USWeb

{{Infobox company

| founded = {{start date and age|1995}}

| founders = {{ubl|Joe Firmage|Toby Corey|Sheldon Laube}}

| defunct = {{end date|1999}}

| fate = Acquired by Whittman-Hart

}}

USWeb was an interactive design agency founded in 1995 by former Novell executives Joe Firmage, Toby Corey, ken Campbell, Jim Heffernan and Sheldon Laube during the dot com bubble. USWeb made its first public offering on the NASDAQ exchange in late 1997.{{cite web |title=USWEB CORP (USWB) IPO |url=http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/ipos/company/usweb-corp-6158-9459 |access-date=August 31, 2023 |website=NASDAQ.com |publisher=}} In September 1998, the company announced that it would merge with CKS;{{Cite web |last=Pelline |first=Jeff |last2=Kawamoto |first2=Dawn |date=September 2, 1998 |title=USWeb, CKS Group to merge |url=http://news.cnet.com/USWeb,-CKS-Group-to-merge/2100-1001_3-215131.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119172527/http://news.com.com/USWeb,+CKS+Group+to+merge/2100-1001_3-215131.html#selection-1015.1-1019.14 |archive-date=January 19, 2013 |access-date=August 31, 2023 |website=CNET}}{{Cite web |last=Harmon |first=Steve |date=September 4, 1998 |title=Short & Long Of It: USWeb's $350M Stock Swap For CKS |url=https://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/58031 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041019212715/https://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/58031 |archive-date=October 19, 2004 |website=InternetNews.com}} it became USWeb/CKS. In late 1999 the company announced that it was being acquired by Whittmann-Hart, a Chicago-based internet consultancy.

On March 1, 2000, the combined company was renamed marchFIRST, Inc. It went bankrupt in 2001.{{cite web|url=http://adage.com/article/adage-encyclopedia/cks-group-usweb-cks-marchfirst/98393/|title=CKS Group (USWeb/CKS; marchFIRST)|publisher=}}{{cite web |title=USWeb looks to weave a success story |url=http://www.cnet.com/news/usweb-looks-to-weave-a-success-story/ |access-date=August 31, 2023 |website=CNET |publisher=}}

Business model

USWeb's business model focused on acquisitions of small, independent web design firms and their client bases, with the company's public stock as payment; in all, it bought more than three dozen other companies.{{Cite web |last=Achenbach |first=Joel |date=March 31, 1999 |title=The CEO From Cyberspace: Joe Firmage, A Master of the Universe at 28, Wants to Defy Gravity and Visit the Far Corners Of His Realm |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1999/03/31/the-ceo-from-cyberspace-joe-firmage-a-master-of-the-universe-at-28-wants-to-defy-gravity-and-visit-the-far-corners-of-his-realm/6e8fcc00-2e11-4000-9213-c2d2f313757c/ |access-date=September 1, 2023 |website=Washington Post}} Critics, including competitors and analysts, expressed skepticism citing doubts that USWeb would find a niche market in an industry that put a high premium on innovation, and questioned its ability to sustain client retention and growth with its brand and services.{{cite web |last=Wagner |first=Mitch |date=13 May 1996 |title=USWeb takes franchising route |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0fQ4HXVGokC&q=USweb+franchise+model&pg=PT33 |access-date=September 1, 2023 |website=Computerworld |publisher=IDG Enterprise |via=Google Books}}{{cite web |last=Klein |first=Barry |date=November 1, 1996 |title=USWeb launches first network of developers |url=http://adage.com/article/btob/usweb-launches-network-developers/246495/ |access-date=September 1, 2023 |website=AdAge |publisher=}}

As the company grew, it offered business strategy consulting, brand marketing, website design, backend engineering, usability, and one of the first SEO marketing practices.

History

In late 1998, as the merger of USWeb and CKS was being finalized, one of the founders and CEO of USWeb, Joseph P. Firmage, was asked to step down as CEO after he claimed to have been visited by extraterrestrials in his bedroom.{{cite web |last=Learmonth |first=Michael |date=December 10, 1998 |title=Truth and Consequences |url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/12.10.98/cover/joefirmage1-9849.html |access-date=August 31, 2023 |website=Metro Silicon Valley |publisher=}} Firmage publicly claimed that extraterrestrials had revealed advanced technologies to him and knowledge of alien civilizations.{{cite web |last=Swartz |first=Jon |date=January 9, 1999 |title=CEO Quits Job Over UFO Views / Advances in technology a gift of aliens, Silicon Valley pioneer believes |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/01/09/MN19158.DTL |access-date=August 31, 2023 |website=SFGate |publisher=}}

In early 1999, after Firmage had moved to a consulting role at USWeb/CKS, Robert Shaw assumed the role of CEO of the company. In December 1999, the company announced it was being acquired by Whittmann-Hart, a Chicago-based internet consultancy,{{Cite news |last=Swisher |first=Kara |last2=Tejada |first2=Carlos |date=1999-12-14 |title=Whittman-Hart to Buy USWeb/CKS In Combination of Web Consultants |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB945094281606146732 |access-date=2023-09-01 |issn=0099-9660}} followed by a name change, to marchFIRST, Inc., in early 2000; Shaw became the company's Chairman while Robert Bernard, the CEO of Whittman-Hart, continued in that position in the now larger company.{{cite web |last=Kopytoff |first=Verne |date=April 29, 2001 |title=On a click and a prayer / 6 dot-com CEOs reflect on their wild rides |url=http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/On-a-click-and-a-prayer-6-dot-com-CEOs-reflect-2926777.php |access-date=September 1, 2023 |website=SFGate |publisher=}}

marchFIRST, Inc. went bankrupt in April 2001; in May 2001 it was dissolved.

References

Category:Marketing companies established in 1995

Category:1997 initial public offerings

Category:Digital marketing companies of the United States

Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001

Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2001