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RagingBull.com

Bill Martin, Greg Wright, and Rusty Szurek: partners in RagingBull.com. 

(Photo by Carol Van Doren, courtesy of Break Time Magazine)

Retire by the time you're 21! Impossible! If you think so, you should meet Bill, Greg, and Rusty, the three guys behind RagingBull.com. No, they're not replacements for Michael Jordan, they're the geniuses behind the hottest financial message board online. They're all 21, but none of them have any intention of retiring. Heck, they're just getting started! 

Raging Bull started in August 1997 when Bill and Greg were home from college in Northern New Jersey working at a golf course. Interested in investing and the markets, both had spent a good amount of time on the Internet looking at financial information. They knew the Internet offered a great deal of opportunity and they wanted to figure out how to become a part of it. After kicking around hundreds of ideas, they finally settled on Raging Bull, where you can read messages, leave messages, and even tell jokes. They've also provided free e-mail, free quotes, and a portfolio service. 

The whole idea behind RagingBull.com is to give investors a place where they can research and exchange ideas about companies they are interested in. Unfortunately, according to Rusty, not all investors are taking advantage of the tremendous opportunity the Internet provides to do their homework before they invest. "Investing," says Rusty "is supposed to be something you work hard at. I've had people come up to me and say 'wow, this is easy, look at how much money I've made and I didn't have to do a thing.' That is not the way investing is supposed to work. That can't last." Raging Bull offers investors a place where they can get research and comments from professional writers and analysts as well as comments and more from other interested parties. 

Rusty joined in February 1998. Together, the three spent virtually every waking minute of that summer revamping and refining Raging Bull. By the end of the summer, the trio had offers on the table from giants like Lycos and Infoseek. Although the money was really tempting, the Bulls decided to pass. It was, after all, their company and they didn't want to give up control. They decided to return to school for their junior year and work on the site from there. Then lightning struck. 

Enter a company named CMGi, an Internet/high tech investment company that had made a number of very successful investments in such big time players as Geocities and Lycos. David Wetherell, the company's chairman, stumbled across the site while he was surfing one evening. He wanted to see the Bulls' business plan. The trio didn't have one, so they spent all night writing one. That Friday, they got word that Mr. Wetherell wanted to meet them the following Monday. Bill was the lucky one chosen to go, and he had no idea what to expect. After studying up on CMGi all weekend, he went into the meeting still unsure. 

After discussing the business and their plan, Mr. Wetherell told Bill he wasn't sure it would make a good fit. CMGi only liked to invest in companies that could be doing over $50 million a year in revenues within 5 years, and he wasn't sure about Raging Bull. Bill was intimidated but he felt like he was being tested. He was very confident in himself, his friends, and their company, and said so. Then he explained why. At the conclusion of the 45-minute meeting, Mr. Wetherell was convinced and CMGi was in. Best of all, Bill, Greg, and Rusty got to keep majority ownership and control of the company. CMGi brought more than just money to the table (it's a number between $1 million and $3 million, you do the math), they brought contacts in the industry and experience in the rapidly changing Internet marketplace. This was the deal they were looking for, and they jumped on it.

Well, what about Bill, Greg, and Rusty? Did they wake up one morning, look in the mirror, and realize they were entrepreneurs? Not even close! These guys have been using their computers to make money since they started wearing pajamas. Check out some of their stats:

	Bill Martin	Greg Wright	Rusty Szurek
Age	21	21	21
Hometown	Freehold, NJ	Cream Ridge, NJ	Detroit, MI
College	Univ. of Virginia	Rutgers	Univ. of Virginia
First Computer	286 PC	Texas Instruments PC	Apple II
When	8 or 9 years old	5 or 6 years old	9 years old
First Investment	20 shares in Hershey a week after the market crashed in 1987	$50 US Savings Bond	Delva Diagnostics, a $1 stock he read about on a computer bulletin board
When	9 years old	9 years old	19 years old
	It was between Hershey & Heinz. I didn't know much about them, but I knew that I used a lot of their products.	Doesn't even know where the bond is now.	It went up 40% the next week. I ended up eventually selling for a 55% loss. It was a learning experience.
Early Jobs	Sold Christmas trees early in high school. Caddied at the golf course in high school and college	Mowed lawns and did yard work in neighborhood. Worked at golf course in high school and college.	Mowed lawns and was a high school soccer referee. Caddied at a golf course during summer after his first year of college.

What is the key to Raging Bull's success? "We worked hard," says Greg. As is often the case, success is made out of opportunity and hard work. These guys were sharp enough to see that the Internet offered tremendous opportunities, and they were confident that they could put together a site that a lot of people would find useful. 

What is the biggest threat to Raging Bull? "The Internet itself," says Rusty. "There is nothing stopping some other young person with a good idea and a computer from creating something that we can't even think of right now." The Bulls know they have to keep creating new and creative ideas to keep going strong, and they plan to do just that. They guys will soon be announcing a number of enhancements to the site over the coming months. Whatever they do, it should be well worth watching. 

What would the Bulls say to a young person who is thinking about starting his or her own business, or investing in the market?

Greg says, "Don't waste time. Go ahead and do something, and enjoy whatever you are doing."

Rusty says, "Get on the Internet. Start with 10Qs or 10Ks (these are financial filings for publicly traded companies) from Amazon and lots of other successful companies. Learn how businesses become successful. Once you know how others became successful and you have an idea of your own, act on it, you can't lose. Even if the business doesn't succeed, the education you get in just trying is well worth the effort."

Bill says, "Just do it. Just take the initiative and go out and do it. Anyone can."