[Zelphyr]

Can't speak for OP but, in '96 Netscape had just had a wildly successful IPO and talk of the Internet and World Wide Web was everywhere. It was kind-of obvious to anyone who paid attention where it was going, especially e-commerce, but, the technology wasn't quite there yet and a critical mass of users hadn't yet been reached.

Over the next 4-5 years, investors threw massive amounts of money at any company with ".com" in their name, regardless of whether they had a single customer. Companies who were offering little more than a single feature were raising VC funding.

It was a fun time to be in tech but the bubble bursting around 2000 was painful.