SAN FRANCISCO, March 26 - Platinum Concepts, Inc., formed in 1999 and dedicated to bringing products of superior quality to market, generated $600,000 in FY2000. Revenue came exclusively from sales of MouseDriverT, a patented computer mouse shaped like the head of a driver golf club.

MouseDriver functions as a standard PC (PS/2) computer mouse and retails for $29.95. It is available online, via toll-free number (1-888-209-5120) and at more than 750 retail outlets nationwide, including Brookstone, Golf America and The PGA Tour Shops.

In addition to generating higher than expected revenue after funding the company on credit cards for a year, Platinum Concepts has established MouseDriver brand as smart, approachable and sincere. Founders John Lusk and Kyle Harrison have chronicled their successes and failures in bringing MouseDriver to market in The MouseDriver Insider, a free membership-by-request newsletter that has attracted hundreds of entrepreneurs, CEOs, venture capitalists and bankers, as well as professors and students at top business schools including Wharton, Babson, and Cornell.

"The process of starting a business and bringing a novelty gift item to market has been an incredible challenge, and we've relied on the support of our Insider members to keep us motivated during the hard times and focused during the good times," said Kyle Harrison, president, Platinum Concepts, Inc. "There are so many misconceptions about what it really takes to start a business. Our goal is to present a realistic view and hopefully motivate others to take the risks necessary to launch a company on their own."

The MouseDriver Insider lessons are presented periodically in a candid, humorous e-mail, with newsletter titles such as "Distribution is Key" and "Tradeshows: A Painful Experience." All newsletters can be accessed at www.mousedriverchronicles.com/newsletter; the site also features an interactive Insider discussion board, a detailed history of the product idea and company formation, and a zip-code based store finder that helps visitors locate retail outlets where they can buy MouseDriver.

Lusk and Harrison have also taken The MouseDriver Insider on the road, sharing their lessons learned in presentations to graduate business students at Wharton, Cornell, Columbia, USC and Pepperdine.