John Straw: a phoenix from the dotcom ashes

John Straw, founder of search engine optimisation firm Netrank, learned some brutal lessons in the dotcom crash of ten years ago. Now he's back with a new online venture.

When John Straw sold his stake in US email marketing start-up Revnet in late 1999, he was worth "north of $10 million". But a few months later the dotcom crash reduced his equity stake "to around $100k". That was one of many brutal "lessons in internet-based start-ups". Straw returned to the UK to "lick my wounds and start again".

His time in America had shown him the increasing importance of search engines. He was convinced that getting clients to the top web search results pages could turn a profit. So he found a "technical expert" and set up Netrank in 2000.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
James McKeigue

James graduated from Keele University with a BA (Hons) in English literature and history, and has a certificate in journalism from the NCTJ. James has worked as a freelance journalist in various Latin American countries.He also had a spell at ITV, as welll as wring for Television Business International and covering the European equity markets for the Forbes.com London bureau. James has travelled extensively in emerging markets, reporting for international energy magazines such as Oil and Gas Investor, and institutional publications such as the Commonwealth Business Environment Report. He is currently the managing editor of LatAm INVESTOR, the UK's only Latin American finance magazine.