http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3020464,prtpage-1.cms
Indian-origin cousins hit gold at Oxford
8 May 2008, 0858 hrs IST,PTI
LONDON: Two cousins of Indian origin at the University of Oxford have
overnight become millionaires after a free online service they started
for students was sold for 2.5 million pounds within months after its
launch.
Kulveer Taggar, 24, and Harjeet Taggar, 22, started their company
'Auctomatic' as a free online service while studying and working in
the university=92s student society Oxford Entrepreneurs.
Things actually began when they set up their first company, internet
auction site 'boso.com' (Buy Or Sell Online), as undergraduates which
was sup****ted by Oxfords Sad Business School.
The site was a big success and the pair went on to receive major
financial backing to move to Silicon Valley.
They then built on their experience to launch 'Auctomatic', a service
helping businesses manage selling on online sites like eBay, in
October last year.
Kulveer and Harjeet returned to Oxford for the Silicon Valley Comes to
Oxford event at the Sad Business School in November 2007.
Two days later, they were approached by a buyer. As 'Auctomatic' was
just launched, Kulveer and Harjeet were still in negotiations
regarding funding and so were struggling to make ends meet.
After the event, though, Auctomatic became part of a bidding war
between three companies before it was sold to Live Current Media.
Kulveer, former president of Oxford Entrepreneurs, said: "The approach
came as a surprise. Any entrepreneur is inherently confident, but we
never imagined being so lucky that we'd sell our company within a year
of launching."
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