Stories about: ePod

Stevedoring giant Patrick Corporation saw through the hype surrounding short message service (SMS) and GPRS (general packet radio services) when choosing its new multimillion dollar communications infrastructure, preferring to stay with the tried and tested.

In an effort to shore up new advertising revenue in a low-tide market, Spanish and Portuguese-language Internet portal StarMedia Networks Inc. announced this week that it is offering advertisers a new technology that promises to increase click-through rates by making ads more interactive, and less invasive, to users.

To say Geoff Clendenning is entrepreneurial by nature -- as his corporate biography does -- really is an understatement. With three start-up companies already under his belt, the youthful co-founder and CEO of EPod Corp. is garnering clients and venture capital as he rapidly builds up his on-line marketing business.

I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say when most people think of Internet start-ups they usually visualize fresh-faced twenty- or thirtysomethings running the show. Photos of young dot-com CEOs continually grace the pages of Canada's business magazines and dailies. In fact, you'll find such a photo as part of our profile of Geoff Clendenning, the youthful CEO of EPod Corp. Clendenning started down the entrepreneurial path as soon as he left university, founding a couple of technology start-ups before meeting fellow ePod co-founder Jeff Ungar, a computer whiz who graduated from the University of Waterloo at the age of 19.

A job at a pre-IPO startup company used to be the hottest ticket in the high-tech industry. Now qualified job candidates are passing on dot-com opportunities in favor of more established technology companies that offer a stable work environment, regular hours, and a path to professional development.

Today's CTO, perhaps more than any other top executive, needs a keen sense of balance. The emerging role comes with a unique mission to drive new business opportunities through the creative use of technology. This means finding the right balance between the Internet's rewards and business risks.