UNITED FRONTMAN MARK GOLDSTON, MASTERMIND OF JUNO/NETZERO MERGER, BRINGS ISP A LEGACY OF SUCCESS.Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer WESTLAKE VILLAGE - If you put Mark Goldston's name into the Internet search engine Google, about 6,400 entries will surface, most with his name attached to United Online Inc. Goldston is chairman and chief executive officer of the Westlake Village Internet service provider Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. . But his legacy stretches far beyond the outer reaches of cyberspace. Goldston's speech quickens and his perfectly parted hair gets a bit kinky kink·y adj. kink·i·er, kink·i·est 1. Tightly twisted or curled: kinky hair. 2. when he mentions the pump basketball shoe he invented for Reebok Ree´bok` n. 1. (Zool.) The peele. International in the late 1980s. He also wrote a book titled ``The Turnaround Prescription'' in 1992, helped major hair product companies propel their profits and is responsible for the creation of those blinking lights embedded in the soles of children's shoes. It seems as if this marketing maven has graced the bottom lines of many companies. And now his verve for fixing financial fiascoes is translating to the quarterly results of United Online. The company on Thursday posted fourth-quarter net income of $14.6 million, or 32 cents a share, compared with a profit of $2.7 million, or 7 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenues rose to $79.6 million, a 46 percent increase versus the same period last year. ``I like the challenge of turning companies around. When I've come up with ideas in the past, people have discouraged me. But that makes you steely. And when things work out, it's gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. ,'' Goldston said in a recent interview. United shares rose $1.19 to close at $31.38 Thursday on the Nasdaq market. Only a year ago, the company was trading at $8.81. ``He (Goldston) has done a very good job so far,'' said Ned Zachar, analyst with Thomas Weisel Partners Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWPG), often shortened to just TWP or TWeisel, is a U.S. middle-market and growth focused investment banking firm based in San Francisco, California. . ``The company has certainly watched its nickels and dimes, and I think the stock could go higher. Goldston and Charles Hilliard (chief financial officer) are a strong team.'' Perhaps the impenetrable spirit that lives within Goldston stems from his past as an athlete. He was a pitcher who was poised to throw for the Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State University's intercollegiate sports teams and players are called the "Buckeyes" (after the state tree, the Buckeye), and participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports. but had to bench his career when he hurt his shoulder. Goldston's affinity for sports is still evident in his office - the walls are covered with football paraphernalia, a glass bowl is filled with signed baseballs and there is a picture of his twin sons adorned in basketball jerseys. Goldston said instead of leaving athletics, he decided to focus his attention on the sport of business. At 48, he taps his brain for innovation and uses his athletic ability to wrestle with Wall Street. Slickly dressed and smelling good, Goldston's most recent play is United Online. The company is the result of a marriage between Juno Online Services Juno client software icon Juno is an Internet service provider based in the United States. It is a subsidiary of United Online, which also owns NetZero and Bluelight Internet Services. and NetZero, a union that brought together two of the Internet's fiercest rivals. NetZero was among the pioneers of free Internet access See how to access the Internet. , utilizing banner advertising Banner Advertising A common form of advertising on the internet. The banner is an advertisement of 460x68 pixels, usually placed at the top of the page Notes: For an example, just look at the top of a page on almost any popular web site. to generate revenue. ``When I first heard about NetZero, I was like, OK guys, where's the business model here? It sounded interesting, but a free service just didn't make sense,'' Goldston said. He joined NetZero as chairman and chief executive in 1999 and began recruiting a high-powered management team. A credit to Goldston's gusto, NetZero raised $184 million and went public the same year. With NetZero fully rejuvenated re·ju·ve·nate tr.v. re·ju·ve·nat·ed, re·ju·ve·nat·ing, re·ju·ve·nates 1. To restore to youthful vigor or appearance; make young again. 2. , Juno had competition. Both companies duked it out with savvy advertising campaigns until Goldston decided to swallow Juno in its entirety for a stock swap A stock swap also known as a share swap or equity swap is a business takeover in which the acquiring company uses its own stock to pay for the acquired company. valued at $71 million. Goldston said people were dubious about the deal, ``telling me it was like taking two skunks and trying to breed a mink.'' With the combined companies becoming United Online, Goldston began upgrading both providers and started charging for superior dial-up service. Unique to United's product is its price - at least $7 less when compared with other ISPs. Juno and NetZero cost $9.95 a month, providing consumers with the option of spending $5 more for a faster connection. The company also continues to offer free Internet and e-mail access, but users can only log on for 10 hours a month. Youssef Squali, analyst with First Albany Corp., said speeding up the paid connection has actually accelerated United Online's top and bottom lines. Total pay subscribers for the company increased by 142,000 during the fourth quarter, hitting a record 2.55 million as of June 30. The company estimates its pay subscribers will increase to between 2.9 million and 3.1 million by this time next year. ``Very impressive when they also have a strong balance sheet,'' Squali said. United Online recorded cash balances of $193 million for the fourth quarter. The company also repurchased 187,000 shares of its common stock, and bandied about offering a dividend in the future. ``I don't think that's going to happen, though,'' Squali said. But Goldston is confident that United Online will continue to gain market share. So far, the company has eaten about 5 percent of the ISP (1) See in-system programmable. (2) (Internet Service Provider) An organization that provides access to the Internet. Connection to the user is provided via dial-up, ISDN, cable, DSL and T1/T3 lines. pie, with AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. and other players like Earthlink sopping sop·ping adj. Thoroughly soaked; drenched. adv. Extremely; very: sopping wet. sopping Adjective completely soaked; wet through Also: ( up the rest. Evan Pondel, (818) 713-3662 evan.pondel(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo, chart Photo: (color) ``I like the challenge of turning companies around. When I've come up with ideas in the past, people have discouraged me. But that makes you steely. And when things work out, it's gratifying,'' - Mark Goldston. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News Chart: HIGH SPEED CONNECTION SOURCE: Staff research Daily News |
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