Like most college kids, Alex Tew needed money for his university expenses while attending the University of Nottingham in the UK. Utilizing the internet as an income vehicle, he devised a plan that would ultimately yield $1,037,100. His plan was simple. He would sell $1 pixels in 10×10 pixel grids. The total size of the grid for the webpage was 1000×1000 pixels. The buyers provided him with small images to be placed in their grid that could be linked back to their site.
The ultimate goal of the website was to generate $1 Million. The site went live on August 26, 2005 and became a massive hit within just a couple months. By the end of October, 1400 people claimed 500,000 pixels. The final block of 1000 pixels were auctioned off on eBay for an astounding $38,100, well exceeding his initial goal of $1 Million.
How did his idea take off? He began by selling his first block of pixels to friends and family. Sales grew slowly initially by word of mouth. Once multiple block holders started promoting the page URL, it took off virally.
