MP3Car.com: From Web Ring to Global Business

Community is a powerful and invaluable resource. It can be built around a neighborhood, a city, even a website. While many businesses turn to the Internet using it as a marketing tool to create buzz and gain a following, MP3Car.com flipped the script creating a business in order to support an established community.

Web Beginnings

Years before the iPod or any other portable digital audio player hit the street, MP3Car.com was simply a gathering place for techies around the globe who wanted to play MP3 music files in their cars, explains Heather Sarkissian, president of MP3Car.com.What began as a Web ring connecting a community in search of solutions to a common problem evolved into a forum for sharing information and tips on how to use desktop and laptop computers to play MP3s in cars. By 2005 the site had transformed itself again transitioning into MP3Car.com, an online store whose mission is to bring hard-to-find hardware to its users.

From its inception MP3Car.com has tried to maintain a high-level of transparency and openness with the community it sprang from. Much like the Open Source community, the hardware and software developers on the forum are often hobbyists who share what they discover with. other members for free. In return, MP3Car.com gives its highly respected moderators the opportunity to weigh in and voice their opinions on some company decisions. The site also serves as a platform for developers to share their work; receive feedback and collaborate with others.

The company has continued to grow expanding its operations through the innovation of its community. MP3Car has invested in software and hardware developed by forum members and also purchased CarNetix, a line of products that were the brain child of a forum member. Now, those products are built-in components in Tesla cars.

Growing Beyond the Web

While the online store was once the company's primary source of revenue, it has begun building a portfolio of consulting work. MP3Car.com has teamed with international companies on a variety of projects. The company partnered with Seagate, a digital storage company, to develop an integrated computing system for the Toyota Scion (see CNet video here). The technology they developed enables people not only to play MP3s without the use of an MP3 player but also update GPS data such as new roads and points of interest using a portable data connection.

It will also soon begin posting case studies on the website, including a recent project with CLS (Collecte, Localisation, Satellites), a subsidiary of CNES (French Space Agency) and several other institutions. CLS offers satellite services in location, environmental data collection and ocean observations. The company turned to MP3Car.com for assistance with its fisheries management projects. MP3Car.com helped determine what kind of mobile computing solutions would best meet CLS's needs. The company both designed then manufactured the necessary hardware. MP3Car.com has also been consulting with other companies that have not yet gone public with their latest projects but that case studies of these projects will go on MP3Car.com as they become available, Sarkissian says.

Still Part of the Community

Despite its recent growth, MP3Car.com still maintains its ties to the local mobile computing community. The company participates in monthly meetups with forum members from the region, giving them the opportunity to share news of modifications they've made to their vehicles and collaborate with each other and the company. It's through this close knit community that some members have come to work directly with MP3Car.com on product development.

Operating primarily as an online business allows Sarkissian and Robert Wray, the company's founder, to continue living and working in Baltimore even as they team with a growing number of developers and customers around the world.

For a time in 2007, however, both Wray and Sarkissian thought they might have to move the small tech company out of the state. During a special legislative session held in the fall of 2007 the Maryland General Assembly approved a 6 percent tax on computer services. "That was a moment when we had to ask, 'If this goes through, are we going to stay in Maryland?' "Sarkissian says.

Although the tech tax was repealed in April 2008, Sarkissian says the state could do more to help start up companies like MP3Car. "I do think there's a lot of ill will because of the tech tax that needs to be addressed," she says.

Building a Tech Community

The Emerging Technology Centers (ETC) is the only local organization that has reached out to the company, according to Sarkissian. The ETC serves local tech start-ups by offering office space at below market rates, giving management advice and helping to build professional networks. Neil Davis, vice president of Operations for the ETC, met Sarkissian and Wray about one year ago when they were looking to take their business in a new direction, he says. The ETC gave MP3Car.com office space in one of its facilities, helped fine tune its business model and introduced Sarkissian and Wray to entrepreneurs running similar businesses. Since moving to its new digs in the ETC's Canton location, MP3Car.com has become more involved in the local technology community with support of events including Ignite Baltimore, SocialDevCamp, and BarCamp Baltimore.

Connecting with a growing pool of talented young entrepreneurs has been very beneficial. "As a small growing company, having access to quality and affordable consultants that understand the technology arena is incredibly important," Sarkissian says.

Sarkissian would like to see a round table meeting or other organized opportunity for tech companies to network with potential investors, customers and collaborators. The annual Tech Night sponsored by the Greater Baltimore Technology Council is "a bit pricey" for start-ups, she says. With its broad base of forum members, MP3Car.com hasn't needed to rely on outside investors, but some companies are not so fortunate. A round table-style meeting would help fledgling tech companies make those needed connections.


Mary Richert is a freelance writer and blogger living in Annapolis, MD. She write the blog NoTitles and contributes to The Nervous Breakdown.