VerticalNet ran websites for industries as narrow as water treatment, and at its peak Wall Street valued it in the billions. In 1999 investors believed the biggest internet opportunity lay in trade between businesses. VerticalNet ran dozens of industry sites, each a community with news, product listings, and job boards. It earned money from advertising and from deals between suppliers and buyers. It went public in February 1999 as the leading example of business-to-business commerce.

Content First, Then Markets

Michael McNulty and Douglas Alexander founded VerticalNet in Pennsylvania in 1995. The bet was that each industry would gather online in its own vertical community. VerticalNet built or bought sites for fields such as water treatment, semiconductors, and food service. Each community gave suppliers a focused audience and gave buyers a place to compare options. The plan was to start with content and grow into trading marketplaces once buyers and sellers were in one place.

The Boom, Then BravoSolution

VerticalNet priced its offering at $16 a share in February 1999, and its stock rose many times over within a year. At its peak the company was worth billions of dollars. When the business-to-business bubble burst in 2000, it sold most of its communities. It turned to procurement software, the tools companies use to manage their buying. BravoSolution acquired VerticalNet in 2008.

Cover: Prairie School Skyscraper, Chicago, Illinois, Perspective, Peter Joseph Weber. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a skyscraper (vertical markets).