ITech startup of the month.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: Cutting Edge - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

GETAPPROVED.COM LLC, ENGLEWOOD

www.getapproved.com

FOUNDED: APRIL 2000

WEB SITE LAUNCHED:

JANUARY 2001 (SOFT LAUNCH).

OCTOBER 2001 (HARD LAUNCH)

INITIAL LIGHTBULB: Started under the umbrella of the Englewood-based Chotin Group Corp., an investment firm with interests in the mortgage and real-estate worlds, GetApproved.com is a 1997 idea born of a sister company, National Mortgage, a Web-based portal for credit products. "They shelved it. It was before its time," said Jim Parish, who helped shape the company as its chief operating officer but who left in October. "The Internet was not yet a proven ground for financial transactions."

By the time the concept was revisited in 2000, the dot-bomb had already reverberated through the high-tech industry. Steve Chotin, president of the Chotin Group and chairman and CEO of GetApproved, brought Parish, a sales and marketing executive, on board to get the idea off the drawing board and to compete with early similar movers like Lending Tree.com. Chotin and Parish believed a credit portal still had merit, provided that the structure was lean and mean. The company narrowed its focus to the 18-to-34 demographic, and built its site around relevant content. "Steven and I both have college-age kids," said Parish. "When you've got a 20-year-old asking for money every two weeks, you start looking for other options."

IN A NUTSHELL: College kids aren't exactly known for being wizards with credit. GetApproved offers online resources that cover the many financial-service decisions young people will make, from their first Visa to their second mortgage. With articles penned by writers from Barron's, Smart Money, and other brand-name publications, GetApproved has an archive of more than 400 stories, with new ones appearing weekly. After users bone up on their options, risks, and other facts pertaining to a given financial product, they can immediately jump to the Web site of one of GetApproved's many partners, which include US Bank, BankOne, and Bank of America. The site also allows users to keep their information secured online to use with any credit application, saving time and allowing for comparison-shopping.

GetApproved's business strategy is geared to "a value-add model"-with its expert advice being the value-add - as opposed to a reverse-auction model used by many...