Have you heard of Blue Mountain Cards? Back in the 90s there was a huge rush of companies trying to provide online ecard services. It seemed like everyone thought somehow giving away ecards was going to be a business model. What you must remember is that advertising revenue models were seen as very acceptable back then. This is a difference with todays focus on real revenue. However, there are some painful similarities in web 2.0 to this idea of building big applications that will make money only from advertising.
The ecard space is a funny one. This is the space that is eating the lunch from the old paper greeting card space thats been around forever and a day. It seems like the classic case of doing something through technology that was previously manual. But you should look deeper. eCards are not exactly the same product as paper greeting cards. You buy a paper card at a store and physically write on it. An ecard comes from a company like Blue mountain cards and is completely electronic. The products here are just not the same. So in essence, the technology is really impacted the very product. This is not unique, just look at tvs, video games or any other electronic based market.
So what exactly did blue mountain cards do that was so special? First, Blue Mountain Cards had a big lead going into the game. They had a good plan. It seems like the executives at Blue Mountain Cards new they were onto something big, but that it wouldnt last. So Blue Mountain Cards management decided to sell the company while everything was still red-hot. What a move that was.. Looking back, there are many things I wish I had done differently.
How is that in 2008 Blue Mountain Cards is still a going concern? You could argue that the management team at Blue Mountain Cards were the luckiest people on earth to have gotten such a valuation at such a time when that was seen as appropriate. I often wonder if management teams like that are really lucky or create luck due to their experience. This is not a small business. Flawed business model or not, Blue Mountain Cards made a big dent in a market worth billions. I am betting that this is why they are still around today. They built a brand and have a name worth something. The part that is not text book is how Blue Mountain Cards got out at the top of the market. I guess thats where a little luck goes a long way.
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