The background: Venture capitalists and investors were eager to plough their money into the technology and internet companies that were emerging from the 1990s. Shares on the Nasdaq, the tech industries own stock exchange, continued to soar. It seemed like owning an internet site was a license to print money. How the bubble burst: Whilst share prices were rising, start-up companies were struggling to make a profit. Between March 2000 and October 2002, the inevitable market correction wiped out an astonishing 78% off the value of Nasdaq companies. The consequences: Many start-ups went under or were snapped up on the cheap. It became harder to secure investments and the US economy began to slow down.
