Wai Hong Fong

Age:

Shortly after graduating from university, Wai Hong Fong had two options: take an IT development job or have a go at building an online retail business. He chose the latter and with his business partners started approaching suppliers at trade shows to see if anyone was willing to give them anything to sell on eBay.

Fong was given the chance to go sell telescopes and binoculars. Pretty soon, OZHut had built Australia's leading niche telescope store and is now extending the niche strategy to other areas, with stores selling gadgets, breathalysers, torches, prams and even bubble wrap.

"While others are seeking to build large online departmental stores, we've found that focussing on specific product niches via dedicated stores allows us greater SEO and online marketing leverage to create a strong presence in those markets," he says.

"Our self-trained in-house team ensure that we're constantly moving up the search engine rankings as well as our properly configured exposure through paid search and other forms of online media, such as relevant forums and sites that fit the demographic."

The company's revenue is forecast to be around $1.5 million in 2009-10.