If you're like many Web users, you have a zillion bookmarks set up in your browser's favorites list. You may also have come across must-see content that you want to share with your friends: that cool llama farm, the dancing baby video, a list of favorite books or movies.
The problem is, when it comes time to share those things, you find yourself wading through an unorganized morass of bookmarks.
That's why Toobla was born. Founded in 2008 and launched this fall, the Columbus-based tech company is banking on your need for order -- and your desire to share web content with friends and acquaintances.
"Toobla was created because there are a lot of bookmarking services out there, but no one is doing it in a very visual way," says Brian Link, CEO of the fledgling company.
Toobla solves the problem by organizing everything in folders within a free Toobla account. Have a list of favorite publications? Stick them in a folder. Favorite bands? Another folder. A Toobla user can either keep the folder private for personal reference or make it public -- allowing it to be shared with friends, business associates or a wider audience via one click from within a social networking site.
"People really haven't innovated the shared space (of the Web)," Link says. "People are sending links one at a time."
The Columbus-based company, which employs four but plans to grow to around 35 over the next three years as revenues grow, has raised more than $1 million in capital through TechColumbus, the Third Frontier's Entrepreneurial Signature Program and other sources. Link says the company anticipates $335,000 in revenues in 2010 -- and as much as $31 million within five years.
Source: Brian Link, Toobla
Writer: Gene Monteith