The tech bubble of the late '90s produced a number of flash-in-the-pan internet companies that raised millions — often in public offerings — only to flame out a year or two later.
There are surprising similarities between some of today's hottest tech companies and those dot-com predecessors.
Was the first generation too early? Or are today's companies heading for a similar fate?
SEE ALSO: The 25 hottest under-the-radar startups in America
MyLackey.com sent someone to do your chores for you — like TaskRabbit.
If you want some help cleaning your apartment, getting groceries delivered, or if you're in need of a handyman, you can hire a helper from TaskRabbit to help you get it done.
Founded in 1999 and funded by VC firms including WaldenVC, MyLackey.com was similar to the present-day iteration of TaskRabbit: you could hire someone to run your errands for you. Mylackey.com signed deals with local businesses to carry out the tasks. Sixteen months after launching, MyLackey.com shut down in October 2000.
Before you listened to music on Spotify, you downloaded it on Napster.
Napster was a peer-to-peer file sharing service that let users exchange MP3 files. However, since it hosted copyrighted music, Napster ran into legal troubles and eventually shut down and sold to software company Roxio in 2001. It seems companies like Spotify have learned from Napster — they work with record labels and artists to allow for legal music streaming.
Webvan and Kozmo offered instant delivery, similar to Amazon Fresh, Instacart, and other on-demand services today.
Both Webvan and Kozmo were dot-com era delivery startups. Webvan promised 30-minute grocery delivery, while Kozmo delivered Starbucks coffee, magazines, music, and more. Webvan was founded in 1999, raised $400 million from Softbank, Sequoia Capital, and Goldman Sachs, and went bankrupt two years later. Similarly, Kozmo launched in 1998, raising $280 million from Softbank, Flatiron Partners, Amazon, and Starbucks before eventually going out of business in 2001. Although Kozmo filed an IPO, it never went public. In a postmortem in April 2011, Forbes referred to Kozmo as "a bellwether for lunacy."
Instacart is 2015's answer to Webvan. You can use the service to get groceries delivered on-demand. Instacart has raised $275 million and is valued at $2 billion. Fresh Direct, another grocery delivery service, has raised $91 million. Both Amazon and Google have their own same-day grocery delivery services, too: Google Express and Amazon Prime Pantry.
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