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MARCH 19, 2001
BUSINESSWEEK E.BIZ -- COVER STORY
Four lessons from EPO's demise
BORDERS STILL COUNT
The hope was that Net startups could reach across frontiers, turning the Continent into a megamarket like the U.S. Instead, in each country, EPO had to open a local office, establish relations with banks and brokers, and apply for permits--a process that took eight months in Britain alone.
BIG MARKETS TRUMP SMALL TECH HOTBEDS
EPO set up shop in ultra-wired Sweden, hoping to leverage its success there to the rest of Europe. But latecomer rivals in bigger markets grew faster on larger volumes of business.
WATCH THAT TECH SPENDING
EPO spent $2.5 million to build a computer system that could support a Continent of frenzied trading. Later that money would be needed to keep the company going. EPO says it should have devoted more of its resources to adding sales.
DON'T SPIT AT THE GIANTS
EPO set out to form an end-to-end Internet investment bank. This pitted it against powerful banks for IPOs and retail customers. EPO soon realized that alliances with these giants, rather than competition, were the key to sales growth.
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Copyright 2001, Bloomberg L.P.
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