Biznespolska looks to profit by March
By : Roseanne Gerin
Biznespolska.pl President Thompson Barnhardt said last week that the eight-month-old Internet start-up would show a small profit in March but that he would continue to hold talks with several investors for an additional $1 million to finance the site's development.
Unlike other Polish online start-ups, which have found themselves in financial dire straits, Barnhardt said that Biznespolska would be profitable "by a hair" in March, although he declined to give a specific figure. He added that the Web site would reach "sustained profitability" by the fall.
Barnhardt also said he was holding talks with Polish, Western European and American investors for a $1 million injection. He declined to provide further details on how the money would be used. Barnhardt said in early February that he wanted an additional zl. 2 million ($488,000) investment by the spring after private investors in the United States had given Biznespolska a $300,000 injection.
Biznespolska, whose initial business plan was to provide users with original financial news content, dismissed six journalists in late January to cut costs. The remaining 15 employees now research and gather content from other sites, Barnhardt said.
With the elimination of original content, Biznespolska is focusing on organizing information technology conferences in Poland as well as producing an online and print version of an IT directory to generate revenue, said Barnhardt, who is the former president of New World Publishing, the owner of the Business Journal.
A local Internet industry professional, who is familiar with Biznespolska's operations, said the site dropped its original content because it was "too much like the Agoras of this world," referring to the content-heavy Agora.pl newspaper site. Biznespolska failed to offer a different selling point from what some other Polish portals have tried to do, he said.
The source, who requested anonymity, added it was unlikely that Biznespolska would be able to generate much revenue with its IT directory. "The market is too small for the directory business," he said. "The only way to survive is to cut costs."
