The sudden demise of the internet news service netimperative.com has surprised industry insiders and pierced another small puncture in the internet bubble. The service today fell victim to the backlash against dotcom companies and started liquidation proceedings just three months after its launch.
The company held discussions with its main shareholder Durlacher over the weekend and had been expected to secure more funds, but it appears Durlacher was unwilling to provide a second tranche of financing for the start-up. Durlacher, a stockbroking firm turned niche internet investor, holds a 28.5% stake in Net Imperative.
Last week the online fashion retailer boo.com collapsed, and at the weekend the video-on-demand provider Yes TV abandoned a stock market flotation planned for this morning. With the planned £600m offering undersubscribed in the recent freefall of technology stocks, Yes TV pulled the plug on its offering.
Netimperative.com described itself as the first in a planned international network of localised information and community service providers. It reported on sectors such as technology, investment, media and marketing and was a networking forum for entrepreneurs and investors.
The company was founded by Felicia Jackson, the former editor of New Media Investor, the UK's leading publication on investment in the UK internet industry. A highly regarded and respected authority on the sector, she also acts as an adviser for the Department of Trade and Industry's trade association and is a consultant to number of start-up internet businesses.
She has done stints as a stock analyst for newsletters such as Chart Breakout and Quantum Leap and a journalist for a number of publications including PFI report and Sports Marketing.
Net Imperative did not have the glitz and glamour of boo.com, with its attendant stories of extravagant spending plans. Amory Hall, chief executive of the web strategy firm Akasha Media said: "You can't just point the finger at management. You have to look at the people writing the cheques with unrealistic expectations. I'm convinced both boo.com and Net Imperative would have going concerns if given time."
The two collapses can only reinforce the view that the market is taking a more jaundiced look at internet startups with their sky-high valuations. Accountants PriceWaterhouseCoopers have warned that many loss-making enterprises are gobbling up money so fast that one in four will run out of cash in less than six months.
A separate survey by FT.com found that the British public is turned off by internet industries, with only 7% saying they would like to be involved in a dotcom and just 3% prepared to give up their jobs if they had a good idea for an internet startup.
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Net Imperative goes into liquidation
Comment: dot.com pain continues
