BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Companies that vanished: Pets.com -- the sock puppet dies]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/08/companies-that-vanished-pets-com-the-sock-puppet-dies/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/08/companies-that-vanished-pets-com-the-sock-puppet-dies/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/08/companies-that-vanished-pets-com-the-sock-puppet-dies/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

This post is part of a series on some of the most memorable companies that have disappeared.

What goes up, must come down. It was a cute ad. Who knew it would turn out to be so prophetic?

Pets.com will go down in history as a textbook example of dot-com flame-out, going from IPO to liquidation in nine short months.

Founded in 1998, the company, which had the bright idea of selling pet food and supplies to the public via the internet, went public in February 2000 and raised $82.5 million.

Continue reading Companies that vanished: Pets.com -- the sock puppet dies

Companies that vanished: Pets.com -- the sock puppet dies originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Amazon.comAMZNCompanies that Vanisheddot-comdot.com bombDrugstore.comDSCMe-tailersPets.compets.com sock puppetPetSmart.comPetStore.comSun, 08 Jun 2008 15:10:00 EST<![CDATA[The return of Pets.com?]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/06/21/the-return-of-pets-com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/06/21/the-return-of-pets-com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/06/21/the-return-of-pets-com/#commentsFiled under:

I'm sure there are many investors who would rather forget Pets.com. The 1990s company has become the poster child of the lunacy of the dot-com era. Apparently, the only profitable product of Pets.com was the sock puppet.

But I guess time heals wounds. That is, a private equity firm, LLR Partners, has plunked down $10 million in Pet Food Direct. Yep, this is an online pet retailer.

Actually, the company was started about ten years ago and has been tracking nicely. Besides having more than 11,000 products, there are also useful online guides on pet health/nutrition and an Auto-Ship program.

In fact, the pet industry is about $40 billion per year. So, there's definitely room for growth.

I still think it will take time to become a big player in the ecommerce space, though. I also think it's a good bet that Pet Food Direct isn't going to be spending big bucks on Super Bowl commercials.

To see more venture capital fundings, click here.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

The return of Pets.com? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Jun 2007 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>pet foodPet Food DirectPetFoodPetFoodDirectPets.comThu, 21 Jun 2007 08:20:00 EST<![CDATA[The MySpace for dogs lands a million in funding]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/09/14/the-myspace-for-dogs-lands-a-million-in-funding/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/09/14/the-myspace-for-dogs-lands-a-million-in-funding/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/09/14/the-myspace-for-dogs-lands-a-million-in-funding/#commentsFiled under: ,

dogster

OK, while MySpace is landing huge deals with companies like Google, Dogster is also getting traction. You see, Dogster is the social networking site for pets (yes, the company also has Catster.com).

Hey, doesn't man's best friend need his or her own web space? Of course.

True, all this may sound silly. But when News Corp. shelled out hundreds of millions for MySpace a year ago, Wall Street thought it was a stupid idea as well.

This week, Dogster landed a seed round of $1 million. The investors are very savvy dot-commers, like Jim Young (the founder of HotOrNot) and del.icio.us founder Joshua Schacter, who sold his company to Yahoo.

Currently, Dogster generates ad revenues primarily from Google AdSense. In fact, the company is currently profitable - which certainly is in stark contrast to one of the worst dot-com deals of the 1990s, Pets.com.

But with the capital, Dogster can get creative with business models. For example, there are certainly ecommerce opportunities.

As a dog lover, I know Dogster is brilliant. For example, this week, a friend of mine bought a $295 luxury bag to carry her dog (usually to business meetings). And, of course, her dog has a Dogster page.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.

The MySpace for dogs lands a million in funding originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Sep 2006 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>CatsterDogsterGoogleMySpacePets.comThu, 14 Sep 2006 11:45:00 EST