MarchFirst
Encyclopedia
marchFIRST, Inc. was a short-lived international systems integrator and internet
consulting company at the tail end of the dot-com boom. marchFIRST was a Nasdaq
traded public company whose peak stock price reached $52. By the time the company filed for bankruptcy, it traded for pennies ($0.16 on March 28, 2001).
, a respected systems integrator employing thousands of consultants in the US, Canada, and Europe, and USWeb/CKS, a pioneering interactive services company formed during the 1990s by accretion of numerous local or regional Internet
and Web design
consultancies. The CEO was Bob Bernard
of Whittman-Hart.
The merger was considered problematic by many observers, with a clash between the buttoned-down culture of Whittman-Hart and the Web casual culture of USWeb/CKS inevitable. By late 2000, despite aggressive moves by Bernard, the problems became public, with the stock price dropping 60% in one day on October 24, 2000. Despite a $150 million cash infusion by Francisco Partners
in December, the company folded in early 2001. On March 13, 2001 the company leadership around Bernard resigned, and on April 12, 2001, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In May 2001, the company was dissolved and the marchFIRST brand was retired.
Avenue A/Razorfish
acquired several offices, Divine
many of the Midwest offices, and others were sold individually. The international offices in Hamburg, Germany were acquired by Divine and those in Oslo by the Scandinavian Itera Consulting Group.
Bernard later reacquired a much reduced part of the company and it was reconstituted as Whittman-Hart. Bernard died in 2007.
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
consulting company at the tail end of the dot-com boom. marchFIRST was a Nasdaq
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
traded public company whose peak stock price reached $52. By the time the company filed for bankruptcy, it traded for pennies ($0.16 on March 28, 2001).
History
MarchFIRST company was formed on March 1, 2000 by the merger of Whittman-HartWhittman-Hart
-History:Founded by Bob Bernard Bill Merchantz, Rich Colson, and Bill Topol in the Chicago area in 1984, it specialized first in AS/400 IT consulting. It grew steadily, for about 15 years, including some acquisitions. The company went public in 1996...
, a respected systems integrator employing thousands of consultants in the US, Canada, and Europe, and USWeb/CKS, a pioneering interactive services company formed during the 1990s by accretion of numerous local or regional Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and Web design
Web design
Web design is the process of planning and creating a website. Text, images, digital media and interactive elements are used by web designers to produce the page seen on the web browser...
consultancies. The CEO was Bob Bernard
Bob Bernard
Robert Francis Bernard was an Information Technology executive, most noted for presiding over dot-com bubble consulting flameout marchFIRST, the largest Internet professional services company of its time...
of Whittman-Hart.
The merger was considered problematic by many observers, with a clash between the buttoned-down culture of Whittman-Hart and the Web casual culture of USWeb/CKS inevitable. By late 2000, despite aggressive moves by Bernard, the problems became public, with the stock price dropping 60% in one day on October 24, 2000. Despite a $150 million cash infusion by Francisco Partners
Francisco Partners
Francisco Partners is a private equity firm focusing on structured investments in the information technology sector.Francisco Partners Management LLC was founded in August 1999 and is headquartered in San Francisco and maintains an additional office in London, United Kingdom...
in December, the company folded in early 2001. On March 13, 2001 the company leadership around Bernard resigned, and on April 12, 2001, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In May 2001, the company was dissolved and the marchFIRST brand was retired.
Avenue A/Razorfish
Avenue A/Razorfish
Razorfish Inc. is one of the world's largest interactive agencies. Razorfish provides services including digital advertising and content creation, media buying, strategic counsel, analytics, technology and user experience...
acquired several offices, Divine
Divine (corporation)
divine inc, was a Chicago-based company that started out as an Internet Incubator named divine interVentures. The company was founded by Andrew 'Flip' Filipowski in 1999....
many of the Midwest offices, and others were sold individually. The international offices in Hamburg, Germany were acquired by Divine and those in Oslo by the Scandinavian Itera Consulting Group.
Bernard later reacquired a much reduced part of the company and it was reconstituted as Whittman-Hart. Bernard died in 2007.
Timeline
- The original USWeb was founded in 1995 by a group of former Novell executives (Joe FirmageJoe FirmageJoseph Firmage is an American Internet entrepreneur. He founded several business ventures prior to and during the dot-com boom and currently is involved with two closely linked organizations: ManyOne Networks, of which he is CEO, and the Digital Universe Foundation, of which he is a co-founder and...
, Toby Corey, and Sheldon Laube) - USWeb went public with an IPO in 1997
- USWeb agreed to buy the offline advertising agency, CKS Group, in a stock transaction in September 1998
- Whitman-Hart acquired Four Points Digital LLC, Fulcrum Solutions Ltd., and BALR Corp in 1999.
- USWeb/CKS and Whittman-Hart merged in March 2000 to form marchFIRST, Inc.
- John Guynn, a copywriter at Mckinney & Silver, thought of the name marchFIRST.
- Bernard resigned in March, and marchFIRST went bankrupt in April 2001
- Two companies (Avenue A and Divine) acquired several offices in April 2001
- Whittman-Hart re-emerged as a separate company under Bernard
- USWeb is currently an Internet services firm copying the name of the original USWeb
- Divine purchased several companies that struggled after the dot com bust, including some remnants of marchFIRST
- Divine went bankrupt in Feb 2003 (in April 2003, Divine's assets were sold at auction)
- Gus Mueller received his final paycheck from marchFIRST, 6 years late in the summer of 2007.