A successful business was one that was making profits. Simple.
This was the least requirement - up until now.
In the late 1990s, there were several IPOs (in the USA) that altered how investors viewed stocks.
Not just stocks, it changed what people thought a successful business looked like.
A successful business was one that was making profits. Simple.
This was the least requirement - up until now.
One of these was an e-commerce company.
It had operations in California and was looking to expand its warehouses to all over the US. And therefore, it needed the money from the IPO.
Some were sure it would work and that the skepticism was a result of people not understanding how the internet worked.
It climbed.
But the company kept facing troubles.
The delivery infrastructure wasn’t in place and was often flawed. It made desperate attempts by buying new delivery vehicles and renting warehouses to solve the delivery problem.
Very few understood the internet. And those who did thought it was the future.
They invested accordingly.
Surprised?
This isn’t Amazon we’re talking about. This is Webvan.
Off the bat, without names being mentioned, it sounds oddly like the Amazon stock.
If you had invested in XYZ IPO or stock 20 years ago, today you’d have… this is very easy to say.
If you don’t know now, how would you have known 20 years ago?
In the late 1990s, there were several other dot-com stocks and IPOs.
Many of them failed. Some succeeded. Amazon was one of them.
Those who understood it though, those investors made returns unheard of in decades.
There are companies that haven't made a profit so far. We in India aren't used to seeing such companies in the markets.
Some of these companies will become large like Amazon. Some will go the Webvan way.
