The Spammer Next Door

Advertisers, in turn, would pay to reach these users' in-boxes. Best of all, it could be done cheaply. The operator of a Treeloot rival described the richness of the opportunity to The Wall Street Journal in 2001: "It's direct mail without the postage, and the consumer does your data entry -- what could better?"

To add to its database, Virtumundo entered "co-registration" agreements with Iwon.com and other sites on which surfers must register to gain full access. Virtumundo was aggressive in seeking new partnerships and, by extension, new users. "We didn't care whether it was a gaming site or Loreal.com," says one former employee.

By 2001, having survived the dot-com collapse, Virtumundo employed forty workers and occupied offices in the Bernstein-Rein Advertising Building. Lynn held financial information close. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal that year, he put Virtumundo's sales figures between $10 million and $100 million. The profits were all his. It was not until December 2001 that Lynn sold an interest in his company.

If Lynn dazzled himself by achieving so much at such a young age, he's gotten over it. "I think it's what I like doing," he tells the Pitch. "I enjoy it. It's fun." He sounds as enthusiastic as someone facing a drive across Nebraska. "I don't know. It never seemed that significant to me, to be honest. Money is one of many things that makes people happy."

A former employee says Lynn is the youngest 60-year-old he's ever met. He's also guarded, reluctant to speak in specifics. He won't say how much money the company makes. He won't specify how many e-mails it delivers. He describes the client base in vague terms, calling them "medium-sized businesses" and "Fortune 1,000 companies."

Lynn is similarly discreet about his personal life. In 1999, he bought a home on Ward Parkway that is still being renovated. Lynn blames the delay on unforeseen structural problems and an original contractor he calls a "less than ethical businessman." The process has frustrated Lynn as well as his neighbors, who have contended with construction vehicles, mud and the sight of tarpaulin for more than four years. "We understand that there's been a lot of people that are anxious for us to complete construction and move in," Lynn says, referring to himself and his girlfriend, Kristina Plummer.

Lynn is wary of reporters. "Press attention, unless it has a valid business reason, is generally something I'm not interested in."

Lynn credits discipline for his company's ability to thrive. "It's an efficiently run organization," he says. The culture, he adds, is "very bottom-line driven, very execution-oriented."

"That, of course, has its pros and cons," he continues. "The pros are that I think it's helped us survive, because we're much more disciplined than most companies were. We weren't spending millions on trade-show booths and throwing $200,000 parties every weekend. However, it also has its downside. We attract a very specific type of person with a very specific talent. They have to love the industry. They have to love working hard. They have to be good at what they do. We don't tolerate a lot of mediocrity."

Some decide they don't have the stomach for Virtumundo after just days, even hours on the job. One former Virtumundite who wished to remain anonymous says the company took advantage of a tight labor market, often driving employees to anger or tears. "It just seemed like no matter how hard you worked or how much you tried to prove yourself, they would knock you down," the former employee says.

Though the Plaza office gestures toward fun and frivolity (former employees say there's a pool table and a beer keg), no one would mistake either of Lynn's companies for a fun place to work. Lynn works 11-hour days and expects similar effort from dedicated employees; a few years ago, the U.S. Department of Labor intervened on behalf of Virtumundo workers who qualified for overtime.

A dogged reader of CEO autobiographies and other management books, Lynn is constantly testing new theories, trying on new styles. Leadership does not come naturally to him. Former employees describe Lynn as smart but unwise, successful but not inspirational. "This is not a family," he once told the staff.

Jim McCarthy, the original contractor on Lynn's house, knows something about how demanding a boss Lynn can be. The job was hardly routine. Plans called for the installation of a wine cellar, a panic room, an elevator shaft and a subterranean art gallery with koi pond. "He had some pretty grand designs," McCarthy says. Lynn denies planning a panic room, elevator or underground gallery.

McCarthy and Lynn went to court over unfinished work on the house and the Plaza office. McCarthy claimed Lynn owed him $75,000; Lynn said he had been overbilled. During the proceedings, McCarthy filed for bankruptcy. "It was a lot more heartache than it should have been," McCarthy says.

On December 27, 2001, Virtumundo sent an e-mail ("Receive great offers!" read the subject line) intended for a woman named Nadine at the web address nadine@honet.com. It landed instead in the lap of guy named Michael.

Michael Rathbun, a network consultant in Frisco, Texas, owns the domain name "honet." Rathbun designed his server to accept all deliveries. The real Nadine, he figures, mistyped her address.