Failed early internet businesses seem awfully familiar.
> I basically think all the ideas of the 90s that everybody had about how this stuff was going to work, I think they were all right, they were all correct. I think they were just early — @pmarca
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Webvan (1996 - 2001) – One of the most notorious dotcom flops. Instacart's last private valuation was $4.2B. Differences? Instacart outsources grocery inventory to stores and delivery vehicles + logistics to Instacart shoppers.pic.twitter.com/pexrnlfx9J
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TextPayMe (2006) – Payments between friends via mobile phones. Sounds like Venmo! This article even frames TextPayMe as "the logical second act for PayPal." Venmo was. Now PayPal owns them :)pic.twitter.com/YsSmSx8ccT
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Pets.com (1998 - 2000) – bad idea, too early, or just prematurely bankrupted by the bubble bursting? PetSmart acquired Chewy.com for $3.35B in 2017! People mocked later attempts to sell pet supplies online, but the Pets.com CEO understood it was viable https://www.businessinsider.com/petscom-ceo-julie-wainwright-2011-2 …pic.twitter.com/UJdJCQQUXd
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There were lots of attempts to build digital currencies before Bitcoin: DigiCash ('89), Beenz (98), Flooz (99), e-gold (98), 1mdc (01), e-Bullion (01). Some even tried to anonymously create underground (Tor only) currencies like eCache (2007).pic.twitter.com/rGb77rLTtV
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my mom used “homerun” for at least a year before it shut down - pre peapod (which now feels like it’s been around forever) and instacart
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wow I didn't realize how long Peapod has been around. My parents used it too. According to their Wikipedia, the company has been around since 1989?? Talk about cockroach businesses... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peapod
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whoaaaa. i remember seeing the trucks in the late 90s/early 2000s, but i can’t imagine how that business model looks in 1989???
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According to Wikipedia they were doing online deliveries in 93. Incredible lol
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No clue what they were doing in 89 tho
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