By Jared Meyer
jared@newsroom.byu.edu
Start-up Internet companies are notorious for disappearing overnight, and those that stick around might go months before they ever see a profit.
But Josh Steimle and three other BYU students, who recently launched their Internet company Mindwire Interactive, are determined to stick around for a long time.
Mindwire, a Web design company, made a profit after only one month of operation. Steimle, a graduate student at BYU from Arcadia, Calif., majoring in information systems management started the company from his apartment.
Mindwire builds Web sites for businesses.
'We want to corner the market to strategic e-business marketing,' Steimle said.
Steimle incorporated Mindwire in August and brought on Jeff Burningham, a communications studies major from Spokane, Wash., Jake Andreregg an economics major from Sandy, Utah and Josh Miller, an executive MBA student from San Diego.
Steimle and his partners recently moved Mindwire into its first office.
This office has quite a pedigree. It housed Novell, NuSkin and MyComputer.com when those local companies were just starting out.
'In two years we hope to be the biggest web developers in Utah.' Steimle said. 'We're trying to handle all the work we have right now, and we haven't even started advertising yet.'
Steimle said that most of the company's business comes from word of mouth and networking.
Steimle, Andreregg and Burningham are all neighbors and attend the same ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
'The success of the company relies on us being friends.' Andreregg said. 'Each one knows their role.'
Andreregg credits the success of Mindwire to a good product and good designers. Mindwire currently has eight employees.
One of the designers, Kyle Follett from Layton, Davis County, has been working from his basement for the last two months for Mindwire.
'It's nice to finally get into the office,' he said.
The four founders of Mindwire juggle going to school and running the business.
'My grades have slipped,' Andreregg said. 'Some things come down to sacrificing for potential.'