OLD DAYS... TOP 10 DOT-COM FLOPS

MSN is making us remember the old days with its list of the "Top 10 dot-com flops." Here is their list without the commentary:

1. Webvan
2. Pets.com
3. Kozmo.com
4. Flooz.com
5. eToys.com
6. Boo.com
7. MVP.com
8. Go.com
9. Kibu.com
10.GovWorks.com

My sad connection with the companies on this list is that I partied with a couple of these founders in Seoul during my youth:). Joe Park, a co-founder of Kozmo.com, was a friend of my good friend, Billy, so we hungout once in a while when he visited Korea. I remember the hype since they raised $280 million, the most out of any startup in 1999 (when I was at HeyAnita, our competitor, Tellme, raised the most for 2000 with $236 million). Kozmo.com should have just stay in densely populated cities, which is probably only NYC in the U.S.

Kaleil, a co-founder of GovWorks.com, was friends with my good friend, Sandor, so we went to one of the 2002 World Cup games in South Korea together and a couple parties in Seoul. I heard about GovWorks.com initially from my friend, Mike, who left Goldman Sachs to work there. Since I have an interest in goverment and public service, I thought the concept was great and really hoped that it would take off. Too bad it crashed and burned with the rest of them on this list.

Both of Joe and Kaleil had similar mixed reputations for being bold and arrogant during the time of their startup's rise and fall. Also both had documentaries made about their experiences, Startup.com and E-Dreams.