A space elevator by 2018?

I came across Liftport in this posting on Slashdot. They are a space elevator start-up, and proudly display a countdown clock on their home page ("4950 days to lift" as I write this) , which envisages the first Liftport elevator launch around 2018. And all of Liftport's employees have a blog as well and there is a comprehensive forum area too.