Bruno Vassell III is what some might call a serial entrepreneur. He has started four companies, all of them successful.

After three decades running two advertising companies and an international consulting firm, as well as working for several major corporations, Vassell decided in 1998 to venture into the world of online business.

He used his own money to fund the start-up of iboats inc., which sells boating and marine supplies online. For tech support, Vassell turned to his son, Bruno Vassell IV, who provided the company's initial programming.

But the business sector Vassell had entered was crowded, with more than 20 competitors online. To stand out, Vassell decided his business would work with, rather than compete against, boat dealers; and that iboats would use a multiple-Web-sites model to optimize search-engine results — at the time, a revolutionary idea.

Iboats now owns more than 1,000 boating and watersports-related Web sites and works with thousands of dealers, manufacturers and suppliers nationwide. The company's sites generate 3 million to 4 million visitor sessions per month.

Iboats offers multiple services and buying opportunities, from boat covers and propellers to fish finders and financing for new boats.

The company has been consistently profitable and is moving into still-underserved niches in the online marine and boating industry, such as engine parts and providing online boat classifieds to magazines and newspapers.