Nasdaq Hitting 5,048 on March 10, 2000 The Beginning of the End

Just months after concerns about the Y2K bug fizzled, the tech-heavy Nasdaq, symbol of the new economy because of the many IT companies it lists, hit a high of 5,048 for the decade. From that date (March 10, 2000, to be exact), over the next two-and-a-half years, the index plunged almost 4,000 points, and never fully recovered. During those first years of the 2000s, companies burned through venture capital and IPO funds only to find that they couldnt stay in business long enough to raise cash the old-fashioned wayoffering actual products that people are willing to pay for.

Lesson learned: The e-commerce companies and IT vendors that survived figured out how to deal with a more skeptical customer base and did not suffer as much as other sectors during the Great Recession at the tail-end of the decade. Now IT appears poised to help lead the economy back on a growth path.

In the late 1990s, the stock marketfueled by investment in high techwas on a roll, new tech companies were launching everyday, and even Alan Greenspans talk of irrational exuberance couldnt dim our enthusiasm. Venture capitalists were pouring money into shaky new websites. The sites scaled up as quickly as possible, even without a demonstrated revenue stream or business model. By mid-2000, the dotcom bubble had burst, taking the economy and many peoples livelihoods with it. Boo.com, Pets.com, Webvanit was fun while it lasted, but the aftereffects were definitely not funny.