Wired For The Bottom Line

For nearly two decades, Gerry Laybourne was the queen of kids' TV, building the Nickelodeon brand and later heading up the Disney/ABC Cable Networks. Now she's aiming for the women's market. Oxygen produces Web content on topics ranging from personal finance to child care and will launch a cable network next February. The women's online field is crowded, with tenacious competitors like Candice Carpenter of iVillage. But Laybourne has powerful partners--Oprah Winfrey and Carsey-Werner's Marcy Carsey. "Oxygen is one of the sites that will still be around in three to five years," says Jupiter Communications' Anya Sacharow.

When he ran the advertising firm Chiat/Day, Jay Chiat was known for his funky office space and brusque business style. He gave up the offices, but Chiat's still in the business of moving fast. His ScreamingMedia pulls real-time content from sources like AP and The New York Times and delivers it in customized packages to clients like AOL and Microsoft.