Marc Colando is a serial entrepreneur and the editor of TwiceFunded.com.
Startup 1.0
Interactive Planet, Inc. (IPI) was Marc’s first startup at the age of 23. IPI grew to become a significant contributor to the Web 1.0 landscape, and was responsible for:
- Developing functionality for Scientific-Atlanta’s first interactive cable TV set-top box
- Creating the first full-featured bank Web site on the Internet in 1995
- Launching 96Games.com, the most popular “unofficial” Olympics site of 1996
- Designing and building almost all of NationsBank.com, the Gomez #1-rated online banking site every year that IPI was agency of record
- Architecting the first online versions of Fannie Mae Desktop Originator and Desktop Underwriter, now industry-standard mortgage tools
- Launching RealEstate.com, later liquidated to Primedia who negotiated a sale to IAC
- Building the multimedia versions of The Process of Creativity for Coca-Cola
- Creating the brand and Website for VirtualBank, a multiple Inc. Fast 500 award recipient
- Developing the first online photo sharing site for Kodak, in conjunction with IBM
- Launching the inaugural Marines.com Web site, in conjunction with J. Walter Thompson
- Re-architecting the EarthLink home page and Web site used by millions of people daily
- Architecting & building most of the online banking still used on BankOfAmerica.com
IPI was profitable and self-funded from its inception in 1993 until investment from Bank of America Ventures of $8.3mm for 10% of the company. IPI switched from a focus on e-services to product development in late-2000, and created:
- Reverb.com® – A DRM-free, ad-enabled super-distribution platform for digital music
- Glue™ and ChannelCart™ – Patented aggregation technologies for e-commerce used by several Fortune 1000® companies
- POPSpot™ – A framework for micropayments and wireless content distribution
In 2006, Marc co-founded his “Startup 2.0” – TIOTI. Interactive Planet, Inc. continues to serve select clients and license intellectual property as ipi.net.