posted on November 20, 2000 09:02:11 AM
the dot com I worked for (which will have to remain nameless, since I still do freelance work for my ex-boss) was one of the first to go early this year. I believe the trend will continue, considering the huge number of bad business plans out there....
take eve.com for example....started by 2 twentysomethings, very bright young women with MBA degrees from Harvard, who thought it would be brilliant to sell cosmetics online. However,industry giants Estee Lauder and Lancome own 2/3 of all the high end make up brands and they were not going to allow those brands to be sold on eve.com, since they plan to market those brands online themselves, OR to keep them exclusive to their high end stores (can't remember which was which company's plan). The two founders of eve.com knew this (they were warned by other industry people) but thought that selling the other 1/3 of makeup brands could carry them into success if they provided great customer service and an appealing environment for shopping. they spent a ton on advertising....and they had a nice site. but in the end, that 1/3 wasn't enough, they lacked the major players, and just like people had told them, they failed because they didn't have the brands people were looking for and those brands themselves had their own competing sites. eve.com closed down earlier this fall. So the business plan, even thought up by the best young minds, and funded with tons of venture capital, was flawed from the start. I think many more will follow this type of reality-awakening.
if you want to read more about this type of behind the scenes info on dot com failures, there's a certain website out there with a lot of great info----if you don't mind X-rated language and attitudes. I refer of course to www.f****dcompany.com......fill in the asterisks. Tons of industry gossip, you have to take what you read with a grain of salt, but having worked in the dot com industry I find it's overall a pretty accurate picture....
I refer of course to www.f****dcompany.com......fill in the asterisks. Tons of industry gossip, you have to take what you read with a grain of salt, but having worked in the dot com industry I find it's overall a pretty accurate picture....