William (Bill) Allen Mobley Jr. (1963 - ) is a technology entrepreneur who has founded numerous technology ventures in various fields. Born in Pahokee, FL in 1963, Mobley graduated from the University of Florida in 1984 with a Business degree in International Business Development and Marketing and started work in the perishable goods business.

Mr. Mobley has extensive experience in global trade and marketing, working with such brands as Ryder, Dole, Chiquita, NFL, NBA, MLB, Citibank, PepsiCo, and numerous perishable importers globally. Prior to WCO, Mr. Mobley held positions with Intermarket Services (Southeast Banks Export Trading Company), Wm. A. Mobley & Associates and Entrepreneurial Systems, Inc. of Miami specializing in the trade of perishable commodities from Latin America and Europe.

Past Endeavors

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World Commerce Online (1993 - 1999)

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Mobley's first online endeavor was World Commerce Online. One of the first global ecommerce trading systems, World Commerce Online was a trade intermediary system for the floral, produce, and livestock trades. It was created using WorldGroup (MajorBBS) lock and key architecture and the original X.25 network, which was used by the military and was the platform that AOL was created on.

World Commerce Online went on to acquire such competitors as ProduceOnline.com[1] and FlowersAuction.com[2], growing to over 200+ employees and offices in 5 countries[3]. Mr. Mobley transitioned out of company management at a point where WCO stock traded at over $28.00 per share, prior to its sell-off to GE Global Exchange Services, I2 Technologies, and Atlanta Bremen.[4]

Global Intertainment Group (1996 - 1998)

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Mobley also created Global Intertainment Group, a project managed by a second group of developers under Mobley's supervision. During the growth of World Commerce Online, Mobley traveled to Holland on numerous occasions for meetings with major floral importers. On his business trips to Holland, he met the owners of the world famous "Red Light District" and signed agreements to distribute their content to web sites worldwide.

Global Intertainment was a key service provider that came to deliver an online representation of the Red Light District and was distributed by over 55,000 webmasters globally. Global Intertainment Group (aka Club Casa Rosso) received numerous awards from trade publications and is recognized in numerous ecommerce circles as having been one of 5-6 companies that was an anchor of the early days of the online adult industry.

When his long time friend and partner, Andy Enfeld, was suddenly killed in a fatal auto accident in 1997, Mobley decided to discontinue services to the adult industry, and instead sought to pursue a traditional media career with former employees from World Commerce Online and Global Intertainment.

ImageCafe.com (1998 - 1999)

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ImageCafe.com was a pioneering first-generation homepage builder. Image Café generated 500 e-commerce web sites per day at www.imagecafe.com. Image Cafe was built upon previously developed multi-site builder logic used in Global Intertainment. It was redeveloped by Mobley's partner (and Image Café founder) Andre Forde and previous World Commerce Online employees as a DIY consumer web site building tool. Image Café was acquired by Network Solutions, LLC a VeriSign, Inc. company (NASDAQ: VRSN), in Nov. 1999 for $25 million dollars.[5] After assisting with early planning for Image Cafe, Mobley directed his attention to the Internet newcomer streaming video, and founded MegaMedia Networks.

MegaMedia Networks (1999 - 2001)

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MegaMedia Networks, Inc. was an immensely popular streaming video platform whose main site, MegaChannels.com, reached a top site ranking by traffic for males 18-34 in 2000, according to Neilsen Ratings, and was the number #1 media portal serving over 800K+ visitors a day only four months into the network’s launch. [6] [7]

MegaChannels drew some top talent as it grew. David Gust, former V.P. of Hard Rock Cafe International. Inc., and Paul Turcotte, former V.P. of Yahoo! Internet Life and the creator of the Yahoo! Internet Life Online Film Festival, were tapped to head netcaster Megachannels.com Inc,[8] and the company continued to gain market share with Gust as CEO and Turcotte as President.

Although it was the first the web property to host Time Warner, Miramax, Sony, and various film/music libraries, MegaChannels became a casualty of the “Internet bubble-burst” in 2000, when display advertising revenue slumped from record highs, but not before creating and proving the viability of online streaming broadcast as a business. The company’s public offering plans were disrupted by the mid-2000 implosion, and Mr. Mobley took it private, where he still controls the key software assets.

Personal Portals Online (2001 - 2004)

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Personal Portals Online was a website builder system targeting cottage industry merchants seeking a simple, low-cost means of setting up their online storefronts. Personal Portals Online also developed HotHomePages.com, a leading early social network that formed strategic partnerships with companies such as NetZero and Global Switch [9]and which proved popular internationally. Personal Portals Online merged with One Ten Media in December of 2005[10] went on to launch a number of new web 2.0 products under the corporate brand Web2 Corp.[11]

Web2 Corp (2005 - 2008)

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Web2 Corp was a holding company for several subsidiaries devoted to duplicating and exploiting new possibilities of proven Internet business models. The overarching purpose of Web2 Corp was to create a sound platform of products that built upon one another to give Mobley and his clients a broad base of “white-labeled” products that could be used to make the most of the rapidly-growing user base of the Internet.

Products included:

Nextelligence, Inc. (2000 - present)

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Nextelligence, Inc. is a privately-held business creation and incubation firm that has fostered development of numerous companies, including several listed above. Other notable Nextelligence products include:

  • BroadcastBid, an online auctions platform for broadcast media, giving them a robust, customizable platform to sell half-off certificates, dream vacation packages, and more.
  • The Prize Factory, a white label technology service that creates online promotions for promotions risk coverage companies to re-sell. The Prize Factory's promotions have been used by brands such as Pizza Hut, Jelly Belly, Jackson-Hewitt, Meineke, Logitech, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Celestial Seasonings.
  • iDemption, a secure online document delivery system that functions in a manner similar to CouponStar or Coupons.com, but which does not require a software download to prevent fraudulent document re-prints. IDemption also provides complete printing and redemption tracking of all documents, coupons, and certificates for marketing research.

As Mr. Mobley’s private think tank, Nextelligence provides the administrative and management support for start-up concepts and arranges proper capitalization for market development.

References

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  1. ^ [1], World Commerce Online acquires Produce Online (justfood.com)
  2. ^ [2], World Commerce Online Picks FlowerAuction.com (internetnews.com)
  3. ^ [3], Dole Selects World Commerce Online
  4. ^ [4], i2 and World Commerce Online Announce Integrated Solutions Alliance
  5. ^ [5], Network Solutions Signs Agreement to Acquire ImageCafe.com, Will Offer Professionally Designed Web Sites for Small Businesses
  6. ^ [6], MegaChannels.com is Recognized as a ``Top 10 Most Popular Web Site With an Unprecedented 91.6% Male Audience
  7. ^ [7], MegaMedia Networks Inc.: MegaChannels.com BroadcastsGlobal New Year's Eve Party and Y2K Webcast
  8. ^ [8], Megachannels taps 2: Gust tapped CEO, Turcotte named prexy
  9. ^ [9], HotHomepages, Global Switch Announce Partnership
  10. ^ [10], 110 Media Group, Inc. Acquires Global Portals Online
  11. ^ [11], 110 Media Group (ONTN) Is Now Web2 Corp. (WBTO)