Chris Beech, a computer programmer seeking cash to develop his own business-to-business dot.com, is an interesting paradox.

Unlike many of his peers scrambling to develop web sites and flaunting e-commerce strategies to catch the coat tails of the online gold rush, he says that he finds the whole money side of the dot.com boom vulgar.

"I do find the whole dot.com idea and getting rich vulgar," he offers earnestly.

But still Beech, 25, admits the explosion of the internet means there has never been a better time to turn a dream into reality. That dream is one of the reasons why the former maths student switched his university studies to science and technology.

And he says Liverpool is a great place to kick start his venture. What drives the net community is intellectual capital - and Beech lists Liverpool as a breeding ground for web designers and programmers - calling it a "little village where everybody knows each other".

As a Liverpudlian, Beech is determined to locate his internet venture in Liverpool. He looks at companies like Amaze and Psygnosis, which had their genesis as one- and two-man operations, and sees that success on the international stage "can be done here by local people".

He admits that the biggest challenge in the dot.com world is not being located in England's north-west, but that so many other eager individuals have been drawn to the web and its potential riches.

"It is trying to stand out from that crowd that is the big thing," he said. "Otherwise it's perfectly feasible to run a business from Liverpool."

Beech has proved this with his programming contracts both for clients in Britain and others further afield. He recently designed a database search system for a German gallery so that web users could find works by different artists online. The opportunities extend further with the prospect that the gallery may later need an e-commerce operation developed.

The other big challenge Beech outlines is the need for greater support by government and England's wider entrepreneurial community.

"We've got to learn to go with a good idea in this country."

Beech is reluctant to discuss the detail of the business concept for which he is negotiating funding. Almost the only detail he will give away is his expectation that it will employ about 30 people within 18 months of its conception.

Beech has spent the past six months fine tuning his business plan that has been presented to venture capitalists.

"There's no point in talking a lot about it unless I've got the funding," says Beech. There is also the concern of intellectual property, which can be hard to defend on the internet.

Beech's confidence in his idea, however, is leading him to arrange a business trip to silicon valley - even without venture capital backing in place. His programming work has paid for the ticket and covered the hotel bills.

The visit to California will also provide the opportunity to tap some potential customers, says Beech. He also intends to network and meet companies and individuals with the technical expertise in the US that would support his business. The one drawback of Liverpool he does concede is that it may not have the deep pool of technical staff his business will need.

Asked whether he might not consider pockets of south-east England sometimes referred to as budding silicon valleys, and you get a flash of Mersey wit. "It's rubbish. There's only one silicon valley. It's almost guilt by association."