Without Half.com, the auction giant eBay might be little more than an online antique mall, according to Half.com Co-General Managers Richard Clark and George Leimer.
Clark and Leimer shared their insights about the two online marketplaces and offered business advice to 50 students yesterday in a talk sponsored by the Wharton Entrepreneurial and Development Alliance.
The two co-managers encouraged the students present to pursue their own independent enterprises.
"Don't be thinking small, guys, and don't think you have to wait until after graduation," said Clark, adding that Wharton alumnus and Half.com founder Josh Kopelman ran an online homework assistance and reference service as an undergraduate.
At least one student plans to follow in those footsteps. Wharton senior Naokimi Ushiroda said he attended the talk because he "had a personal interest in developing a business similar to" Half.com.
Others simply came because they were interested in hearing about eBay.
"Everyone uses it, but not many people think about why it's successful," Wharton senior Jennifer Huang said.
WEDA member Daniel Kline, a Wharton sophomore, felt the speakers set a good example for students to follow.
"There's no better example of entrepreneurship than Half.com," he said.
The Web site was so successful that it attracted the attention of the then-emerging eBay.com.
Since buying Half.com four years ago, "eBay has evolved a lot, and they give [Half.com] a lot of credit," Clark said.
At that time, eBay was primarily a collectibles site without much of the functionality for buying and selling items that it has today, he said.
"We were a lot like them, but we did a lot of things better than them," Leimer added.
For example, listing items on eBay took 20 to 30 minutes, while users could offer books on Half.com by simply typing an ISBN, he said. Payment was also easier at Half.com, which accepted credit cards.
According to Leimer, eBay bought Half.com because they wanted some of these more user-friendly features and planned to make Half.com "the fixed-price version of eBay," he said.
According to Clark, eBay now claims a customer base of 87 million users and dominates the online auction market.
"Assuming it's legal ... there is nothing that you can't buy or sell on eBay," he said.
The acquisition of Half.com is not the only secret to eBay's success.
Clark praised eBay's emphasis on customer satisfaction as a strong selling point.
"I am blown away by the degree to which every decision starts with, 'How does this affect the customer?'" he said.
Clark also discussed the importance of hiring versatile employees.
"I'm a dumb accountant," he said, adding that he could not recall the last time he did actual accounting work. "You just gotta be able to wear a lot of hats."
