Dot-Bombs

Brandweek, Nov 27, 2000

MODO.NET

Lifespan: Sept. 5 to Oct. 24, 2000

Investment: Received $18 million in second-round financing this spring

Still standing: Vindigo, OmniSky, AvantGo

Lowlights: Like a cruiser sunk by the champagne bottle used to christen it, Scout Electromedia's flagship device, the Modo, a handheld wireless tool whose sole purpose was to connect to Modo.net, lasted less than a month and a half. Scout Electromedia was hoping consumers would want to add a new, good-looking wireless thingy to their charm bracelets. But Modo, which went keel-up on Oct. 24, the day before the planned launch of Modo's L.A. office, took the HMS Titanic award this year for briefest tour afloat. Trouble came on Oct. 20, when Modo chief executive Geoff Pittfield was replaced by a more business-savvy Rudy Burger. Too late, mate. By the time Burger took the helm, there were fumes in the tank and a massive hole in the flank. Modo had been counting on a third round of funding, but when the market went south so did the cash. Yes, the L.A. launch party went off as planned, but it was probably more of a wake, in both the Catholic and nautical senses of the word.

URBAN BOX OFFICE NETWORK, NEWYORK

Lifespan: Spring 1999 to Nov. 5, 2000

Investment: $33.5 million

Still standing: BET.com, RapSearch.com, DaLinkz.com, HipHopBot.com

Lowlights: "The tragedy of life is not that man loses but that he almost wins," Heywood Broun wrote in Pieces of Hate, and Other Enthusiasms. That summation could probably apply to Urban Box Office Network, or UBO.net, the wildly ambitious consortium of Web sites that tried to showcase all things culturally urban. UBO.net was founded by the late George Jackson, former president and CEO of Motown Records and producer of the Wesley Snipes film, New Jack City. In reality, the bloated 350-employee company burned through a reported $3 million a month, spent $100,000 on a subsidiary site's launch party and suffered through Jackson's death from a stroke 14 days after his 42nd birthday. That's not to ignore the countless back-end tech problems and personnel changes that in the end, according to one former employee, brought on the Cadillac Syndrome--the sad realization that you bought a luxury car but will go hungry and homeless as a result.

PETS.COM, SAN FRANCISCO

Lifespan: Oct. 1998 to Nov. 7, 2000

Investment: In June 1999, Amazon.com, Bowman Capital and Hummer Winblad Venture Partners invested $50 million in the company, less than 10 weeks after its first round of funding. Its 52-week stock range: $14 to 6 cents

Still standing: PetSmart.com, PetGiftShop.com, Petopia.com

Lowlights: Best known for his smart-aleck, in-your-face antics and penchant for '70s tunes, the Pets.com Sock Puppet is perhaps the first Internet icon. A brainchild of TBWA\Chiat\Day San Francisco, the Sock Puppet zoomed to superstardom in less than a year. His silly smirk and button eyes adorned a bevy of print ads and TV commercials, not to mention talk shows, magazine pages and last year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. His Super Bowl spot, where he pleaded to pet owners in a sing-song way, "Please, don't go," received rave reviews. Much to the chagrin of his Pets.com owners, however, consumers and investors embraced the spokespuppet more readily than the company's business plan. Thins out, more people were willing to purchase the puppet than pet products online--apparently, even though pets can't drive, their owners can. After a failed attempt to shore up more funding, Pets.com closed shop, with plans to sell the majority of its assets, including inventory, URLs, content and most importantly, the Sock P uppet brand icon.