Dotcom Business Plans Archive Project

One of the most important initiatives in the domain of business documentation is that of professor David Kirsch from the University of Maryland, who thought of a dotcom Business Plan Archive - , a project that consists of collecting business plans for posterity. The project was started in 2002, through the Web portal businessplanarchive.org. The site was built by Webmergers.com and the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, in collaboration with the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.The project received financial support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The archive contains records of more than 2,300 Internet companies (either successful or failed) founded in the 90s and during the Internet boom and bust era, that is between 1996 and 2000. The area of interest goes from business strategy to people's interactions in the dotcom workplace. The result will be a digital repository including business plans, marketing plans, venture presentations and any other records. The second part of the project will consist in gathering narratives from entrepreneurs, investors, employees and even customers who participated in this type of activity.

The purpose and usefulness of this project is to preserve past evidence of assumptions and strategies of successful and failed companies, thus providing valuable hints and knowledge for researchers and budding entrepreneurs, so as to learn from past mistakes and successes. Researchers will be able to benefit from this data so as to conduct both qualitative and quantitative research. Valuable insight from these business plans can be obtained:

* assumptions of the founders about the business;
* entrepreneurs' plans to best exploit Internet offered advantages;
* assumptions on market growth and size;
* plans for gaining competitive advantage over traditional and online competitors;
* business core strategies.

The project brought to the researchers involved an award of $235,000 granted by the Library of Congress.

Laura Ciocan writes for http://www.businessplanning.ws where you can find more information about business planning
Please feel free to use this article in your Newsletter or on your website. If you use this article, please include the resource box and send a brief message to let me know where it appeared.
Contact:lauracio@gmail.com

---

If You Dont Focus, Innovate and Evolve, You Die

After 128 years of business, a household word, Montgomery Wards,... Read More

Business Results - Four Critical Success Factors

Scenario OneDuring a recent presentation, a business owner was given... Read More

How to Snuff Out the Competition Without Leaving a Mark

Does the competition drive you crazy?Are they relentless about taking... Read More

Under Construction During the Storm ? A Hurricane Guide for Businesses that are Under Construction

As a business owner, you've likely created a hurricane plan... Read More

More Uses for Your Business Plan

You have invested a lot of time and energy on... Read More

Why Create an Annual Plan?

Can you imagine going on a road trip without knowing... Read More

Scheduling of Additional Auto Detailing or Mobile Car Wash Units

If you own a mobile car wash business or auto... Read More

How to Write a Business Plan Market Analysis

Writing a business plan is an essential part of the... Read More

A Unique Joint Venture Twist: Make Huge Profits Even If You Have No Money, No Products, and No List

Would you like to jumpstart your online or offline business... Read More

Parking Business, the Details on Increasing Lot Revenue

If you are in the parking business and own or... Read More

Don?t Allow Yourself to Get Burned

I am not a big fisherman, but I do enjoy... Read More

Idaho Market for Automotive Businesses; Doing it Right

Anyone who has been watching the Idaho Market Carefully for... Read More

Urban Flight in Ohio

Many of Ohio's downtown areas are in need of upgrading... Read More

Mining Market Data

With a heightened awareness of opportunity, ideas can often be... Read More

I Always Play by the Rules and It Stinks!

This week I coached a wonderfully lovely woman I'll call... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Implementation: Pharmaceutical Corporation Specifics ? overview

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains serves mid-size and large clients... Read More

3 Undercover Ways to Make Big Profits from Your Competition

You have heard that there is extra money on the... Read More

What Every Service Provider Ought To Know About Writing A Business Plan

It's easy to lose sight of what needs to be... Read More

Cost-cutting Essential to Maintaining Profits

Why cut costs now? Efforts are multiplying to cut costs... Read More

Making a Decision to Outsource: Strategic Constraints

Many companies are reluctant to dive into outsourcing ocean because... Read More

Vendor Relations Strategies Sample Outline

One of the quintessential parts to any business is your... Read More

Do You Really Need a Business Plan?

"I don't need a business plan."Neither did Alice in Wonderland."Would... Read More

Who is Responsible?

While writing an article recently on effective ways to bridge... Read More

Titanic Precautions

Many movies have been made about the tragic story of... Read More

ERP Role in Selling Your Mid-size Business ? Microsoft Great Plains and CRM Example

If you own the mid-size business and actively work in... Read More

Akron OH; A great place to do business

When looking at Akron carefully one cannot help but notice... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Implementation: Placement/Recruiting Agency example ? overview for consultant

Microsoft Great Plains does wonderful ERP job for horizontal markets... Read More

Abstract thought on Business Strategy and Nature

Here is an abstract thought on studying nature and the... Read More

Are You Ready To Go International?

Although North Americans were the dominant population on the Internet,... Read More

The Importance of Value Mix

( * - the word 'product' can be substituted to... Read More

Do You Have A Customer Identity Crisis?

The trick is to determine what uniquely identifies your best... Read More

25 Ways To Find Companies To Buy

When you start your program to purchase your "ideal" company,... Read More

Seasonality: Whats the Big Deal?

Do you work in or own a business that's affected... Read More