As a child, Hattikudur wrote in one of his columns, his mother read to him from Rushdie's book Haroun and the Sea of Stories. He compares Mental Floss to Rushdie's "ocean of knowledge - thick and rich and full of life."

Rank : #23
Age: 28
Location: Birmingham, Ala.
Employees: 12
2006 Revenue: $1.7 million
Year founded: 2001

Mental Floss magazine offers a fun, irreverent look at knowledge and facts. As editor-in-chief Willian E Pearson put it, "Our mission is to find anyway we can to blur the lines between education and entertainment."

The founders started the venture at Duke University as a campus publication and quickly turned it into a national magazine.

But they have pushed the brand further than the magazine -- producing books, board games, and soon a series of children's books.

Also read: Risky business: The downside of starting young

Back

|

Next

Powered by