Entrepreneur Of The Year 2009
Road to Palm Springs
Brett Hurt
Bazaarvoice
Austin, Texas
Brett Hurt started programming computers at the age of seven. As a freshman at the University of Austin, he created one of the first internet-based player games. While earning his MBA in high-tech entrepreneurship at the Wharton School, he started three businesses. Then he launched a successful company called Coremetrics, which specialized in measuring the success of companies’ online initiatives. It was there that Hurt discovered the tremendous power of word of mouth as a marketing tool.
In 2005, Hurt used that lesson to create Bazaarvoice, a company that combines social networking with ecommerce for retailers, banks and manufacturers, bringing the customer’s voice directly to the boardroom. Since then, the company has launched nine products in 21 languages and has gained more than 360 clients worldwide.
The company’s software promotes transparency by posting user reviews and ratings to websites, including Facebook and other social networking sites. This innovation gives consumers the ultimate say on everything from retail products to affordable medical treatments in foreign countries. Another product, Mobilevoice, enables shopper to access real-time reviews from their cells phones in-store.
Bazaarvoice also allows consumers to see product reviews and information streamed to retailers by manufacturers, generating more sales and reducing the number of returns. As a result, 50 of the top 100 retailers in the US are now Bazaarvoice clients.
