SimplySocial's global launch: entrepreneurs harness social media for business.

• Author: Gallion, Mari
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: Telecom & Technology - Cover story

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The ubiquitous nature of social media has made it a juggernaut in the realm of business promotion. With a reported 750 million unique monthly visitors on Facebook, 250 million on Twitter, and 110 million on LinkedIn, what was once touted as an easy way to keep in touch with far-flung relatives and college pals has become the proverbial "low-hanging fruit" for businesses both big and small who wish to reach a large audience.

But as many a social media user can attest, the pervasiveness of social media makes it a double-edged sword: If used properly, sites like Facebook and Twitter can help a business or an individual build social authority, establishing them as experts in their fields. Used carelessly, however, an off-the-cuff tweet blurted in a moment of frustration can amount to political suicide, a humorous photo can destroy jobs and cyber-friendships and the over-posting of useless or personal information on a Facebook business page can cause a fan to "unlike" your page, stunting your potential to reach many customers through that one connection.

Despite the inherent risks of using social media, today's businesspeople cannot deny its merit--but many business professionals are just too busy with deliverables, or they specialize in aspects of business outside of communication, or as many will freely admit, frankly "don't get" how to maximize their presence through social media. After all, one can be the best interior designer in town (for example), and can compromise their professional reputation by using the wrong homophone (writing "witch" when they meant to write "which"). One doesn't need to be a linguist in order to decorate a room, but mistakes like these can compromise credibility in the eyes of potential clients. Furthermore, what is an interior designer going to say? "I got another contract today." "I went to Taco King for lunch." Is that really going to maximize exposure, or will it bore an audience to death? And who can help with this? Who specializes in social media?

Enter the founding team of SimplySocial (gosimplysocial.com): Tyler Arnold, chief executive officer, from Anchorage; Jerone Erne, chief operating officer, from Zeewolde, Netherlands; and Valentin Bora, chief technology of ricer, from Timisoara, Romania. Their apparent talents and innovation have attracted the attention--and the investment--of 10 investors, including Nerland Agency CEO Rick Nerland, Swalling & Associates founder Chris Swalling, Wedbush Securities regional manager Allan Johnston and MicroCredit Enterprises guarantor and board member Eric McCallum.

It's easy to see why these young entrepreneurs have been well-received by the business community: All three men are mature, enthusiastic, articulate, knowledgeable and admit that many of their business decisions have been intuitive in nature, prompting them to take the kinds of risks that would seem daunting to those who have gambled and lost. They have each chartered successful businesses on their own, and have garnered a wealth of collective experience from doing business...