DotCom Divas

Each of these courageous and determined women created an innovative pure-play Net company from the germ of an idea. Dotcom Divas reveals how these founding females dreamed up their winning visions, secured funding, and recruited top-notch team members. It shows you how they overcame business and personal challenges, grew and marketed their businesses, and navigated the constantly changing environment that comes with the e-business territory.

Industry insider Elizabeth Carlassare provides an in-depth, behind-the-scenes perspective on the specific strategies each company has employed and the key lessons each founder has distilled from her Net startup experience--invaluable insights for experienced and aspiring entrepreneurs alike. You'll get an inside look at:

• How winning e-business ideas are developed
• Twenty innovative, effective e-business models
• How to get financial backing for an Internet business
• Sources of funding specifically for women
• How to build a first-rate team
• The challenges Net entrepreneurs face and how to overcome them
• How to create an Internet offering that "wows" customers
• Successful strategies, tactics, and marketing techniques

Although they're just a tiny fraction of the thousands of women who've launched successful Web-based companies, these entrepreneurs hale from stunningly diverse backgrounds. And their business models display as much variety as they do: from financial disclosures to pet products, B2B e-markets to online communities, and email marketing services to Net infrastructure. You'll meet the businesswoman who had already created companies in New York and Lithuania before launching a high-tech Silicon Valley startup, the single mother who revolutionized an industry, and the woman who, after buying a gift on Amazon.com, stopped being "an entrepreneur waiting to happen" and created a brand-new type of Web business.

All of these twenty-first-century heroines share an enterprising mix of courage, intelligence, business savvy, and just a little luck. In Dotcom Divas, they tell about their hard-won business wisdom and give practical advice to help you make smart decisions and avoid common pitfalls. Whether you're an entrepreneur or Internet professional, or just dreaming about starting your own business, their stories will ignite your own ambitions and inspire you to turn them into a reality that just might click.

Contents

Part I. Portal, Content, and Community Venture
1. Astronet, Eugenie Diserio
2. AudioBasket, Kim Fisher
3. eSampo.com, Mae Towada
4. iVillage, Candice Carpenter and Nancy Evans
5. LookSmart, Tracey Ellery
6. ThirdAge Media, Mary Furlong

Part II. Web-Based Services Ventures
7. Desktop.com, Katie Burke
8. EDGAR Online, Susan Strausberg
9. E-Loan, Janina Pawlowski
10. NetCreations, Rosalind Resnick

Part III. E-Commerce Ventures
11. Della.com, Jessica DiLullo Herrin and Jenny Lefcourt
12. Eve.com, Mariam Naficy and Varsha Rao
13. oneNest, Durreen Shahnaz
14. Petopia, Andrea Reisman
15. Sparks.com, Felicia Lindau
16. SuperVertical, Veronica Allende Serra

Part IV. E-Business Applications and Web Technology Ventures
17. CoVia, Deidre Paknad
18. eCommerce Industries, Paula Jagemann
19. Marimba, Kim Polese
20. RightWorks, Vani Kola
Appendix A: Resources for Entrepreneurs
Appendix B: Net Biz Buzzwords
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