Brendan Ciecko bought his first computer he was 9, and quickly devoted his energies to learning and mastering everything it could do. At the same time, he was developing a passion for music that soon had him playing guitar in a punk rock band that performed in area clubs. He melded those interests to create a venture that would soon generate a portfolio with new media work performed for Bob Seger, Natalie Cole, and Mick Jagger, among other notables. But he’s just as excited about doing work for area insurance agencies and real estate brokers, and expects his venture, Ten Minute Media, to grow through involvement in both realms.

Brendan Ciecko remembers his initial disappointment, but also how quickly it faded.

An executive with Capitol Records whom he had worked with for several years, and who was former tour manager for the Rolling Stones, called one afternoon with a potential new job opportunity. Ciecko was already doing some Web-site revamping for Mick Jagger, and the Capitol executive was inquiring about whether the then-19-year-old owner of Ten Minute Media could handle work for the artist’s new album, The Very Best of Mick Jagger.

A phone call between the two was to be arranged to discuss the project, but when several days went by and it didn’t happen, Ciecko started thinking that an opportunity had been lost. But then, a different plan emerged. Jagger was in New York for a few days to hype the album, and Ciecko was invited to meet with him and discuss Web strategy.

Ciecko remembers how articulate the singer was — “he was on full scholarship to the London School of Economics; he’s a very smart guy” — and also how much fun he was to be around and how he was very serious about the Internet and how to use it effectively.

What he doesn’t remember was being star-struck.

That’s because Ciecko had been working with musicians — granted, none of Jagger’s fame — and developing cutting-edge new-media work since before he entered Granby High School; by 16, he was doing a project for HBO. Only a month removed from his his 20th birthday, Ciecko has a portfolio that includes work for a number of high-profile artists and bands, including Bob Seger, Natalie Cole, Monica, Alice in Chains, and Lenny Kravitz.

But he’s also trying to diversify Ten Minute Media (more on that name and why he chose it later) — and help some local companies use the Web to generate business and communicate messages. He hopes to do for them what he’s done for Jagger and many others.

“He [Jagger] had a previous site that was dormant for a long time — it was not very active and not very engaging,” said Ciecko, adding that as surprising as that may sound, he sees this phenomenon all the time with artists (“check out Ringo Starr’s site, and your jaw will drop because it’s so stagnant”) and even Fortune 500 companies. “How can some of the largest companies in the world have underutilized technology? It’s surprising how many things aren’t in place that should be.”

Ciecko told BusinessWest that, overall, he finds his work in music and other realms to be a fascinating blend of art and technology, and that his portfolio has grown through a unique understanding of both realms.

“Someone can be very analytical and think with one side of their brain and be a great programmer, but not have a creative bone in their body — they can’t draw a straight line,” he explained. “But then, you could have someone who’s design-oriented, the digital version of a Picasso, who cannot get their head around how technology works and how it can be used to help a client. I’ve devoted myself to finding a synergy between those two lines.”

Ciecko didn’t want to share revenue figures or projections, but it’s clear that he’s already doing quite well for himself. He’s bought commercial properties in Holyoke and South Hadley, taken extended trips to Europe, mostly for pleasure, and has more planned. He drives a foreign luxury car, and was paying full tuition at Hampshire College himself (he’s on leave of absence from the school at present to further his entrepreneurial exploits).

But he’s careful to stay within himself, not get caught up in his own press clippings (there have been many), and realize that he still has a lot to learn — about business, his own abilities, and how to maximize them.

He’s engaged some mentors, and says he’s trying to take the advice of one of them concerning that intangible known as ‘focus,’ but not doing very well.

“I’ve got so many things going on, and I’ve got so many interests,” he said. “I’m focused on all them, which means I’m not really focused at all, if that makes any sense.”

In this issue, BusinessWest looks at a Web star moving up the charts, and how he works in concert with clients — literally — to produce results.

Jumpin’ Jack Flash

While it’s clear that Ciecko has a passion for computers and music, he has many other interests, some you might not expect from a 20-year-old.

Take his fascination with Holyoke history, for example, and his desire to be part of a comeback for that industrial city, where he was born — an interest that compelled him to acquire the historic Craft’s Building on High Street, not far from City Hall.

“Holyoke has some wonderful architecture and some underutilized opportunities for business,” he said, adding that he plans to be part of the solution by creating a mix of commercial (perhaps one of his own ventures) and residential uses at his property, which dates back to 1875. “Holyoke was once an industrial powerhouse … when you contrast those times with what you see now, you wonder how you can bring it back.”

The building itself housed a pharmacy “since the beginning of time, it seems,” joked Ciecko, adding that in the process of renovating the two-story landmark, he and those helping him have come across antique bottles, prescriptions, and other artifacts.

The rehab work constitutes just one more form of competition for Ciecko’s time and energy, which are in considerable demand these days.

He was the speaker at the most recent monthly luncheon staged by the Advertising Club of Western Mass. — the title of that program (“What was Your Job as a Teenager?”) speaks to his early success — and he’s busy with both local and national clients, while also traveling extensively and talking to the press.

He tells writers that this is a story that started when he was very young and the family’s Macintosh computer caught his attention — big time. “I would be glued to it, and would figure out anything I could,” he recalled. “I would open up any program and teach myself, examine what was in front of me, and experiment in any way that I could.

“I don’t remember what program I was using, but I recall making animation on this Macintosh when I was 9 or 10 years old,” he continued. “Years later, when I purchased my first computer, I became fascinated by how the Internet worked and how technology was changing day to day. I remember seeing my first Flash Web site and just being blown away by it. I knew at that moment that I needed to know who was doing this, how they were doing it, and how I could do it.”

By the time he reached the fifth or sixth grade, Ciecko was determined to teach himself how to develop such interactive Web sites, and would eventually incorporate such work into school projects.

Meanwhile, Ciecko’s fascination with computer hardware and software was soon matched by a growing enthusiasm for music. He started playing the guitar at age 11, and by junior high school, he and some friends had created a punk rock band called Disaster 116 (named after the main road that runs through Granby) that played gigs at Pearl Street in Northampton and other area venues.

It was work to create Web sites for Disaster 116, and later for other local bands, that triggered his career in professional Internet work. Those experiences gave him the drive and confidence at age 13 to enter a contest to build a Flash Web site for Slick Shoes, a punk band that was among his favorites at the time.

He triumphed in that contest, but came away with much more than the CDs and concert tickets offered as a prize. Indeed, he convinced Slick Shoes’ manager and some band members to let him design their Web site. Once it was launched, Ciecko had a platform, or portfolio, that led to a slew of other jobs within the music industry — and, eventually, to his meeting with Mick Jagger.

Start Me Up

“That put me into the next stage of my career; once that site was launched, everyone who was interested in that niche market was seeing my work,” he said, noting that Slick Shoes had a strong following. “Before I knew it, I was being contacted by bands all over the world.

“What really elevated me was when I was contacted by Vagrant Records, which was at that time the largest independent record label in the country,” he continued. “They were producing albums that were selling millions of copies, going platinum, and their artists were getting Grammys and Billboard Awards and MTV VMAs.”

For Vagrant Records, Ciecko would go on to handle the majority of its new media work, including Flash intros for Web sites, pop-up media players that would play audio and video, and other products that would promote a tour, an album, or an artist. He did such work for bands like Save the Day, Dashboard Confessional, and the Get Up Kids.

It was a Get Up Kids song — “10 Minutes” — that gave Ciecko a name for his venture, which by that time needed one to help him market the venture and take it to the next level.

“I called it Ten Minute Media because I’m very quick,” he said, “and a lot of my projects are fast-paced, interactive, and very demanding. So I need to offer top-quality solutions while at the same time being very time-effective and efficient for my clients.”

Ciecko incorporated in 2003 — he was so busy with Web work that he didn’t have time to do it sooner — and since then has added volumes to that portfolio.

In addition to his work for artists such as Seger, Cole, and others, he’s created a Flash advertisement used in a banner ad on Google for the release last year of The Beatles’ Love remix album, and he’s branched out into work for radio stations owned by Clear Channel.

Ciecko described each individual project as a stepping stone, and that his volume of work to date — with many projects, including Jagger’s, highlighted on his Web site — being his best form of marketing.

His business has grown in meteoric fashion thanks to a blend of his own ability and recognition within the music industry that a creative, cutting-edge Web site is needed to promote an artist and help move his or her albums and concerts.

Jagger knew this, and that’s why Ciecko was brought on board to handle work for his album.

“The way the music industry has been changing so quickly, they’re starting to put a lot of their eggs in the digital basket, which is what they should have done many years ago,” he explained, adding quickly that this phenomenon is certainly not restricted to the entertainment sector. “A lot of other businesses globally are starting to realize that the Internet is becoming this dominant machine, and their customers are now going to research what they need online first and then decide who to go to.

“Having an online presence is extremely important for the insurance industry, real estate, pharmaceuticals, health care, anything you can name,” he continued. “The way competition is today, companies need to jump on this and take the step forward into the year 2008 and have an incredible digital presence.”

This is the message Ciecko is endeavoring to communicate to the local business community as he attempts to diversify Ten Minute Media. And while music is a unique niche, the basic formula he applies to that industry will work with other business groups as well, he said.

“I really listen to my clients and work in such a way that we’re interacting and finding the best solution to whatever need or problem exists,” he said, adding that he is currently working with Springfield-based Samuel D. Plotkin Associates, a commercial real estate firm, to revamp its site, among other projects. “Over the past six months, I’ve been really determined to step out of my niche market, the music industry, which has given me claims to fame,” he said. “I think I can use that experience and acclaim to open some other doors.”

While working to expand and diversify 10-Minute Media, Ciecko is also learning more about business, the dynamics that drive it, and how to grow professionally.

He’s become involved with a national group called the Entrepreneurs Organiza-tion (EO) that has 6,000 members. A few have become mentors that are helping him focus — there’s that word again — on what can be done better, and how.

“They’ve given me a lot of insight into how to achieve the goals I’ve put down,” he said, adding that he believes he’s getting a little better on the matter of focus.

“I’m young, and I’ve got what I call BADD — business attention deficit disorder,” he explained. “I get my work done to the best of my ability and drive things forward, but I have so many concepts and ideas floating around in my head that it’s very hard to focus.”

Time Is on My Side

Despite all he’s done in a very short time in business, Ciecko prefers to concentrate on the future, not what’s in the past. This approach keeps him humble, if not, as he said, fully focused.

Still, he’s proud of what he’s accomplished, and says the work is rewarding on a number of levels.

Which means that, unlike the character in that Rolling Stones classic, he gets plenty of satisfaction from his life and his work.v

George O’Brien can be reached at obrien@businesswest.com