On Wisconsin Letters

Occasionally On Wisconsin receives letters that are too long to publish in full. Sarah Town's response to "Dot-com Survivors" was one such letter. Her full text, and the other responses to that article, are included here.

Sarah Town '96
Brian Hale '81, MBA'87
Darren Bush '88

As a UW Business School graduate, I read with interest the "Dot-com Survivors" story (Summer 2001) concerning Anil Rathi. I, too, exercised my entrepreneurial spirit when I opened a food service business combining specialty coffee (think Starbucks) with on-site bagel production in Columbus, Ohio. However, my experience differs from Rathi in that I developed a comprehensive business plan, incorporating a break-even analysis before proceeding with financing. Specifically, I was stunned to read that Rathi lost "more than $50,000" in his initial venture, India2U.com. In fact, Rathi characterized his loss as "small compared to what I could have lost if we'd gone ahead." Frankly, a solid business plan should have identified exactly how India2U.com would be profitable, if at all, before proceeding.

Although still glamorous, start-ups and dot-com businesses must still adhere to basic business principles, and it is evident that Rathi has not recognized that no business can survive without sound fundamentals spelled out in detail in a business plan.

Again, although Rathi believes "an entrepreneur is a visionary," I would be wary of financing any deal until it is fundamentally sound, visionary or not. Incidentally, I sold Brian's Bagel Café to a chain at the apex of the bagel market and have returned to corporate America.

Brian Hale '81, MBA'87
Boston, Massachusetts

Sarah Town '96
Brian Hale '81, MBA'87
Darren Bush '88

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