The Sciencenow Group (formerly the Current Science Group) began as a group of publishing companies in 1979. Several of our products have changed the way that science is communicated, notably the Current Opinion review journals, the BioMedNet community of scientists (one of the first web-based communities), the Investigational Drugs Database, BioMed Central's open access publishing and Faculty of 1000's post-publication peer review service. In addition, the group has developed mapping and navigation services for mobile phones, databases of events and hyperlocal news sites. The aim of each of the companies within the Sciencenow Group is to invent, build and establish new and useful services. Usually, once the task has been accomplished and a company has become commercially viable, our tradition is to sell the company and re-invest in another new venture. Our success has been based on keeping at the forefront of new developments both in science publishing and services for professionals and the public.