By Will Sturgeon, 8 February 2006 16:00
NEWS
Alex Tew, one of the internet's youngest 'millionaires', has said he intends to take the innovation behind his phenomenally successful Million Dollar Homepage and replicate the success with a more credible, sustainable business model.
The Million Dollar Homepage started as gamble on the public's fascination with quirky websites and turned into a global phenomenon, making an unlikely celebrity of its founder.
Now Tew is turning his attention to creating something more long-term.
He told silicon.com: "The challenge really for me now is to find out how I can take the phenomenal success of the Million Dollar Homepage and replicate that in order to create a sustainable business model. I can't just do The Million Dollar Homepage 2."
Tew was attending the Second Chance Tuesday networking event in London (see picture gallery below) and said he'd already had a lot of interest from investors. And although he is keeping his cards close to his chest he said there are a number of ventures already in the planning stage.
And he understands they will have to be a lot more credible than The Million Dollar Homepage.
Tew said: "In order to get serious funding you have to come up with a real business plan."
Tew would only divulge the fact that his thoughts are entirely focused on the internet – a medium he believes is ripe for a second major boom, having barely started senior school when the first dot-com boom came along.
He said: "I kind of wish I was 10 years older. If I'd been around in 1996, 97, 98 I'd have been so excited. A lot of the best companies were founded then: Amazon, eBay, Google. Though I still believe there is so much more that can be done.
"Everybody says that everything that can be done with the internet has already been done but that's bollocks.
"In 10 years' time what is going to exist that doesn't exist now? You have to open your mind and you have to keep on having ideas and you have to persist with them and if you get knocked down you have to get up and go for it again."
Tew said he is aware of the dozens of websites looking to copy the successful format of The Million Dollar Homepage but said they'll have little success "because it's already been done".
He said: "That just shows how uninventive people are," adding that it mirrors the reasons why the dot-com bubble bursting was so much worse than it should have been as markets which could sustain one successful business model were often flooded with dozens of imitators looking to replicate it with no added-value of their own.
Inevitably, those jumping on the bandwagon failed and added to the dot-com death count. And Tew predicts a similar fate for the copy-cat 'homepage' sites.
Comments
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1. anonymous
I wonder why Alex Tew seems so negative towards other pixl sites? I mean he talks about ebay, amazon e.t.c.
They are thousands of auction sites about and if there was only 1 website of each kind there would only be a handfull of websites on the net.
My Pixel website http://www.2millionpixels.com is doing very well and there is definately a market for fellow pixel sites.
I know i never came up with the idea, OK Alex did but some get lucky, its a great idea but at least let other people have a chance!
2. Pascal
I wonder why Alex seems to be bitter about the copycat websites.. I made one in french http://www.MonPremierMillion.com and as far as I know that's something that his milliondollarhomepage doesn't do : care for other languages !
Plus the fact that his homepage is already full so nobody can buy pixels anymore. Me I'm lucky because I bought 600 pixels on the original milliondollarhomepage which point to my own pixelsite, so I'm ok, but if other people want to buy pixels what can they do since Alex doesn't want to do a milliondollarhomepage2 (which BTW would work for sure if Alex was doing it himself !)
Anyway, I hope those bitter comments of his don't reflect his real opinion toward pixelsite owners who have always been keen on congratulating him for his idea! Plus on his FAQ page he was saying that he really isn't bothered by this fact.
3. anonymous
A good story!
4. John
lol @ those two "me too" pixel site owners!
Alex had the initiative and it paid off for him. Doesn't sound like he's being bitter to me, he's just saying "It's been done" which is totally true.
Personally, I feel that the people launching other pixel sites lack the imagination and innovation that Alex has. To me, there's just something incredibly lame about copying someone else's idea. Just because it worked for Alex, doesn't mean it'll work for anyone else! He had the edge because his site was innovative. His was the only site doing what it did. Now there's thousands!
Anyone who knows anything about marketing knows that a good marketing idea is good for a certain life span. After that, it's old news. That's exactly what I think will happen here. The copycats will fall foul of a lack of interest and can never hope to duplicate the phenomenal success that Alex has had. Hats off to you Alex, mate. Top effort!
5. Ken
Cheers Alex. A great idea will have followers. I know I can't expect the same sucess in my site Profitwithpixelads.com but I think it's such a great idea and by the time I heard of it the auction for the last 1,000 had begun. Too late to get in, why not make a flash type site.
Thanks Alex and You should be proud.
6. www.EarthPixel.com
Why try to reinvent the wheel ! ...just make more interesting. ...We do things different - http://www.EarthPixel.com
7. Stephen Francis Brady
For a long time I wanted a website that would resemble an online version of the HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME. A place where famous and wanabee actors, models, singers etc could add a mark that would link to their online CV.
I just didnt know how to do it, then the milliondollarhomepage came along and finally I knew how I could create an online version of the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
thefamouspixels.com was born because Alex brought an idea to life. If the milliondollarhomepage never arrived I'm not sure if I would have came up with a site that could be classed as a wall of fame.
One Idea can help others. In my case it helped me create what I couldn't as I lack computer programming skills.
Since Alex is the founder of this pixel craze and since he is now a celebrity and also to thank him for helping my brain. I sent him an email before I launched the famous pixels inviting him to be the first to add a mark on the pixelwood wall of fame. Unfortunately, because of his backlog of emails, the email I sent Alex is probably still sitting in his inbox.
www.thefamouspixels.com now has it's first celabrity and I'm adding more entertainers to the wall daily, so the idea is working for me and traffic is rapidly increasing. Hopefully Alex will get to my email sometime soon and add his mark on a wall he helped bring to life.
Forever Grateful
Stephen Francis Brady
8. Joshua C.
Wonderful idea Alex!
I do not care how hard anyone tries...they will not be able to duplicate your success by merely copycatting your idea. I have seen several websites that are charging the same amount as yours, more than yours, and even cheaper than yours. None of these sites are hitting the charts in the same way! If one did wish to use your idea, then I think it would be best if they refined it! This might at least contribute something back to the Internet community. And, let me tell you that would not be an easy task to achieve. The idea is already superb!
9. Goldmine1.com
To make money on the web is easy....it just takes a few simple steps - all you need to do is take a exisitng idea and make it better, adding something a little extra, this technique has been going on since the start of time. As for all the other pixel sites just falling by the road side..I think not. WWW.GOLDMINE1.COM is filingl up faster than milliondollarhomepage did..it's a FACT!
10. Shaun Carter
I think Alex is letting his quick rise to fame make him big-headed. Who is he to say that pixel advertising is dead? While I don't own a pixel site, I do think there are some potential successors to Tew's page out there. Most notably, SmashMyViper.com. They are taking the pixel site concept one step further and creating CONTENT, which is important to get people coming back, something that Alex's page did not include. In my opinion, I think it is Alex who will be the one hit wonder. We'll just have to wait and see what his next move is.
11. Kortvelyesi Szabolcs
I am happy for all of you who got lucky with the selling pixels idea. Since i am the creator of selling pixels and i earned zero with my own idea, with this unselfish attitude i wish you can create the future of pixels.
I published the story myself on
www.milliondollarnotebook.tk
12. Kortvelyesi
Do you publish stories sometimes or you are sleeping?
13. George
More like 1000's of copycats! Most haven't made a penny but like with any good idea there's always a market for cheaper imitations! Check out:
RentPixelAds.com
ThePixelWars.com
SexyPixelHomepage.com
14. Robert Haastrup-Timmi
I think its a bit rich to all of a sudden call the death of what could become a flourishing industry. Of course there should be more creativity, and that will emege over time e.g www.vogliamo.com. After all Google copied overture in pay per click and look at where they are today!
15. anonymous
The craze is over. The first site is the one to get all the major press, esp the hot backlinks. Now MDHP is a PR7 in Google. None of the others will ever get close to that. And that's the value that's now passed on to the advertisers that are there. Buying pixels elsewhere just seems silly now, because a low PR number is no good. And who's really gonna sit and surf dots? Seriously. Where's the value now?
16. Pixels1.com
Alex's site is a wonderful part of internet history, and he fully deserves all the credit (and money) for his original (if all be it crazy) idea!
For any of the copy-cat sites out there to succeed, this may prove to be a little bit difficult for them, that is, unless they bought pixels on milliondollarhomepage.com guarantying traffic to their site. If they didn't then they will find generating future visitors may be a bit of a struggle.
Luckily for us, at Pixels1.com we have now managed to upload an image to Alex’s homepage, down the right hand side! (3rd March 2006). Hopefully we will now see a ten fold increase in our traffic as a result of this!
We have tried to make the Pixels1 website, the most search engine friendly of all the pixel sites. We have split our pixel lists into several pages, reducing the number of out going links on each page, this should result in improved links to customers’ sites. We are also acheiving several top 10 listings on the major search engines.
Good luck to all, keep the ideas flowing!
17. Bob Roberts
I agree totally with you. That's why all the cars on the Planet are Ford's. There are no other brands.
Or to make that point clearer to you: Guido da Vigevano - he is widely credited with the FIRST car and of course we are all driving Guido da Vigevano 4x4's aren't we?
Bob
www.bobsmilliondollargamble.com/ (well, why not?)
18. Bob Roberts
Pascal as much as I hate to say this to a French man; "absolument" (and I love your site http://www.monpremiermillion.com/).
If Mr Tew was so smart as to dictate to what will and what will not be successful, he would have been so smart as to realize that $1m from 3000 customers is a bit of a failure when he had 2 million visitors per week. That's 'bollocks'.
Love me hate me. I am Bob.
http://www.bobsmilliondollargamble.com/
19. Bob Roberts
I just read the first line of your comment and I'm going to buy some of your pixels simply as a matter of principal.
Yours was another wise retort to who is nothing more than a very 'above his station' lucky school boy.
And just for the record I would have treated such criticisms as mine as jealousy 4 months ago, that is until the true picture is beginning to emerge.
I am Bob
20. Rubert le Bear
"Hopefully we will now see a ten fold increase in our traffic as a result of this! "
Wake up and smell the coffee Liam.
21. stigzy
Wow from those comments made, anyone would think it came from the mouth of crazed Sir Alan Sugar. Perhaps clear evidence that with money & small fame comes attitude & bitterness. I don't have a pixel website of my own, but I praise those that do. Sure, it's not their own idea and to some extent I do agree that these copy cat websites are lame & do look pretty much identical to Sir Alex's!
However! My question is, what's wrong with competition? You can't just have one supermarket, one car manufacturer, one mobile phone company, one charity, one pixel page. Just because its been done once, doesn't mean it can't be done again. Infact the word 'can't' is only used by people who they themselves lack confidence.
Though on that note - personally if I was set a challenge to advertise a website I would advertise on one that's going to be around for a long time. I don't see how it's possible now all the pixels have been sold that the website is going to continue to attract new visitors ? The only attractive content up there are the blogs!
22. Trey Treeful
I have to agree with the other pixel site owners. Alex was the first, and it was brilliant, but there's plenty of room for more. Pixel advertising continues to evolve. The future of pixel pages is in niche advertising, pixel sites that cater to specific markets and that require yearly renewals so that sites remain current and new sites may join. This will last just as long as all other websites on the internet. It's the new era in online advertinsing. Besides, I'm not trying to make a million dollars with www.communityfundspot.com, I'm trying to help nonprofits and I'm giving money to bloggers. It's about community. Why be selfish?
23. anonymous
Interesting article...i was expecting a little more insight about the type of thing (not what) he might go for next.
Are pixel sites dead? Yes and no. In their current format the craze will soon fade, but the idea can always be expanded upon. I'd love to see someone like Google do a similar thing - leasing out limited ad space (google pixel directory lol) - imagine the competition for that!
It remains to be seen whether Alex will follow up on his success or be a one hit wonder. He has the advantage of "followers" now who would be willing to invest in his future ideas, but its one starting a short-lived craze, quite another to step it up and create a sustainable business model.
Good luck to him though!
24. anonymous
Its funny how everyone whos lucky is sucsessful isnt it
25. Herbert sapae
It's amazing , the bashing little Alex Tew is getting with his not-so-thought-out comments.
Simple question; how many of you could think of a business idea at the age of 17, then employ you elder brother and mother who are supposed to be more experienced than you?
Let's just credit the boy with his fantastic idea. If you copy and it works for you, well and good. I personally was so inspired, i started my own company and i'm not selling pixels.