In Search Of The Perfect Wave

In July, Scott Blum scheduled a conference call between top executives of his Internet incubator, ThinkTank, and one of its incubatees, Enfrastructure. But it wasn't to discuss financing or the business plan or even Enfrastructure's late-September launch. No, Blum had something entirely different in mind: ping-pong. He was planning a best-of-five "deathmatch" between ThinkTank and Enfrastructure, and he wanted to hammer out a list of chores that the losing team would have to perform. One week after the match, Blum smiled broadly as he walked past the ThinkTank reception desk and spotted Enfrastructure co-founder Scott Johnstone answering the phones. "They lost," Blum explained, "so he has to be our receptionist for the day."

For Blum, 36, taking competitiveness to an extreme has been an essential part of life. It first surfaced in the pool, where, at the age of 8, he became a champion swimmer. He made just as big a splash in the national consciousness three years ago when he started Web superstore buy.com. The upstart sparked instant controversy with its initial plan to charge less for most of its merchandise than it cost. Now he's hoping to churn out dozens of successes through ThinkTank. He opened his flagship incubator in Aliso Viejo, Calif., in October and plans to open branches in Denver, Seattle, and Berkeley, Calif., in the coming year. "I'm passionate about helping entrepreneurs get to the next level," he says.