# Surviving the Dot-Com Bust

- Show: [Oxide and Friends](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends)
- Published: 2022-05-24
- Length: 1h 31m
- Episode: 15
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-05-24-surviving-the-dot-com-bust
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/24fc5695

## Summary

Bryan Cantrill, Adam Leventhal, and other Oxide Computer Company engineers discuss the dynamics of the dot-com bust, using historical examples like Sun Microsystems, boo.com, and Trilogy to draw parallels with the current tech environment. They analyze how 'picks and shovels' companies like Sun survived by focusing on cost-efficiency during downturns, while speculative ventures like boo.com and AllAdvantage failed due to a lack of viable revenue models. The group also examines the human impact of these busts, including the 'Delionaire' phenomenon at Dell and the psychological shift from greed to survival, offering advice on how startups like Oxide can navigate potential economic contractions by emphasizing value and cost savings for customers.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-05-24-surviving-the-dot-com-bust#t=0) Introduction: The Speed of Bubbles and Denial
- [1:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-05-24-surviving-the-dot-com-bust#t=97) The 'Picks and Shovels' Myth and Sun Microsystems
- [4:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-05-24-surviving-the-dot-com-bust#t=273) Early Flameouts: boo.com and the Mad Dash to IPO
- [10:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-05-24-surviving-the-dot-com-bust#t=659) The Globe.com IPO and the Broadening of the Bubble
- [17:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-05-24-surviving-the-dot-com-bust#t=1070) The Correction: Robber Baron Spending and Telco Collapse
- [28:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-05-24-surviving-the-dot-com-bust#t=1718) Student Placement, Trilogy, and the Bust's Impact on Hiring
- [36:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-05-24-surviving-the-dot-com-bust#t=2194) Visualizing the Bust: Billboards, Dead Plants, and Shutdowns
- [46:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-05-24-surviving-the-dot-com-bust#t=2780) Consumer Bubble: Free Hosting, AllAdvantage, and Long Distance
- [53:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-05-24-surviving-the-dot-com-bust#t=3219) Oxide's Fundraising and the Looming Housing/VC Bust
- [1:08:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-05-24-surviving-the-dot-com-bust#t=4089) Dell's 'Delionaires' and the Windows on the World Layoffs
- [1:10:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-05-24-surviving-the-dot-com-bust#t=4206) Can Oxide Survive a Bust? Countercyclical Opportunities
- [1:15:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-05-24-surviving-the-dot-com-bust#t=4548) Advice for Practitioners: Survival, Greed, and Community

## Topics

- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)
- [Founder wellbeing](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/founder-wellbeing)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Oxide Computer Company (company)
- Sun Microsystems (company)
- boo.com (company)
- Trilogy (company)
- Dell (company)
- AllAdvantage (company)
- Excite@Home (company)
- garden.com (company)
- fuckedcompany.com (other)
- ShoutCloud (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [EP 147: Talking All Things AI with Benedict Evans](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-12-29-ep-147-talking-all-things-ai-with-benedict-evans) (The Circuit)
- [Sub Pop Records: Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-06-01-sub-pop-records-bruce-pavitt-and-jonathan-poneman) (How I Built This)
- [From Solar’s 90% Cost Crash to AI’s Energy Surge: The Economics Driving Climate Tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-09-16-from-solars-90-cost-crash-to-ais-energy-surge-the-economics-driving-climate-tech) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [The art of letting go with Vincent and Andrew Kitirattragarn of Dang Foods](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-11-02-the-art-of-letting-go-with-vincent-and-andrew-kitirattragarn-of-dang-foods) (How I Built This)
- [Dell Computers: Michael Dell (2018)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-01-06-dell-computers-michael-dell-2018) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-05-24-surviving-the-dot-com-bust. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Oxide and Friends.