Right now, as I'm sure many of you already know, it's an ugly scene in e-commerce land. Of course the entire economy is poor right now, but I believe that a down period was destined for the web industry anyway. In the online industry, this is simply reality setting in over hype.
Did you know that even Amazon.com has not reached profitability yet? Priceline.com has cut back on all their new ventures like selling discounted food and gas. To survive (and grow their business more wisely), they have returned to their original ideas of airline tickets and hotel rooms.
Most businesses that were solely supported by VC money are now history. Companies that went public with fantastic results on paper are also shutting down. Many of the biggies have fallen! I've heard estimates that 55% of online businesses have now closed. And it's also very likely that you'll see more businesses leave the arena before it's all over. You see, since so many e-businesses were exchanging money between one another it has been a chain reaction that has affected virtually every aspect of the online world in one way or another.
However, businesses which operated with no debt and were very close to profitability are still around and are much more likely survive the fallout. What we have learned from the past boom of the "new economy" is that the "new" economy is nothing more than an extension of the real-world economy in that a business, any business, must follow basic fundamentals to thrive. To be successful online, just like offline, you need a business plan that will eventually lead to profitability!
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