In November 2006, Chris Michel left Military.com, which he founded in 1999 to start Affinity Labs, a global network of online communities. In the same month, Michelle raised a series of rounds of venture financing and has partnered with the monster, which he sold to Military.com. During the first year of operation, Affinity Labs has launched eight vertical portals, including PoliceLink, NursingLink, TechCommunity, and IndiaOn. Although the company was way ahead of its original plan to release four portals in 2007, Michelle still faces several challenges. He learned a lot from Military.com and Affinity Labs' first run, but in the case of each new community, faced with how best to build vertical and attract a large enough audience. While the model seemed scalability, because each vertical using the same basic technology, every industry has its own unique features. In autumn 2007, the heads of the monster opened dialogue with Michel to sell the company or expanding their relationship. Michelle thought it was time to sell, or if he needs to grow Affinity Labs on with the hope of creating a company that could command high valuations seen in recent years a number of social problems in the network. "Hide
by Joseph B. Lassiter, Liz Kind Source: Harvard Business School 28 pages. Publication Date: July 8, 2008. Prod. #: 809019-PDF-ENG
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