Now that the dust has settled, the volatility of the stock market during the dot-com boom is a memory that is already disappearing in the rear-view mirror of our collective conscious. It is time for the stories and histories to be told - the recent film Startup.com chronicled the rise and fall of, as you might have guessed, a dot-com startup; this book from Stephan Paternot, cofounder of theglobe.com, is ostensibly in the same vein.
After a prologue talking about the euphoria of IPO day (on which theglobe.com's share price jumped by 1000% before closing up 700% for the first day), Paternot (with a little help from a ghost-writer) talks the reader through his early life, up until his entry into college at Cornell, and the founding of his company. I say, "talks through his life" - that is precisely the tone of the book. It comes across as more than a little rushed, though the story is consistently gripping enough that it scarcely matters that the author's writing style would not be out of place in a Dick and Jane story. There is no doubt that Paternot and his friend and business partner, Todd Krizelman, were in the game right from the very beginning, and created what was probably a terrific Web site that became the Apple Macintosh's number one online community destination. For a pair of 20-somethings, this was a wonderful achievement, and Paternot is rightly proud of his company and its achievements. Some might say a little too proud, and the hubris in the book is sometimes breathtaking; for example, it might surprise aficionados of the internal combustion engine to hear that apparently the Internet is the most important human invention since movable type... though there is little doubt in my mind that the author's enthusiastic knack for hyperbole was probably what allowed him to convince a number of business big-shots to buy into his vision (most notably the ex-Chairman of Alamo Rent-A-Car, Michael Egan).
The book continues on, talking a great deal about stock price movement, and betraying the author's bitterness that theglobe.com was never quite so over-priced as so many other dot-coms (theglobe.com was one of the first companies whose value slid dramatically). Dust-jacket hints about salacious stories of an unconventional rebel wild-child flying in the face of the business establishment are few and far between, unfortunately - I was hoping for a few more tales of bacchanalian debauchery, but Paternot's life doesn't sound too different to that of most young, professional Manhattanites.
Nonetheless, it's certainly an interesting read by a talented person - that talent may not be in the literary field, but then you would hardly read the autobiography of Richard Branson and grumble about lack of literary merit. Ultimately, though, the book fizzles out in a rather unsatisfying way, and I was left with the overwhelming sensation that it was as if the company had never really existed... Perhaps it is fitting, then, that despite Paternot's pride in the fact that his company was still operating at the time of publication, all that is left of theglobe.com today is a message on the Web site: "In 1995, theglobe.com confirmed the Internet's power to connect people worlds apart. Unfortunately, after six amazing years, theglobe.com closed its doors on August 15, 2001... Thank you for your patronage and for the incredible support over the years. Sincerely,
theglobe.com"

I am 29 years old and was looking for a book to read by an author of my generation. And I stumbled across this one by Stephan Paternot. His true story almost reads like a novel because it sounds so exciting and adventurous. Being about the same age as the author and having been swept through Internet mania and lost my share of money, I found his story very engaging. I saw the review in salon.com after reading the book and was rather disappointed that the reviewer did not share my enthusiasm. Apparently, the book did not meet the reviewer's high intellectual standards, when in fact, Paternot's writing style was (I felt) a major strength in the book. It's as if the negative reviews (from other websites) I have seen are not so much about his book as they are begrudging of Paternot who possesses youth, movie-star looks, worldly upbringing, entrepreneurial family heritage, and Ivy League schooling. So his company failed. But other than maybe Michael Dell or Bill Gates when they were starting out, how many under-30 CEOs do you know have the poise and savvy to lead a highly publicized and publicly-traded company?

I just finished reading this book and I just wanted to say that I think this story is very fascinating. It was akin to reading a private diary. ( I wish I could write like that too.) To be so young and hit it big is the sort of thing that people dream of, myself included. I am 30 years old and so I can relate to some of the things he went through. As was pointed out, on the one hand, Steph and Todd had to conduct themselves as mature businessmen running a company. And on the other hand, he wanted to act the way other 23-year olds act, fun-loving and party-going, with boundless energy.

The last chapter, The Second Coming, was my favorite, as he poses self-searching questions about what new direction to take with his life. I find myself in the same position at this very moment. Good for him that he found his calling--- writing and acting. Hope to see the movie when it comes out.