ENTREPRENEUR
OC METRO

CREATE A FAMILY WEBSITE
After Interchange went public last year, its president, Michael Sawtell, paused and looked around. He had money and a young family -- he was a father for the first time at age 47 -- and decided it was time to take stock of his life.

He said farewell to old friends at Interchange and decided to use his expertise in website design and construction to do something very different, something that would help him keep tabs on his two-year-old daughter as she grew up.

And www.thefamilypost.com was born.

No complex ad revenue streams here, no banner ads, no physical product to be delivered. Just websites for moms, dads, kids and pets. Picture albums, graduation videos, calendars listing lessons and appointments, and a message center for the grandparents.

"We create the Flash presentation for the front page, but the families do the rest," Sawtell says. "We provide a backend administration area where families can update their page, add or remove pictures, video or calendar items, or add messages to the message board.

Prices range from $199 to $424 depending on design, storage and features -- including video -- plus a monthly maintenance fee. Sawtell says that the company needs only three working days to prepare a site from the time the pictures are received as JPG files.

"We have a kiosk at Fashion Island in front of Macy's where we demonstrate sample websites," Sawtell says. "Sites purchased for the holidays will include a gift-boxed certificate, and families can see their sites already prepared by Christmas day." OCM