Daft Media Ltd was founded in September 2001 by Brian and Eamonn Fallon in Dublin.
It was founded to commercialise the website Daft.ie which was started by Brian in 1997. It provides Web- based access to a large source of property ads.
Customers: Over 75,000 individual advertisers (each pays 2). Over 600 estate agents, six media buyers and more than 30 commercial advertisers.
Products: The Daft.ie website is the company's flagship product. It provides searchable lists of rooms, property to let, property for sale, office spaces and parking spaces all over Ireland. Landlords can find tenants in the tenant and roommate databases. The company will soon be launching online property management software.
Achievement: Daft.ie has grown organically to be one of the most-visited property websites in Ireland. Its growth is due to a mixture of clever viral marketing techniques, word-of-mouth advertising and a fundamental understanding of what the property seeker is looking for.
How did the business idea first come about? Daft.ie was conceived in 1997 as the internet boom was getting underway. The promoters saw the opportunity offered by Web-based advertising of property. They ran Daft on auto-pilot for the next three to four years while finishing their education, and are now commercialising the product.
How did the company identify its first customers to target? The original site only provided property to let in Dublin and targeted two audiences - landlords and estate agents. It cold-called both to get them to advertise online and advertised in colleges and online to get visitors. A special section aimed at those wishing to share property has been very popular. Late last year, it launched a property sales section.
What key piece of advice would you give to a start-up entrepreneur? "Just go for it, you have nothing to lose and it's much more fulfilling than a full-time job - regardless of whether you become a millionaire or not!"