Hughes Heads Higher

Contact:   Robert Wynne      
      smalloffice.com            310-589-7724            robwynne@smalloffice.com   

HUGHES NAMED ACTING
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

(May 15, 2000) MALIBU, CA -- Casey Hughes, Chief Community Officer for smalloffice.com and a longtime Internet and computer industry executive, has been named acting Chief Technology Officer.

Hughes, 47, joined Smalloffice.com in November, 1999 as the prime architect for the community strategy, leading the development of a proprietary technology for communicating within the site, e-ssistant." He added the responsibilities of Chief Technology Officer in April, 2000.

Based Malibu, Ca., Smalloffice.com is the premiere Internet channel for the small office-home office (SOHO) market, providing action-oriented content, commerce opportunities and business advisors in an interactive community designed to help operate and grow a business.

Prior to joining Smalloffice.com, Hughes spent six years as a top-level executive with Merisel, the $4 billion computer distributor, where he was most recently President of their Channel Services Group. Besides heading Merisel's Channel Services Group as President, he held several other key executive positions at Merisel, including founder of the Consumer Products Division, Vice President of Product Management, and Vice President of the Information Company.

Casey Hughes is one of the true visionaries in our business," said William J. Curtis, CEO and Chairman of Smalloffice.com. Casey has the experience, technical knowledge and insight to develop a true community of users sharing expertise, utilizing new technology and buying and selling products online."

Through the smalloffice.com community system, e-sisstant," SOHO businesses can access a full suite of integrated Internet communications technologies and control their needs for personalized support, content and services. Hughes has designed and integrated a revolutionary Business Communications System" (branded the e-ssistant") into the smalloffice.com site which facilitates persistent (live") desktop connectivity to the small business owners Buyers/Sellers, Advisors, Content, Transactions and Services.

Following his six-year tenure at Merisel, Casey joined Durand Communications as Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President and Board Member. Durand was an early stage company that developed and marketed CommunityWare, an integrated suite of middleware applications supporting on-line community development. At Durand, Hughes forged strategic alliances with AT&T WorldNet, the New York Times, Digital Equipment Corp., Los Angeles County, and the 7500 -member Computer Technology Industry Association.

Prior to joining Merisel, he held executive positions at Kenfil, Tandon, and Kaypro, where he was responsible for successfully developing and managing numerous organizations, products and services, each with their own unique worldwide channels of distribution.

Hughes has been a speaker at numerous industry events such as Comdex, CES, E3, CompTIA, SPA, IICS, PC Expo, VarVision, Baptie, AIP and Internet World and has been published within countless industry publications. He has held chair roles for CTIA's (Computing Technology Industry Association) Advisory Board and Distributor Section and co-authored their membership Code of Ethics. Hughes studied Physics at Orange Coast College and the University of California, Irvine.

   
About Smalloffice.com

Based in Malibu, California, smalloffice.com provides the small office and home office (SOHO) community action-oriented content, B-to-B commerce opportunities and business tools combined with advisors inside an interactive community to help operate and grow a business.

Smalloffice.com serves as the premiere Internet channel for the small business market, estimated at 40 million small businesses from 1-100 people. E-ssistant," a new communications technology developed exclusively by Smalloffice.com, allows businesses to conduct e-business the same way they conduct live business.
Smalloffice.com assists businesses to navigate real-world situations, buy products and services online, and build business via personalized web sites and online business listings.