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PRIYA SRINIVASAN

Call us biased, but being in the business of words ourselves, we think Pinstorm is the coolest company in this listing (and one whose business needs some careful explaining, so read on). The key to internet-based marketing is key words. Every time a user searches for something on, say, Google, the results page also displays sponsored links on the right. These links appear there because the companies concerned have paid money for them to do so when the searcher uses certain keywords. For instance, a Spanish travel company may have paid big money to ensure that its link is displayed when the keywords cheap and Spain are used in conjunction. Now, here’s the catch. Most known combinations of keywords are very very very expensive; Pinstorm promises that its team of mathematicians and linguists can come up with lesser known keywords that are just as relevant to your business and do not cost as much, while, at the same time, bidding just the right amount across hundreds of keywords. Phew! Does it work? Well, Pinstorm has come up with gems such as Nike+Child+Labour (keywords) for Child Relief and You, and lnfosys+Results for online brokerage Sharekhan. Founder Mahesh Murthy is so confident of his company’s technology that he charges customers a fee based on leads generated, not, as is the practice in the business, a cut on the total spend. That’s earned him business from the likes of British Airways, American Express, eBay, Sun Microsystems, Greenpeace and Monster India. Better still, the technology, claims Murthy, can work across languages. The company’s technology has actually helped it identify under-serviced segments in the market and it has ventured into two of these, handicrafts and hotel reservations in India (ah, that would explain the consignment of brass handicrafts that arrived along with this reporter at Pinstorm’s office), but it is as a search-based marketing engine that Pinstorm would like to be known. That, as we have already said, is cool.