 His vision is often credited with bringing products to market that today are used by millions of people, and have been purchased by companies like Yahoo, Microsoft, and others for millions of dollars.For example, in 1995, Hoffer was instrumental in bringing the first web-based national Yellow and White pages online, which were later licensed and co-branded with Yahoo, Nynex, American Express, Excite@Home, Lycos, and others.As the co-founder of Colloquis in 2000, Hoffer created the first commercially viable online robot for instant messaging, securing a controversial patent for the technology.