Then: And maybe the cops come three days later and find you stabbed to death on your kitchen floor.

"If there's a burglar in my home, maybe I send an e-mail or a text message to the police instead of making a call."
--Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom, on his VOIP service's lack of 911 access.

Now: Laughing all the way to the bank

In October 2005, Zennström sells Skype to eBay for a whopping $2.6 billion and, a year later, makes Time Magazine's 100 most influential people list. Zennström, along with partner Janus Friis, channels part of his payout to a new global broadband TV service, set to launch in 2007.