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.

There was an e-commerce company. You might be making guesses as to where this is going.

A successful business was one that was making profits. Simple.

This was the least requirement - up until now.

And then came a slew of tech companies that had a dot-com at the end of their name.

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.

Skeptics worried if the smaller size of the orders would make economic sense for the company to deliver.

Some were sure it would work and that the skepticism was a result of people not understanding how the internet worked.

The company’s IPO launched. And then the stock was listed on Nasdaq.

It climbed.

But the company kept facing troubles.