Dot-Com History Captured

Let’s take a trip back in time to the dot-com-to-dot-bust, high flying, risk taking nineties. David Kirsch, a professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland, began a project in June to document the stories of early Internet startups. His hope is to capture what worked and what didn’t so that new entrepreneurs will avoid the mistakes of early Internet pioneers, or “at least make new mistakes”.

But Mr. Kirsh’s Dot-Com Archive offers lessons for auditors, too. Startups aren’t the only firms that can lose sight of reality in turbulent and emotional times. Mr. Kirsh’s archives are full of management lessons that your company would do well not to repeat. It’s also an insightful look into the psychology of risk taking and market behavior from the perspective of people who were there.

The Dot-Com Archive was recently featured in a New York Times business article.

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