It all started with a simple e-mail. Having seen an article about the resurgence of dot-com businesses, Reza Pourrabi sent the link to his friend, Ashburn resident Brian Patterson, with one question: "Do you have any ideas?"
While neither friend could think of any original ideas immediately, inspiration struck when Pourrabi was stuck at home for two months with a broken ankle. The 23-year-old was watching television when he saw a program involving amateur musicians.
"I thought, there needs to be a medium for musicians to showcase their talent," he said.
And just like that an idea was born.
Now, just eight months later, Pourrabi and Patterson, also 23, are preparing for the July 4 launch of Performster.com, a site where people can upload their own videos and participate in talent contests voted on by users from all over the world.
"We thought of it like a variety show, like you would see in high school," Patterson said.
SINCE THE two George Mason University graduates first came up with their idea, Performster.com has gone through several phases. Originally, they envisioned it as an online American Idol, Patterson said, but soon decided they did not want to limit themselves.
"It evolved into any type of competition," Patterson said. "We see it more as a competition platform for everyone."
Along with musicians, Patterson said he hopes to attract talents such as rappers, jugglers and magicians to the site.
"People want to be found," he said.
Patterson and Pourrabi hope to eventually expand into sponsored competitions, where, for example, a dog food company could present a competition for the best dog trick.
"That would also put the companies directly with the audience they are targeting," Patterson said.
Advertising will drive the site’s revenue, but both Patterson and Pourrabi want to make sure Performster stays user friendly while allowing them to create a successful company.
"We don’t want to just be the next new Web site; we want to be the next corporation," Pourrabi said. "What’s going to take us to the next level is the investors and the business-to-business model."
Pourrabi said he hopes Performster will expand to allow for companies and corporations to use Performster’s programming for their own video competitions.
"So if a company decided it wanted to run a promotion where people uploaded videos on their site, they would purchase the technology from Performster," he said.
While they already have a few investors, they are also still looking for other companies to invest.
"The reaction has been totally positive," Patterson said.
WHILE THE DUO’S goals for the site might seem tall, the two have been preparing for this journey for years.
"We always knew we wanted to do some sort of business together," Patterson said.
Patterson, originally from Virginia Beach, is in information technology and works as a program manager at Sallie Mae in Reston. In addition, Patterson has a unique perspective to understand the people who might upload their videos to Performster.
"I paid my way through college as a magician," he said. "I started by doing birthday parties when I was 12 or 13. So I am glad to be able to provide this outlet to others who are like me."
Arlington native Pourrabi, on the other hand, got his degree from GMU in business marketing and said his background has always been with multimedia advertising.
"I’ve been in tune with this [online] technology from an early age," he said.
In the weeks leading up to the launch, Pourrabi has been hard at work promoting the site, including putting together introduction videos with local actresses to explain Performster.
"Instead of words, we’re trying to appeal to our market through video," he said.
The twosome has also been running a blog to track Performster’s process and has been using MySpace, Facebook and other online forums to reach potential users.
"We think we have something to offer people in those forums and on those sites," Patterson said.
THAT SOMETHING is the chance for users to either entertain or be entertained, Pourrabi said.
"We’re really appealing to two sets of eyes," he said.
In addition to being able to vote or participate in each competition, Performster will offer incentives to users through blingPoints. Each time a user signs up, refers a friend, uploads a video or leaves a comment he/she will receive a certain number of blingPoints. The points can then be turned in for prizes.
"We want to reward our user base so they’re encouraged to stay on the site and to come back," Pourrabi said.
Winners of each contest will also receive prizes, anything from money to the opportunity to audition for a representative in their industry.
"At the end of the day we are just a talent Web site," Pourrabi said. "We want to be the medium people use, either advertising companies or aspiring artists."