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Ask HN: What company were you at when the dot-com bubble burst in mid 2000?

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Re: Ask HN: What company were you at when the dot-com bubble burst in mid 2000?

#31

Post by DevX101 »

dpcan wrote: post #6

I was a developer at a startup that specialized in creating some cool fleet management software for the trucking industry, as well as some way-ahead-of-its-time mobile technology (WAP). I personally believe that if this company re-booted and started up again today, it would rock.

I don't anything about that industry but I would assume that the trucking industry already has pretty advanced fleet tracking & management, do they not?

If I'm a Walmart or a Best Buy I'd make it a priority to know exactly where all my trucks are at all times.

Re: Ask HN: What company were you at when the dot-com bubble burst in mid 2000?

#32

Post by baggachipz »

I was a web developer at The Motley Fool (fool.com). I learned that even a company whose credo was fiscal responsibility is not immune to hype (but it was an awesome place to work). I wish I knew then that stock options are not guaranteed riches in the future.

Re: Ask HN: What company were you at when the dot-com bubble burst in mid 2000?

#34

Post by KevinMS »

TheBiv wrote: post #3
ericgs wrote: post #2

Wasn't the .com bubble more mid-90's than mid-2000's?

My apologies for not clarifying...I meant when the dot com bubble burst in the mid-2000's. Edit: to prevent any other miscommunication in the title.

It popped year 2000, there was no event in the mid 2000s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nasdaq2.png

Re: Ask HN: What company were you at when the dot-com bubble burst in mid 2000?

#35

Post by petervandijck »

po wrote: post #22

I had just left a mobile healthcare company (Palm VII's and Palm V's with a giant data sled!!!) I had founded in college with some friends that was doomed for failure. I had just graduated and started at a small mobile company (hockey-stick growth!) that was trying to convince distributors that putting cell phones in Coke machines to call home was a good idea. I was told the company was planning to double in size tha…

4 months of emergency funds + 4 months per dependent is my rule of thumb.

Re: Ask HN: What company were you at when the dot-com bubble burst in mid 2000?

#36

Post by allenbrunson »

I was a C++ developer at Be, that made an alternative OS called BeOS. Perhaps a few of you have heard of it (heh).

Unfortunately, I started too late, after the company had more or less given up trying to market BeOS as a standalone product. They had shifted their focus to internet appliances. We were working on the Sony eVilla at the time, which proved to be a huge disaster.

The company had been managing to get investments for 11 years, based on their excellent tech demos. But when the dot-com bust happened, the funding dried up. The company was acquired by Palm, and all but the 50 most valuable employees were laid off. I definitely wasn't in that elite group, so I was out the door.

That was the one and only time I've managed to get hired at an A-level tech company. I suck at marketing myself.

Re: Ask HN: What company were you at when the dot-com bubble burst in mid 2000?

#37

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

DevX101 wrote: post #31
dpcan wrote: post #6

I was a developer at a startup that specialized in creating some cool fleet management software for the trucking industry, as well as some way-ahead-of-its-time mobile technology (WAP). I personally believe that if this company re-booted and started up again today, it would rock.

I don't anything about that industry but I would assume that the trucking industry already has pretty advanced fleet tracking & management, do they not? If I'm a Walmart or a Best Buy I'd make it a priority to know exactly where all my trucks are at all times.

Neither do I, but I wouldn't assume that either. What about all the small fleet truckers that you never hear about? Everyone needs software, but not everyone needs Enterprise Level Software.

Re: Ask HN: What company were you at when the dot-com bubble burst in mid 2000?

#38

Post by po »

petervandijck wrote: post #35
po wrote: post #22

I had just left a mobile healthcare company (Palm VII's and Palm V's with a giant data sled!!!) I had founded in college with some friends that was doomed for failure. I had just graduated and started at a small mobile company (hockey-stick growth!) that was trying to convince distributors that putting cell phones in Coke machines to call home was a good idea. I was told the company was planning to double in size tha…

4 months of emergency funds + 4 months per dependent is my rule of thumb.

I like that rule. Two months is definitely an absolute minimum. That's when you pull your pockets inside out and say you're broke.

Re: Ask HN: What company were you at when the dot-com bubble burst in mid 2000?

#39

Post by lclaude01 »

I was working as a Senior Project Manager / Designer at Contempo Design (Architecture and Design) in San Francisco. One of my project was goto.com in Pasadena, California. It was beautiful, 4 floors of pure modern. Goto.com went belly up not long after (under Disney). Large projects with Bank of America and Charles Schwab kept me busy for 3 years.
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