Jimmy Maymann: How I made a million from online advertising

Danish entrepreneur Jimmy Maymann hit upon his first business idea while on holiday in 1994. He left college a year later and created his first online venture, Neo Ideo. Now his latest firm, Goviral, has over 100 employees and recorded £2m of profit in 2009.

Danish internet entrepreneur, Jimmy Maymann, hit upon his first business idea while on holiday in the US in 1994. "In America the internet was everywhere. I realised that as it became more popular in Europe advertisers would want to get on board."

He left college a year later and created Neo Ideo, one of Scandinavia's first digital branding agencies. "European firms were waking up to the fact that they needed an online presence but there was a lack of digital talent in the region." Maymann helped them design the "brand portals", which acted as a "shop front on the internet. It wasn't just a case of making a website, we had to show companies how to manage their brand online." As the dotcom bubble inflated, Neo Ideo grew. "In the beginning I was working in my basement and I didn't see any money for the first few months." But by 1997 the firm was employing 60 people and "starting to attract big corporate clients".

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James McKeigue

James graduated from Keele University with a BA (Hons) in English literature and history, and has a certificate in journalism from the NCTJ. James has worked as a freelance journalist in various Latin American countries.He also had a spell at ITV, as welll as wring for Television Business International and covering the European equity markets for the Forbes.com London bureau. James has travelled extensively in emerging markets, reporting for international energy magazines such as Oil and Gas Investor, and institutional publications such as the Commonwealth Business Environment Report. He is currently the managing editor of LatAm INVESTOR, the UK's only Latin American finance magazine.