If you think the Internet’s most popular song lyrics website is backed by a big box tech shop or a team of executives with decades of business experience among them, think again.
Milun Tesovic founded Metroleap Media – the company behind Internet music Mecca MetroLyrics.com – when he was just 15 years old. Nine years and 38 million unique monthly visitors later, the 24-year-old Yugoslavian native (he immigrated to Canada with his family at the age of nine to escape ethnic conflict and is now completing his studies at Burnaby, British Columbia’s Simon Fraser University) beat out 31 other post-secondary competitors from 18 different countries to snag top spot at the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) held November 26, 2009, in Kansas City, Missouri.
The prize netted Tesovic (who was also honoured with the GSE Innovation Award for his creativity and unique approach to business) $150,000 in cash and donated services to help further develop his company. That’s a far cry from the amount of money the bachelor of business administration student wanted to make – to buy his first car – when he founded Metroleap in 1992.
In fact, before the profits and prestige came along, Tesovic’s vision was simple: to provide consumers and the recording industry a better way to find music online. After discovering that song lyrics were (and still are) some of the most searched-for items on the Internet, the music-loving teen (he used to make bets with his friends about the accuracy of song lyrics) – who also happened to be a tech junky – decided to marry his passions and create a site that gave users an improved experience.
In 2001 MetroLyrics.com was born and Tesovic, who at the time was also juggling a full high-school course load, began his entrepreneurial journey toward online music nobility. Today his bedroom startup is the Internet’s fifth-largest song lyrics database, offering – thanks to a deal signed with lyric provider Gracenote earlier this year – nearly 800,000 song lyrics to music lovers worldwide – completely free of charge.
It’s also totally legal. All MetroLyrics.com content is licensed, and the site compensates lyric owners – artists and writers – in full. So how does Tesovic do it (profit, that is)? As exclusive lyrics partner for all AOL Music properties, Billboard.com, MTV and other top-ranked music sites, advertisers know where people are clicking for lyrics – and are willing to put money on it, too.
But, according to Metroleap CEO Alan Juristovski, ad dollars are only one part of Tesovic’s success story. Describing the company as being founded on cultural family values and offering full medical coverage and staff training programs, Juristovski said: “We take care of each other and focus on creating a fun working environment, rather than trying to squeeze every dollar we can out of the business.”
Details that were obviously not lost on the GSEA panel, either, with judge Dean Gagnon saying Tesovic’s maturity and vision left the panel awestruck and shows entrepreneurs can succeed at any age. Matt Stewart, chairman of the EO Global board added: “Milun embodies the entrepreneurial spirit that lifts all of us and shines a light on the path to entrepreneurship that so many young people aspire to undertake. We look forward to watching this already successful student business owner climb to new heights as a member of the GSEA family.”
As for Tesovic – he remains humble and appreciative in the glow of his success. “I could not be more honored, more grateful or thrilled to win the GSEA Global Finals. The competition was intense – I know that I am a better entrepreneur after going through GSEA. I look forward to connecting with more entrepreneurs in EO around the world and to inspiring another generation of ‘dorm room’ business owners.”
The GSEA is just the latest in a series of accolades for Tesovic. He has also been named Canadian Student Entrepreneur National Champion, SFU Student Entrepreneur of the Year and was recently listed as one of Billboard Magazine’s 30 Under 30. Metroleap has also received a Red Herring Top 50 award this year as one of Canada’s most innovative and promising companies.
