Back in 1999, I met Mark Goldston through Jennifer Fonstad. We became friends instantly. Mark saw something most people missed: America Online was only going after the high-end user. The low-end of internet access was completely ignored. He called it "Joe Sixpack." I called it a massive opportunity. Mark joined NetZero as CEO and Chairman. The vision was free internet access in return for a toolbar with ads every 30 seconds. The cost of telecom to keep users online would be offset by ad revenue. They took the company public with the third largest IPO of 1999. Raised $194 million and by market close, NetZero was worth $3.8 billion. The Nasdaq bubble burst dropped the market cap to $37 million. But… They acquired their arch rival Juno Online and created United Online in September 2001. A major financial newspaper called the merger “two skunks trying to breed a mink.” The skunks became the top small cap stock on Nasdaq in 2002 and 2003. They went from $1.84 to $15.31 in just over a year. $36.67 a year after that. United Online generated a cumulative $1.65 billion in EBITDA, returned $568 million to investors in cash dividends, and acquired 15 companies. That newspaper was right. Mark bred a mink.(Tim Draper)