Dots Dashed

Dotcoms come and dotcoms go, but the lessons we learn from them last a lifetime. The new economy has turned a corner; that's old news. It's far more interesting and useful to spot the new economy's new location. Where you think we are now depends a lot on what you think you learned from the last round. Here's a report from the GPSs of 16 explorers -- gurus, VCs, leaders, and bleeders -- of the Internet's opening act.

Bob Lessin

Chairman and CEO
Wit SoundView Group Inc.
New York, New York

My advice to B2C companies trying to make a go of it alone? Don't do it. If you don't already exist on the Web, don't bother now. You'll be wasting your time. That is, unless you have an idea that touches the consumer in a unique way. But I've got news for you: There aren't many unique ideas out there.

Why is it so impossible to enter the Internet space as a stand-alone B2C? Primarily, because brands rule. And the cost of building a brand has grown from $10 million to several billion. The events of last year have made me understand, like never before, the power and legitimacy of brands. When the dust settles, we'll have only a few brands left: Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, and perhaps a few others.

Many B2Cs made the mistake of presuming there would always be an abundance of capital. They didn't focus on building their brands. Today, unless those companies have found a physical partner or another way to extend their brand, they're facing a tough road.

I don't think most people anticipated that in one day, one hour, one minute, everything would change. But in the market, there's rarely a gradual landing. When CEOs ask, "What's the secret to venture capital?" I say, "Not running out of money."

Don't get cute with capital. Presume that you'll never raise another dime, and run your business accordingly.

Bob Lessin began his career at Morgan Stanley, and in 1987 he became the youngest person to make partner at that firm. Before joining Wit Capital in 1998, he was vice chairman of Salomon Smith Barney. Wit Capital merged with SoundView Technology in early 2000. Wit SoundView Group now focuses exclusively on the Internet and technology sectors.

Candice Carpenter

Cofounder and chairman
iVillage Inc.
New York, New York

What's one tough lesson that I've learned about doing business on the Internet? It's important to have a diverse team. I'm not talking about just gender or race. I mean diversity of skills and temperament. It's hard to get your team composition right.

At the beginning, you need more diversity than you can imagine. When we started iVillage, we didn't have enough technical people or really anal analytical people. Instead, we had a surplus of people who could sell our story to customers and advertisers -- which is great. But you still need people to build the subways. That lack of diversity slowed us down in the beginning.

But as critical as diversity is at the beginning, once you start to scale, you want the opposite: a team of minds that think alike. Otherwise, you get gridlock. As iVillage grew, creative gridlock threatened our team's cohesiveness. I had to deal with intuitive people, analytical people, lyrical people, and worrywarts. It took a lot of work to get everyone to trust one another.

An added challenge, of course, was managing people during the overhyped, dysfunctional universe of the Internet boom. In the end, you're crazy to let any kind of success go to your head. The moment when everything seems to be going your way is exactly when you should be looking over your shoulder and asking, What's brewing?

Candice Carpenter (candice@mail.ivillage.com) stepped down as CEO of iVillage in August 2000. She took the company public in March 1999, when its stock price reached an overall high of $130. The company, which she cofounded in 1995 and of which she remains chairman, is a women's network that draws more than 10 million viewers each month. Previously, Carpenter served as president of the shopping channel Q2, as well as president of Time-Life Video and Television.