PORTALS
In 1996, Rufus Griscom and Genevieve Field were just another twentysomething Manhattan couple with low-paying jobs and a fascination with sex. So the duo started Nerve (www.nerve.com), a brainy online magazine devoted to "literate smut," landing writers such as William Vollmann and Naomi Wolf. But like a lot of content sites, it lacked a certain something - namely substantial revenue.
A lot has happened since those heady days. For one, Griscom and Field are no longer a couple, though their business relationship remains intact. (He's CEO and editor in chief; she's president and editorial director.) For another, advertisers have become more accepting of sex in mainstream publications - pick up any recent issue of Maxim, Details, or Gear (and then take a cold shower). And Salon.com's blanket coverage of sex has given new meaning to the term "sticky site."
In response, this fall Griscom and Field are launching NerveCenter, a portal offering personals, free email, homepages, and suggestive greeting cards to all comers. Paying subscribers will have access to the especially risqué photo archive and can join high-minded chats on Nerve columns like "This Week in Sex" and "Jack's Naughty Bits."
Nerve's also relaunching its ecommerce site, the Nerve Boutique, which sells T-shirts, underwear, and pajamas. And Griscom is hoping to close a $10 million round of venture financing to fund marketing and international expansion.
As Griscom and Field oversee the repositioning of their site, they're also getting used to sharing an office but not a bed. The breakup, Griscom says, "has made my work slightly more relevant to my life."
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