kent (the journalist/author) this book is well-written and easy to read. I'd recommend it highly.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant insight into starting up an online business, December 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cdnow Story: Rags to Riches on the Internet (Paperback)

I found the CDnow Story facinating. It told the story of how two young men followed a dream to develop a highly successful and innovative business with virtually nothing but their instinct and dedication. They were the true pioneers of online shopping, which spurred on many other online shopping enterprises. The Olim brothers had a fantastic intuition about the powers of the Internet, and created a business that many have attempted to follow.