Back
Business Cards from the Dot-Com Era banner image

Business Cards from the Dot-Com Era

Ahhhhh... business cards. Those little rectangular pieces of paper that we exchange at meetings or events.

Even in today's digital world, it is kind of surprising that an electronic equivalent hasn't taken over. There have been some attempts... remember Bump? It made sense... but it was kind of awkward.

Through the years, I've collected lots and lots of business cards. I was going through them recently and found a nice stash of cards from many, many years ago. Below is a slideshow with a bunch of them, mostly from the dot-com era. Enjoy the walk down memory lane!

If you have any old business cards that you'd like to share... send me an email. If I get enough of them, I'll create another slideshow.

Here's my business card as I was cutting my teeth in the recruiting industry, after being a Tax Consultant at KPMG. Our clients were mainly dot-coms and web development firms in Boston.

Here's my business card as I was cutting my teeth in the recruiting industry, after being a Tax Consultant at KPMG. Our clients were mainly dot-coms and web development firms in Boston.

Furniture.com was the pre-cursor to Wayfair. 

Charlie Anderson was the VP of Human Resources. Since then, he held a variety of HR positions for companies in the Boston area.

Furniture.com was the pre-cursor to Wayfair. 

Charlie Anderson was the VP of Human Resources. Since then, he held a variety of HR positions for companies in the Boston area.

MotherNature.com was the equivalent of The Honest Company. It went public in 1999 and shut down in 2001.

Dennis Nothern was the company's Director of Information Technology. After MotherNature.com, he held several different roles at Savvis.

MotherNature.com was the equivalent of The Honest Company. It went public in 1999 and shut down in 2001.

Dennis Nothern was the company's Director of Information Technology. After MotherNature.com, he held several different roles at Savvis.

Silknet was a CRM software company based in Manchester, NH. The company went public in 1999 and was acquired by KANA for $4.2B in 2000.

Jay Wood was the company's president and CEO. He's now a filmmaker, playwright, and investor on the west coast

Silknet was a CRM software company based in Manchester, NH. The company went public in 1999 and was acquired by KANA for $4.2B in 2000.

Jay Wood was the company's president and CEO. He's now a filmmaker, playwright, and investor on the west coast

Way back when... I used to recruit a lot of people out of the management consulting practices of the Big 5 (now the Big 4) accounting, tax, and consulting firms.

Here's Bob Mallon's card. He's now the Director of Product at Zagster.

Way back when... I used to recruit a lot of people out of the management consulting practices of the Big 5 (now the Big 4) accounting, tax, and consulting firms.

Here's Bob Mallon's card. He's now the Director of Product at Zagster.

Answerthink was a web development firm back in the dot-com era which was helping companies build their online presence.

Chia Chen headed up the Boston office for the company. He's now in NYC as a VP at Cognizant.

Answerthink was a web development firm back in the dot-com era which was helping companies build their online presence.

Chia Chen headed up the Boston office for the company. He's now in NYC as a VP at Cognizant.

Sermo is a social network for doctors. The company started in 2006, so after the true dot-com boom. The company was acquired by WorldOne in 2012.

Daniel Palestrant was the company's founder & CEO. He has since founded another company in the Boston area called par8o.

Sermo is a social network for doctors. The company started in 2006, so after the true dot-com boom. The company was acquired by WorldOne in 2012.

Daniel Palestrant was the company's founder & CEO. He has since founded another company in the Boston area called par8o.

Beansprout Networks offered customizable websites to pediatricians, licensed childcare distributors, and childcare resources.

David Chung, M.D. was the company's CEO & co-founder. He's now the founder & CEO of Dover Lifesciences.

Beansprout Networks offered customizable websites to pediatricians, licensed childcare distributors, and childcare resources.

David Chung, M.D. was the company's CEO & co-founder. He's now the founder & CEO of Dover Lifesciences.

Adesso Systems originally focused on providing enterprise mobile application solutions to companies back in 2004.

Dennis Kelly was Adesso's president. Today, he's the CEO of Boingnet, a marketing automation platform.

Adesso Systems originally focused on providing enterprise mobile application solutions to companies back in 2004.

Dennis Kelly was Adesso's president. Today, he's the CEO of Boingnet, a marketing automation platform.

Extraprise was a Siebel systems integration firm. Siebel was the leading CRM application before Salesforce.com changed the game.

George Hotter was the company's recruiting & employee development manager. He went on to head up HR at OpenPages and today, he's the VP of Talent Acquisition at Medicus Healthcare Solutions.

Extraprise was a Siebel systems integration firm. Siebel was the leading CRM application before Salesforce.com changed the game.

George Hotter was the company's recruiting & employee development manager. He went on to head up HR at OpenPages and today, he's the VP of Talent Acquisition at Medicus Healthcare Solutions.

Based in Burlington, Lightbridge was the company behind the scenes helping cell phone companies validate your worthiness as a customer through an instant credit check.

John Pearson was an Account Director. Today, he's a General Manager at Magenic.

as people were just star

Based in Burlington, Lightbridge was the company behind the scenes helping cell phone companies validate your worthiness as a customer through an instant credit check.

John Pearson was an Account Director. Today, he's a General Manager at Magenic.

as people were just star

Back in 1999, Isovia was early to the mobile industry as a provider of supply chain and CRM applications in a mobile environment.  

Manish Goyal was a VP & co-founder of the company. Today, he's the founder & CEO of Friendbuy in Los Angeles

Back in 1999, Isovia was early to the mobile industry as a provider of supply chain and CRM applications in a mobile environment.  

Manish Goyal was a VP & co-founder of the company. Today, he's the founder & CEO of Friendbuy in Los Angeles

Founded in 2005, Jumptap was originally taking on Google with mobile search before converting into a mobile ad network. The company was acquired by Millennial Media in 2013.

Jorey Ramer was a co-founder & VP. He's now on the west coast as the founder & CEO of Super.

Founded in 2005, Jumptap was originally taking on Google with mobile search before converting into a mobile ad network. The company was acquired by Millennial Media in 2013.

Jorey Ramer was a co-founder & VP. He's now on the west coast as the founder & CEO of Super.

Upstream was an investment management technology company founded in 1999.

Michael Bendek was the company's CFO. Today, he's the president, CFO, and co-founder at LifeYield.

Upstream was an investment management technology company founded in 1999.

Michael Bendek was the company's CFO. Today, he's the president, CFO, and co-founder at LifeYield.

Greylock was originally a blue-chip VC firm based in the Boston area, until the firm moved it's operations to the west coast.

Mike Ahearn was the firm's recruiting partner. I doubt he remembers this, but he took the time to meet with you as I was looking to start my first company. He helped me out by making some connections.

Greylock was originally a blue-chip VC firm based in the Boston area, until the firm moved it's operations to the west coast.

Mike Ahearn was the firm's recruiting partner. I doubt he remembers this, but he took the time to meet with you as I was looking to start my first company. He helped me out by making some connections.

Cogentric was a security and risk management technology company based in Portsmouth, NH.

I actually served as the company's interim head of recruiting, as they were aggressively hiring. 

I helped recruit Raj Rajagopalan into the company. He was one of the top J2EE Architects in the country. Today, he's with Cox Automotive.

Cogentric was a security and risk management technology company based in Portsmouth, NH.

I actually served as the company's interim head of recruiting, as they were aggressively hiring. 

I helped recruit Raj Rajagopalan into the company. He was one of the top J2EE Architects in the country. Today, he's with Cox Automotive.

i-Cube was a custom software service provider which went public in 1998. The company was acquired by Razorfish for $677M.

Robert Lapides was the company's VP of Global Business Development. Today, he's the a co-founder of Invoice Cloud.

i-Cube was a custom software service provider which went public in 1998. The company was acquired by Razorfish for $677M.

Robert Lapides was the company's VP of Global Business Development. Today, he's the a co-founder of Invoice Cloud.

170 Systems was a document imaging company focused on automating and optimizing financial processes for organizations. The company was acquired by Kofax in 2009.

Sue Mildrum was an engineering manager at the company. Today, she is a director of engineering at Endurance Interational Group.

170 Systems was a document imaging company focused on automating and optimizing financial processes for organizations. The company was acquired by Kofax in 2009.

Sue Mildrum was an engineering manager at the company. Today, she is a director of engineering at Endurance Interational Group.