January 20, 2000

Ten Fast Facts

PAWGO.COM WHO: A privately held Internet startup launched this week by Craig and Todd Lawson. WHAT: Provides directories to Web sites designed specifically for users of hand-held devices. WHERE: West Seattle.

Fast Fact #1: Craig and Todd are brothers.

Comment: Craig, 39, is a Web-page designer and Internet consultant. Todd, 36, is an architect.

Fast Fact #2: They conceived pawgo.com last October.

Comment: "We were both using hand-held computers as organizers and started hearing more and more about how there was a need to begin connecting to the Internet with them," says Craig. "It just struck us that there is going to be a growing need ... to provide [directories] for them."

Craig and Todd Lawson

Comment: Most Web sites are designed for viewing on full-size monitors. But hand-held devices have tiny displays. The pictures and graphics featured on traditional pages don't fit well on hand-held screens.

Fast Fact #4: The number of sites designed specifically for hand-held users is slowly growing.

Comment: The problem can be finding them. Surfing the Web can generate "tons" of search results, says Lawson. Consequently, users of hand-held devices must scroll "on and on and on" to find what they want. pawgo.com's motto is, "It's a big world out there. Let us put it in the palm of your hand."

Fast Fact #5: pawgo.com features two distinct Internet portals to steer hand-held users to compatible sites.

Comment: Personal Anywhere Web (PAW) is a portal for users of hand-held computers. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is a portal for cell phone users.

Fast Fact #6: pawgo.com's home page asks users, "Why is this page so boring?"

Comment: That page as well as the PAW and WAP portals employ the kind of skeletal formats favored by users of hand-held devices. They display short bursts of text and no graphics except the company logo. pawgo.com's Desktop Center, which provides information on hand-held services and products, features traditional design.

Fast Fact #7: Access to pawgo.com is free.

Comment: "People ask if we're making money," says Lawson. "Like all good Internet companies, no, we're not. But we see huge potential." pawgo.com has competition, including Internet giant Yahoo!, but Lawson says his company has a fresh concept. Besides, says Lawson, "we don't have to capture that large a share of the market to start making money."

Fast Fact 8#: Industry sources estimate between 24 and 36 million people in the United States will access the Internet via hand-held devices by the year 2003.

Comment: "We see this as ... the next thing that takes the Internet by storm," says Lawson. Internet access has become a standard feature of newer cell phones since it's another way for wireless providers to sell air time. The Lawson brothers plan to earn revenue by selling advertising on their site and by partnering with manufacturers to distribute hand-held devices online.

Fast Fact 9#: pawgo.com's portals cover seven broad categories ranging from news to entertainment.

Comments: The portals include links to sites such as phone directories and map services that benefit people on the move -- which makes sense since mobility is the chief benefit of hand-held devices. "Think about things you might do in your car," Lawson says of the value of the portals.

Fast Fact 10#: pawgo.com has seven employees but only two investors -- Craig and Todd.

Comment: Both have kept their day jobs. However, they ultimately want to focus exclusively on pawgo.com and dream of maybe someday taking the company public. "We've talked about that as an objective, but there's no formal plan for it," says Lawson.

Previous columns:

• Ten Fast Facts, 01-13-2000
• Ten Fast Facts, 12-09-1999
• Ten Fast Facts, 12-02-1999
• Ten Fast Facts, 11-25-1999
• Ten Fast Facts, 11-18-1999
• Ten Fast Facts, 11-11-1999
• Ten Fast Facts, 10-28-1999