Anand Shimpi

swayinOtis

Banned
Sep 19, 2000
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About 4 years ago I saw a report on my local news about this 16-17 year old kid named Anand Shimpi and his AnandTech website. I think they said he made $30,000 a month in revenue from it. That's a lot of money for a high school kid!

Now look at him. He's probably old enough to buy beer now. lol Did he ever go to college? They said he was going to NC State for engineering but I could understand if he didn't. His website it huge. Is AnandTech the biggest PC hardware tech site on the net? It has to be. This kid has hit the bigtime. It's unreal. Every freaking hardware manufacturer knows who he is. They send him all kinds of toys to tinker with. What a trip.

My hat's off to you, Anand. You done good.

 

A5

Diamond Member
Jun 9, 2000
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Actually, he's at NC State right now. From his newsposts, it sounds pretty stressful running both :)
 
Jun 18, 2000
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That was when advertisers were shelling out money hand over fist for spots on a web site like this. Now, I wouldn't be surprised if Anand is struggling to break even, even with the new subscriptions.

BoYRaCeR, shutup.
 

dawks

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,071
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Struggling to break even? Whats his costs? Bandwidth? Wouldnt be too difficult to cover that.. Especially now with subscriptions..


As far as I know, Anand is majoring in Medicine.
 
Jun 18, 2000
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<< Struggling to break even? Whats his costs? Bandwidth? Wouldnt be too difficult to cover that.. Especially now with subscriptions.. >>


I've seen sites go bankrupt because they couldn't pay their $10,000 a month bandwith bill. Granted these are usually fileplanet-esque sites that do nothing more than serve files day in and day out, but I honestly think you're underestimating the cost of high speed bandwith. Unfortunately, its far and away the most costly part of hosting a site.

Ironically, the more popular the site gets, the more expensive it gets to keep it up and running. Anand is fortunate that he's blessed with a huge community that's willing to support his new subscription plan. I still don't see him making much, if any, profit, but I also see him doing well enough to support us moochers for a little while longer. ;)
 

linuxboy

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
2,577
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I've seen sites go bankrupt because they couldn't pay their $10,000 a month bandwith bill. Granted these are usually fileplanet-esque sites that do nothing more than serve files day in and day out, but I honestly think you're underestimating the cost of high speed bandwith. Unfortunately, its far and away the most costly part of hosting a site.

You are right on target with your assessment. Revenues from ads, especially in this market, are barely enough to cover all the costs. If you people think that Anand is becoming rich through marginal cost-of-service, think again. From the performance I've seen in other similarly-structured businesses, the pressure to increase revenues, cut costs, or both is on. I will commend Anand for the sheer character and love he has for life and his work. Kudos.

Cheers ! :)
 

linuxboy

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
2,577
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Maybe I could hook Anand up with my sister in Raleigh

I don't think his girlfriend Amy would like that too much.
 

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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<< Maybe I could hook Anand up with my sister in Raleigh ;). >>


LOL, Anand has a girlfriend.


<< UMD is gonna whoopp up on NC state tthis weekend. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >>


We stomped Florida State this weekend, and we will KILL UMD!
 

SSP

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
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<< Maybe I could hook Anand up with my sister in Raleigh

I don't think his girlfriend Amy would like that too much.
>>



Damn, you beat me to it! :)
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
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Anand isn't old enough to buy beer yet is he :)

BTW guys if AT should ever run into an insurmountable hurdle moneywise I'd be extremely surprised if Anand hasn't banked off to the side quite a bit of cash, so don't worry!
 

Sephy

Platinum Member
Dec 21, 1999
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<<
LOL, Anand has a girlfriend.


<< UMD is gonna whoopp up on NC state tthis weekend. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >>


We stomped Florida State this weekend, and we will KILL UMD!
>>



You pulled it out at the end, luckily the FSU WRs dropped the ball. I'm glad you did, but you hardly stomped them
FEAR THE TURTLE!
 

jaydee

Diamond Member
May 6, 2000
4,500
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<< As far as I know, Anand is majoring in Medicine. >>


I think Anand is going for Comp. Eng. There was another staff member that wants to be a medical doctor.



<< That was when advertisers were shelling out money hand over fist for spots on a web site like this. Now, I wouldn't be surprised if Anand is struggling to break even, even with the new subscriptions. >>


Mabey that's why he's got a book coming out.
 

Lankin

Senior member
Nov 4, 2001
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Bandwith = ALOT OF MONEY..

I know sites that probably get 1/8-1/10 the amount of traffic go bankrupt, and their bandwidth bills were about $10,000 a month. Im sure Anand saved/invested a large chunk of change from when advertisers were ummm shelling out alot. Not that they give nothing, except for full page ads, or popups/popunders, I bet the site isn't quite breaking even but will once the subscriber stuff kicks in. Why else do you think they have added the Subscriber stuff?
 

Martin

Lifer
Jan 15, 2000
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I'd imagine he's doing ok. I'm sure he stashed a large amount in some offshore bank.....

Sure, advertizing doesnt bring in much cash, but other than server colocation and bandwidth, the site doesnt many other expenses. He builds he own servers so they don't cost much and I can't imagine the staff being full time....