A Journalist's Melting PotHelium helps online writers' voices be heard above the noise.

Who:Mark Ranalli ofHelium.com
What:Online writing and publishing community
Where:Andover, Mass.
When:Started in 2006
Startup costs:more than $10 million

While it's easy for writers to get their voices heard by publishing their work on blogs or other forums, Mark Ranalli realized that user-generated content is just as easily lost in the chaos of the web. "The internet has been flooded with unfiltered content," Ranalli says. "The end result is analogous to a crowded room of people shouting at each other. Nobody can be heard."