jasonb - so basically your business partner (if i understand you correctly), decided to use an identical site layout in order to create discussion about your web hosting company and hence potentially bring you more customers?
If i've understood correctly thats so, so stupid, in fact action like that is likely to cause a negative effect on your hosting company, give you and your business a bad reputation and lose you customers!
As for building up backlinks, just start submitting to free web directories. If you really want to spend money find some popular related paid directories with good PR and submit to them!