voices

“In terms of the Internet, it is a wonderful delivery mechanism and a great communication tool, but you still need to have a product or a service that's of value. I think the companies that can become profitable over the Internet are the ones that have a valuable service, and turn to the Internet as a more convenient distribution or communication method.”
— Jeff Hipschman, technology officer, Julien J. Studley Inc., New York

“Dot-coms need to have realistic business models, and legitimate products and services for their customer base. They also should have an attitude of providing value, not just getting rich, and take small, successful steps as opposed to gargantuan strides. It is no longer about technology — the technology we need to re-engineer the business processes and make the world digital is here. It is now about awareness, education and adoption.”
— Jim Young, CEO, Jamesan Group/REApplications, San Diego

“For [transaction management] companies to be successful in the future, I believe they're going to have to focus on efficiencies and cost savings, not just about how to split the fee differently. The commission structure that's in the transaction side of the business is a pretty big number, and everybody's excited about that. Instead of focusing on how to change the fee structure, the people who control these transactions need to get comfortable about the fact that these dot-com solutions can offer efficiencies, cost-savings and value for their customer.”
— Adam Kidd, CIO, Colliers Turley Martin Tucker, St. Louis

“I think a bunch of money went into this space [the Internet] on what I would refer to as ‘wish and hope investing.’ In hindsight, they probably didn't have a chance in hell to survive. The dot-comers that last will be the ones that support existing businesses that already have a value proposition in their customer base. Those companies that are actually out there trying to fight for survival are focusing their business to some aspect in the supply chain. The failure rate will be high, but so too will be the adoption of their business principles by more established companies, and that's the precursor to significant paradigm shifts in an industry.”
— Jack Cohen, CEO, Cohen Financial, Chicago