Can I make money with a small searchengine?

Thinking of starting one...

[peterdaly]

I'm toying with the idea of starting a small search engine. Can a small niche search engine pay for itself, at minimum, and make a decent profit at best?

What are the realistic revenue streams? Overture ads?

Has anyone tried this? I have the interest, skills, and cash to aquire a system, but don't know if it's worth the time and cash investment.

Thanks for any feedback!

added - mods, feel free to move this post if you know of a better place for it. I wasn't sure where this should go.

[brakkar]

Hello,
I run a recent search engine, niche targeted, and it is already paying for itself (about 300$ per month), mostly targeted cpc banner ads. I'm about to join affiliates programes which should increase revenue.

Cordially,
Brakkar