How does the Internet enable entrepreneurs to create global businesses at start up? Has this always been the case?

During his regular evening reading time, Bill McNeely came across several articles about the iPhone’s short battery life, and the inspiration for a business struck him. “I saw a big market and not that many players,” he says. Although McNeely has no technical background, he had a simple idea that he was confident would work: a sleek, external battery that snaps onto the bottom of an iPhone, extending its battery life. All he needed was someone to design the battery and manufacture it for him. He went to Alibaba.com, a Web site that serves as a marketplace for importers, exporters, and suppliers from more than 240 countries, and within a few weeks found a reliable Chinese manufacturer that would transform his idea into a real product. He then went to Elance, a Web site that allows entrepreneurs to hire and manage freelance employees, and found a graphic designer to create the packaging for his iPhone battery, which he calls the 3GPower2.