Fallows and Friends Launch Rowing Web Site

There are two things in the childhood of Thomas M. Fallows '99 that made his Web site, Rowers World (www.rowersworld.com) the success it is today.

The first thing is a "lack of coordination." In ninth grade, Fallows realized he wasn't cut out for basketball or soccer. Still determined to play something, he stumbled across a sport called crew.

Not only was he accepted for the team, but he loved it. "I couldn't do anything else," said Fallows. "It's an interest by default that became a passion."

The second thing was a bonding experience with his father, James M. Fallows '70--an afternoon spent taking apart a computer. "Since then, I've been excited about how computers can reshape the way we look at things," said the younger Fallows.

Now Fallows spends three to four hours a day on Rowers World, a project that combines his two loves to the tune of $100,000 a year in revenue. He maintains the site on a private server, without using Harvard computer facilities.

"We're basically becoming the national distributors for the country's biggest rowing companies," said Fallows.

The idea for Rowers World originated in June 1997, when Fallows got tired of surfing the Web for bits and pieces of information about rowing. "I thought it would be great if we could find something on the Web all about rowing," said Fallows.

Over the summer, he started talking to two fellow members of the men's varsity lightweight crew, Jonathon D. Kibera '98, who designs Rowers World, and Chistopher J. Sims '98, who programs the site. The three rowers discussed developing a site where the country's 100,000 rowers could go for tips, information about rowing and possibly even merchandise. Kibera and Sims, who work at Sapient Corp., a consulting firm in San Francisco, work on the site from 4,000 miles away.

"It started out as a lark," said Kibera. "But somewhere along the line, it snowballed."

Fallows contacted rowing companies about selling their merchandise on the site. The companies not only agreed, but they asked Fallows to develop sites for them.

"All of a sudden, when I got back to school in September, we had two weeks to get our own site up as well as the company sites," said Kibera. "I didn't go to class for two weeks."

Kibera, Sims and Fallows are currently responsible for eight company sites as well as their own, which gets over 1,500 hits a day and is projected to earn $1 million in five years. From the company sites, they receive monthly promotion fees as well as a 10 to 15 percent commission.

Their strategy is a simple one. American crew is a niche market, with rowers are scattered all over the country. Before Rowers World, the only way for rowers to buy products was at regattas, including the Head of the Charles. "Basically the companies had about five chances a year to sell their products," said Fallows. "Now they can do it every day."

Through the Rowers World "mall", all eight companies sell their products on-line. There's also a page for free classified ads, so rowers can communicate with each other to buy and sell equipment.

Even though it's the commercial aspects of Rowers World that keep it afloat, Fallows and Kibera are determined to keep it entertaining. "On a conceptual level, we're just like a magazine," said Fallows. "To sell things, you've got to have good content first, or the rowers won't come to the site."

Some of that content includes exclusive excerpts from books and diaries about rowing, like the diary of Adam Holland '94, who is currently training for the Olympics.

"We wanted to provide a service for people, not make them feel like we were always trying to sell them something," said Kibera. "And it's also about a community--it can be lonely if you're the only one into crew in your state."

Kibera said the biggest obstacle right now is advertising. To make people aware of the site, they have to be creative.

At last weekend's Head of the Charles regatta, for example, Fallows donned a full-size rabbit suit and passed out bumper stickers and T-shirts. "I looked stupid," said Fallows, "but people will remember it."

The other obstacle is the site's astronomical growth. "It's gotten to the point where it takes three to four hours a day just to keep the site going," said Fallows. "We've got more business than we can handle."

They're currently looking into hiring an assistant, preferably someone from the rowing team. "It will have to be someone who has a love for rowing and is able to put in three hours a day to keeping the site going, so we can put all our efforts into expansion," said Kibera.

Establishing a legacy will be especially important next year, when Fallows graduates and joins Kibera and Sims in San Francisco.

"In five years, this site is going to be its own entity," said Fallows. "I'd like to see it support itself fully, so we can use it to help other people--maybe give internships to people at the College, hire more assistants--make this the voice of the rowing community.

Even though it's the commercial aspects of Rowers World that keep it afloat, Fallows and Kibera are determined to keep it entertaining. "On a conceptual level, we're just like a magazine," said Fallows. "To sell things, you've got to have good content first, or the rowers won't come to the site."

Some of that content includes exclusive excerpts from books and diaries about rowing, like the diary of Adam Holland '94, who is currently training for the Olympics.

"We wanted to provide a service for people, not make them feel like we were always trying to sell them something," said Kibera. "And it's also about a community--it can be lonely if you're the only one into crew in your state."

Kibera said the biggest obstacle right now is advertising. To make people aware of the site, they have to be creative.

At last weekend's Head of the Charles regatta, for example, Fallows donned a full-size rabbit suit and passed out bumper stickers and T-shirts. "I looked stupid," said Fallows, "but people will remember it."

The other obstacle is the site's astronomical growth. "It's gotten to the point where it takes three to four hours a day just to keep the site going," said Fallows. "We've got more business than we can handle."

They're currently looking into hiring an assistant, preferably someone from the rowing team. "It will have to be someone who has a love for rowing and is able to put in three hours a day to keeping the site going, so we can put all our efforts into expansion," said Kibera.

Establishing a legacy will be especially important next year, when Fallows graduates and joins Kibera and Sims in San Francisco.

"In five years, this site is going to be its own entity," said Fallows. "I'd like to see it support itself fully, so we can use it to help other people--maybe give internships to people at the College, hire more assistants--make this the voice of the rowing community.