theGlobe.com was an internet startup founded in 1994 by Cornell Students Stephan Paternot and Todd Krizelman. A Social Networking service, theGlobe.com made headlines by going Public on November 13th, 1998 and posting the largest First Day Gain of any IPO in History up to that date. Part of the Dot-Com Bubble, the Company's Stock Price collapsed the next year, and the Company retrenched for several years before ceasing operations in 2008.
The Facebook Website was launched on February 4th, 2004.
While undergraduates at Cornell, Paternot and Krizelman encountered a Primitive Chatroom on the University's Computer Network and quickly became engrossed. Realizing the Business potential, the two raised $15,000 over the 1994 Christmas Break and purchased an Apple Internet Server. They founded a Programming Company, WebGenesis, and spent the next few months Programming what would become their Primary Website. theGlobe.com went live April 1st, 1995, and attracted over 44,000 visits within the first month. They readily recruited Talent from the Cornell Computer Science Department and had 17 Employees by the Site's first Anniversary. The pair used the Popularity of the Site and the increasing interest in the Internet in 1997 to secure $20 million in Financing through Dancing Bear Investments. As a result, Paternot and Krizelman received Salaries in excess of $100,000 and Revenues from Preferred Shares Sales of $500,000 each. Both were 23 years old at the time.
This is the view from my office in Kirkland, WA before we moved a couple of blocks from the Space Needle in Seattle, WA.
In 1997, I was approached to become the Interim CIO of Shop.theglobe.com with offices in Seattle, Washington. The Project was to Create and Manage the Integration and Redevelopment of an Internet Shopping Mall in WA, with the Community Site of theglobe.com in NY. We created: Catalog, Shopping Cart, and Payment system; EDI system with all their Shipping Companies; CRM system for the Customer Care Center; and a Rich-Media Email Marketing systems to Empower and Monetize their 15m Customers. This Project lasted a Year.
In 1998, Plans were made to take the Company Public. On Friday, November 13th, 1998, theGlobe.com issued its IPO. The Stock's target Share Price was initially set at $9, yet the First Trade was at $87 and the Price climbed as high as $97 before Closing at $63.50. At the end of the Trading Day, the Company had set a Record for IPOs with a 606% Increase over the Initial Share Price. The Company floated 3.1 million Shares, raising $27.9 million and bringing its Market Capitalization to over $840 million.
1999 marked the Change in the Momentum of the Dot Com Boom and theGlobe.com's Stock Price was hit heavily. As Investors grew increasingly Skeptical of the "New Economy", Share Prices began to Decline rapidly. theGlobe.com saw its Share Price drop from a High of $97 to less than 10 cents and its Market Capitalization shrink by more than 95% to around $4 million in 2001.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
No comments:
Post a Comment