Meteor Solutions

What: Meteor Solutions, Seattle

Who: Ben Straley, 37, CEO

Mission: Quantify the "word-of-mouth" advertising process as links are shared online.

Tracking device: Meteor clients install a hidden extension on each URL, which tracks its destination and how many times the recipient clicks on that particular link. A different embedded link is created when it is forwarded to another location, and the assembled data is used to determine the popularity of a message.

Door No. 3: Straley said people click links from three sources — from a site, from a search and from a friend. And since a forwarded link already has a strong recommendation, it is the most likely to get a share of the recipient's mental bandwidth.

Employees: 6

Financials: The venture-funded company operates under a subscription model, with clients paying a monthly fee. There are about 15 clients today, and Straley expects to achieve profitability this year.

Not for evil: Meteor tracks only where links go and how many times they are forwarded, but does not assemble any personal user information. "Without assembling any personal information we show advertisers and publishers how a particular article or video is being shared, where the sharing is occurring and the number of visits the sharing is generating," Straley said.

Wilderness: Word-of-mouth on the Web can be out of an advertiser's control. Still, Meteor helps advertisers understand what works and what does not; that helps create content more likely to be shared and passed along. "Word-of-mouth is an organic activity," Straley said. "You can't purchase it, for any price. When it occurs it can produce a fantastic boost for your brand."

— Charles Bermant