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Filling a golden niche on the Web
By Frank Barnako

Sep 5, 2006

Filling a golden niche on the Web - MarketWatch

Consumer Reports tells millions of Americans which vacuum cleaner to buy, the best tires to put on the car, and which baby highchair is the safest.
But what if you're buying something more expensive, much more expensive? What if you're thinking about, say, an exotic car? Who ya gonna call?

A former AOL executive and his 9-month-old Web site/blog can help.
"We're a consumer guide for the affluent," said Greg Shove (pron. SHOW-ve), a technology and media executive with experience from AOL, Apple Computer, and Sun Microsystems. "There was no good online, independent source of news and analysis for big ticket decisions."

HeliumReport.com was a by-product of his own experience after buying into a high-end timeshare product, a Destination Club. Such clubs own multi-million dollar vacation homes which members can rent. Some offer equity in the properties, so if one is sold you might get a piece of the profit. Most have some sort of refund plan if you want to quit.

"I found myself spending a lot of time explaining the concept to people, and saw there was no good advice available online," Shove said. The result, HeliumReport, has also expanded into offering advice on exotic car clubs (timeshares on wheels), executive wellness plans, and fractional jets.