A large cluster of Internet companies have been set up by young people who have used their skill and understanding of the latest technology to make their fortune on the web.

Oxford University graduates Rouzbeh Pirouz and Alexander Straub set up their own Internet company allowing small businesses to obtain free competitive quotes from suppliers of everyday products and services.

The company, called Mondus.com, says its service saves both suppliers and buyers time and money - removing the need for the buyers to trawl through directory listings and websites to identify suppiers and the need for suppliers to invest in costly marketing. The pair set up their own Internet company while still at university and won 1m of venture capital funding from 3i. Last year the company was valued at 40m.

They took space at the Oxford Innovation Centre, where they share the building with other start-up companies, backed by the Oxford Trust, a charity which promotes science and technology.

Mr Pirouz visited Venturefest yesterday to talk about the launch of the company and how to capture the eye - and therefore the necessary funding - from venture capitalists. The wider implications of the development of e-commerce are massive. With the help of the Internet, firms producing new products can now target global markets, while manufacturing in any country in the world.

But they need to make sure any innovations they come up with are protected by securing and enforcing intellectual property rights.

Two seminars were also held yesterday aimed at technology inventors and innovators who have their sights set on penetrating the global market.

They looked at the constraints that firms can come up against when developing novel ways to make the most of the global market.