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THE GAMECOCK + Monday, November 19, 2001 mmmmmmmm mmmmm mtmmm/m 5 CONTACT US I—I h \/| I V THEY SAID IT I 1 \j B B /m BARRY HANNAH on voyeurism: It’s Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I I I k I V 11/ got a delicious quality, remote and Writeusatgamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com B B f B B .A m delicious. You can’t do any harm, . and it’s just like found art.” Justin Shearer, Jose DeCecco and Leslie Johnson clown around the office of Justinsane Design, photo by aubrey fogle Student-founded Internet company provides Web design, hosting, forums BY AUBREY FOGLE THE GAMECOCK Justinsane Design is an Internet business founded by Justin Shearer, senior sociology major. It’s a Web-page design company that makes use of USC’s incubator program, which provides student companies with office space, computers, faculty experience, research and other incubator resources, along with $1,000, for up to two years. Selected from 15 finalists, Justinsane Design was one of the first six companies the Incubator Advisory Committee chose, and it’s slated to be the first company to be graduated from the program since the incubator’s creation at the beginning of 2001. The design company’s employees, in addition to Shearer, include Jose DeCecco, Web designer and sophomore graphic design major, and Leslie Johnson, financial and * marketing advisor and sophomore marketing major. Johnson said his company does more than just design. “We also have this new software, ‘dotnet solutions,’ and for $29.95 a month, you can get unlimited use of easy-to-operate software, your own domain name and quality hosting. “If you wanted a Web page and you didn’t use this software, you’d have to pay $25 a month for hosting, $25 a year for your domain name, and if you wanted to get it designed, you’re looking at $10,000 to $20,000 for good quality, with databases and animation and everything.” Shearer added: “We also do e commerce, shopping carts, realty modules and forums. So, if a fraternity or sorority wanted to have its own forum, they can come to us.” “We offer all-encompassing Web solution,” she said. Shearer said the company isn’t doing much individual sales anymore. “We’re actually targeting associations and large corporations. We just partnered up with South Carolina’s largest ISP; they have a user base of ten or fifteen thousand. We’re also trying to partner up with student media and different media in small towns.” When asked how much income the company takes in, Johnson said, “We’ve only heen going since May; so it’s hard to say, but we’re doing well, and for a start-up company, we’re doing very well.” The incubator program has tremendously impacted Justinsane Design. Johnson said: “Joel Stevenson (the program’s director) is just wonderful. He’s not only a business mentor; he’s almost like an extra fatherly figure. Anything we need to know, if he doesn’t know the answer, he has about 5,000 names he could give you of people who will know the answer. “The $1,000 capitol they gave us to start up was a big help. The free incorporation that we got was a lifesaver; if you wanted to get a company incorporated, it would cost you at least $600 to $1,000 with attorney’s fees and filing fees and everything. “ The connections the incubator gives you is fantastic. The Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce is a supporter of the incubator - we only had to pay $100 to become a member of the chamber, where if we were just a regular company, we would have to pay at least $400 to join.” Shearer said the company would still be around without the incubator, but “it would have been a lot harder, and there would’ve been a lot more money out of our own pockets. It would definitely still be running out my house without the program.” The company is currently looking for a full-time salesperson and a full-time Web designer to be added by Christmas. Shearer said, “By May I’ll be able to work full time with them, and that will make things a lot easier for us since right now we’re all doing this mostly part-time with classes.” The company also , wants to set up a board of directors by February. “With the board we hope to raise $50,000 to $100,000.” “Our goal,” Johnson said, “is to basically become the first student company to graduate from the incubator program and to move out to much bigger and better things, like having an office where more than three people can sit.” Shearer said a drive for success is what makes or breaks a starting business, even in the incubator program. “It’s what you put into it. You still start from nothing, it just helps you out a little bit. You’ve got to have a passion for it. It’s like anything; if you don’t have a passion for it, it’s not going to succeed.” Johnson said there are some things potential applicants to the incubator program should be aware of: “Know how you’re going to make money, know exactly what you’re going to do, know who you’re going to sell it to, and how you’re going to sell it. If you don’t know those four things, it won’t even really matter how great your idea is.” THE CHARTS Top 10 Movies Figures are for the weekend of Nov. 17-19. MOVIE BOX OFFICE 1. Harry Potter $93.5 million 2. Monsters, Inc. $23 million 3. Shallow HaJ $12.7 million 4. Domestic$5.6 million 5. Heist $4.67 million 6. The One_$4.2 million 7. K-PAX $3.3 million 8. The Wash $3.0 million 9. Life as a House $2.73 million io. 13 Ghosts $2.19 million Top 10 Albums Figures are for the week of Nov. 6 13. title artist 1. Britney Britney Spears 2. Echoes - Best of... Pink Floyd 3. Invincible _ Michael Jackson 4. Escape Enrique Iglesias 5. A Day Without Rain Enya 6. The Great Depression DMX 7. The Hits - Chapter One BSB 8. Silver Side Up Nickelback 9. The Road Less... George Strait 10. Pain is Love Ja Rule The Strokes bring ’70s-style rock to Columbia BY WILLIAM MILLS THE GAMECOCK The ’70s rock style has made its way back into the mainstream and is inching its way toward Columbia. Every once in a while, Columbia gets a really big rock show, and, this month, it’s The Strokes. These five New Yorkers put the oomph back in rock and roll. Strong vocals, a simple beat and thick guitars are how the boys brought back the original rock sound, making The Strokes one of the most sought-after rock bands in the United States and England. Its debut album, Is This It?, was an immediate success, especially in the UK. The band was so loved in London, it signed with a British record label. The version of its debut album thp band released in England includes the song “New York City Cops,” which was removed from the version BMG released in the United States because of the events of Sept. 11. The group’s stardom began in England, where it was compared to the Velvet Underground and The Stooges. This comparison sets The Strokes on the shelf with other indie-rock legends. The group tries to steer clear of the overproduced steroid rock so frequently played on the radio. Many of those radio rockers have a lot going for them, such as fame and fortune, but can you dance to their music? The Strokes have a sound that makes it impossible for the audience not to dance. The group’s most powerful aspect, however, is the prevailing vocals. The scratchy raw vocals come from Julian Casablancas, singing with his mouth touching the microphone. It’s a wonder the American public has taken such a shine to these gritty rockers, whose style brings to mind ’70s punk, with tight blue jeans, T-shirts, suit jackets and long, shaggy hair. They’re quite a change from Limp Bizkit and Korn. The only reason to compare The Strokes with those rap-rockers is they all have videos on MTV. The Strokes, however, make one stipulation before agreeing to make a video — they must be allowed to play live so they’re not faking it. So, in the video, when band members knock things over, you can tell they’re really playing. That’s another thing that brings the group into the genre of raw rock and roll - it has a fun, vivacious, yet destructive stage presence. Could The Strokes’ instant fame revive the ‘70s rock scene? A large part of survival in the music industry is timing. This could be the time for vintage rock to make a massiVe comeback. Sold-out concerts and massive press coverage is the past, present and the near future for this rock powerhouse bent on simplicity. , ! The Strokes When: Sunday, Nov. 25 Where: The Elbow Room How much: $10 I Critically acclaimed rock’n’roll band The Strokes come to Columbia Nov. 25. photo special to the gamecock