Dot Com Bubble: Lest We Forget
The rumors are all around: Silicon Alley is back, baby! Silly entrepreneurs are gonna be back in charge, kicking the venture capitalists like the bitches they are. Last week's Crain's pushes the madness, with a stern reminder:
In 1999, 25-year-old Stephan Paternot, co-founder of Theglobe.com—which had its brief turn in the limelight before crumbling—was captured in a CNN segment dancing in leather pants on a New York nightclub table with his model-girlfriend. He was quoted as saying, "Got the girl. Got the money. Now I'm ready to live a disgusting, frivolous life."
As a chastened 30-year-old, Mr. Paternot says his own leather-pants days are over, but he expects braggadocio to return along with the money. "I see the potential for cocky entrepreneurs to come back if the mini-bubble comes back," he says.
