When BusinessWeek posted pictures of the finalist from the 2008 America’s Best Entrepreneurs list, we were very excited to see a photo of three young black men listed as finalist.  Vesta Mobile Solutions was launched in April of 2007 by Brandon Davenport, 24; Elwood Green III, 25; Marcellus Alexander III, 23. As the name implies, their business is in the mobile industry. In their own words they are “the premier text messaging applications provider, offering a wide range of custom solutions.” We were lucky enough to be able to steal some time with Marcellus Alexander III , the Director of Business Development to ask him a bit more about the company and get a few of his thoughts on mobile technologies.

BlackWeb2.0: Congratulations on making it onto BusinessWeek’s America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs list! How did you guys feel when you got the news? Did you celebrate?

Marcellus Alexander III: Given the stature of Business Week and the respect their publication has earned among our clients and prospects, we were thrilled. We briefly, but proudly reflected on how far we’ve come in a relatively short period of time. It was also nice to be congratulated by our friends and family.

BW20: While reading the BusinessWeek article I learned more about your process of starting Vesta Mobile Solutions. How did you know that going mobile messaging was the way to go?

MA: Let me begin by clarifying a part of the story that was not communicated well to Business Week. During a successful stint working for WIYY-FM, the Hearst radio station in Baltimore that introduced text messaging to the market, I met Brandon Davenport, one of my partners in the business. I described my vision for the company to him and how I developed it. The “light-bulb moment” for me went off while working at the radio station. I saw that thousands of people everyday were “texting in” to the DJ! It appeared to be very simple but extremely effective. After doing some research, I realized that the industry was in a very early stage, but growing rapidly. Being a part of that growth was an idea I just could not let go.

BW20: There are so many cell phone users out there, but I assume that not every group uses their cell phone in the same way. In terms of demographics, are you finding that certain age or ethnic groups are more open to this type of interactivity with advertisers than others?

MA: Use of the texting function on cell phones is growing in popularity among nearly all age demographics from teens through ages 55+. The heaviest users are 13-35. However, we are seeing rapid growth among soccer moms (or hockey moms depending on the part of the country), and we find they are introduced to texting through their children.

BW20: Where do you see Vesta Mobile Solutions going in the future?

MA: First, through exceptional service and success in providing effective marketing solutions, we look forward to building on our core base of customers. We recently began offering mobile web and mobile commerce opportunities to our clients. This service allows consumers to not only receive text message offers and communication from their favorite brands, but also enables them to see product displays and make purchases from their cell phone.

BW20: How do you see the integration of traditional media and mobile technologies evolving and how can businesses capitalize on this?

MA: The most effective marketing utilizes a combination of traditional and new media platforms. The inclusion of texting, which is a very personal method of reaching a client’s target audience, added to a traditional television, radio and web buys, with the right message, makes for a successful marketing mix!