A Closer Look: Glickman, Selcow

Photograph by Debra McClinton

To Matt Glickman, the idea of starting an Internet company geared toward new parents seemed like the per-fect way to mix his personal and professional lives. In 1996 Glickman, who was marketing personal finance software at Intuit, couldn't help but notice the sizzling business opportunities just starting to open up on the Internet. "We were at the stage where our friends were having kids. They'd have hundreds of questions and we'd ask them: 'Where do you learn about these things?'" says Glickman. "Then I realized that the Internet would be a great place for parents to find information."
      He got in touch with his old GSB friend Mark Selcow, then working at Amgen. Selcow was intrigued by Glickman's idea of a parenting-oriented new media publishing company. After working in biotech and health care, he thought it could have a strong beneficial impact on public health. In late 1996 Glickman and Selcow wrote a business plan and raised $3 million from Broderbund Software, IDG Ventures, and Crystal Internet Ventures. In early 1997 they hired a team of editors and Web developers who went to work on an elaborate Web site.
       BabyCenter (www.babycenter.com) was launched in November 1997, with sponsorship from the likes of Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and Clorox. Just about every aspect of pregnancy and baby care is covered, from morning sickness to breast feeding to infant acne. The chat groups for new parents are spirited and hilariously contentious. The site offers a baby product buying guide, interactive tools for planning college savings, and an online store with bargains on everything from bassinets to breast pumps.
       BabyCenter, which has offices in San Francisco, has been professionally gratifying for Glickman and Selcow: It won the Webby Award (the Internet equivalent of an Oscar) for best site in the "Home" category. And Business Week put it on a short list of "Web Sites to Watch in 1998." Lately Glickman has found that BabyCenter comes in handy in his personal life as well. One of the site's unique features is a poll in which you submit names you are considering for your child and visitors to BabyCenter vote on their favorite. Glickman and his wife, Susie Hwang, went with the name that won their poll: Emma, born March 24, 1998.

--BY JENNIFER REESE