IT WAS A CRITICAL demonstration that, if all went well, would likely land a big-time client for Gary Mueller, president and CEO of Internet Securities (www.securities.com), an online service designed to provide news and data about the world's emerging markets. Seated at a computer in the offices of one of London's leading investment banks, Mueller took a deep breath and punched in the name of an obscure Polish company about which the bank needed information.

There was a hit, then another. Soon, no fewer than 87 separate items, from financial statements to board an-nouncements, were displayed on the screen. "The client was like a kid in a candy shop," Mueller recalls. "It was one of those moments when you know you're really on to something." For Mueller, that "something" has become a thriving company that currently has 700 institutional subscribers, covers 25 emerging markets, and has offices in 18 countries.

The firm's main product, ISI Emerging Markets, is a continually evolving resource of information covering emerging markets in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Contracting with local information providers - from newspapers and stock exchanges to government agencies and research firms - ISI Emerging Markets integrates an impressive database of news, financial statements, industry analyses, equity quotes, and macroeconomic statistics that appear on the Web in both English and the information's original language. The idea for the firm arose from Mueller's own, often fruitless attempts to access information during a stint with KPMG Peat Marwick in Poland and while working with an economic reform team in Russia.

Mueller credits his brother George, his business partner and technology expert, with the foresight to realize that the Internet would be "the world's fastest free delivery service and as ubiquitous as the telephone." But in 1994, "Internet" was hardly a household word in Eastern Europe, where Mueller first sought out prospective information providers - he was often greeted with the response "Interwhat?" Beyond that, Mueller says, Internet Securities faced "a huge chicken-and-egg game" between signing up data suppliers and finding customers willing to pay for the data. But Mueller's perseverance has paid off.

Mueller attributes much of Internet Securities' success to learning what customers want. He enlisted Citibank by offering a three-month trial membership in exchange for the company's frank assessment of the service. More recently, Mueller added information about Russian and Chinese aviation in response to a request from a large aerospace manufacturer that, up to that point, had not been a major customer. The manufacturer has since closed deals in those markets totalling $6.5 billion. As Mueller notes with a smile, "We do a lot more business with that firm now."

- Paul Michelman