Blue mountain cards is the dot com that made it

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by: al.sones
Total views: 30
Word Count: 408
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2008 Time: 1:13 PM
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What is Blue Mountain Cards? It all started back when ecards became big in the 1990s. Im not sure exactly how they built a business model on the idea of giving away a free ecard, but they did. What you must remember is that advertising revenue models were seen as very acceptable back then. This has no changed with people wanting to know where the real revenue is coming from. However, with web 2.0, you could argue that its started all over again.
The ecard space is a funny one. The business model is essentially one where you are killing another business model, the paper greeting cards space. It seems like the classic case of doing something through technology that was previously manual. But you should look deeper. eCards are not exactly the same product as paper greeting cards. You buy a paper card at a store and physically write on it. Electronic cards are bought online and never touch paper. In this way, its a real product transition. So in essence, the technology is really impacted the very product. You see this also in pcs, telephones, tvs and other electronic products.
So what exactly did blue mountain cards do that was so special? First, Blue Mountain Cards had a big lead going into the game. They had a good plan. It seems like the executives at Blue Mountain Cards new they were onto something big, but that it wouldnt last. So Blue Mountain Cards management decided to sell the company while everything was still red-hot. An amazingly well-timed move. Looking back, there are many things I wish I had done differently.
So now its 2008 and what is a business model like Blue Mountain Cards still doing around? One view is that the original builders of the business picked an once-in-a-lifetime period to exit the business and made an unprecedented amount of money.. However, these were experience people who were also making a serious move in a serious industry. The greeting card business is huge. Regardless of their underlying financials, this business made a name for itself in a multi billion dollar business space. I am betting that this is why they are still around today. They built a brand and have a name worth something. The part that is not text book is how Blue Mountain Cards got out at the top of the market. We should all be so lucky in our careers.

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