It's easy to set up a retail site on the Web. But it's becoming darn-near impossible to create a brand to rival the likes of Amazon without US$1 billion in cash. So Exit23b will rely on the next best thing: stock.
The startup Web retailer is offering 10 chances to win 10,000 shares of its pre-IPO stock to viewers who visit its site, before it officially launches in March.
Right now, its site is under construction -- just a page that vaguely describes the company as a "source for electronics, interactive games, music & video," and a form to enter the content.
Each visit is a chance to win. Plus, players get more chances if they refer the site to a friend. The hope is, the resulting email campaign will spread the word about the site without a dime spent on traditional advertising.
"It's especially cheap since they're giving away nothing of value," said Jim Nail, an analyst at Forrester Research. "A pre-IPO share has zero value. The fastest a company can have an IPO is 18 months, and in this Internet world a lot can happen in 18 months."
It's a gimmick Internet users have seen before. Last year the online travel planner Travelzoo.com offered free shares of its pre-IPO stock to visitors. But there's no IPO on the near horizon for the company.
Nail says it's a no-lose proposition, even if the ploy doesn't generate buzz. "But I would absolutely not recommend this to a respectable company trying to build its brand."
