Viant
Encyclopedia
Viant Inc. was a San Francisco-based Internet consulting firm, founded in April 1996, that became one of the most successful web consulting firms during the early stages of the Internet era
.
It was one of the first consulting firms to attempt to integrate the disparate disciplines of strategy, 'creative' (design), and technology into a single value proposition and project approach. Such blended multi-disciplinary approaches have since become common.
With investment from Mohr Davidow Ventures
, Trident Capital, and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers
, SVIP grew rapidly.
Robert Gett, from Cambridge Technology Partners
, was recruited in mid-1996 in be the CEO. At this point, SVIP corporate functions moved to Boston
, Massachusetts
. Greenberg left the company in early 1997, and subsequently founded Scient
.
SVIP changed its name to Viant in the spring of 1998 after a company-wide vote. Its San Francisco Bay Area
offices relocated in 1998 to the South of Market area in San Francisco.
Viant grew its staff at 100% or greater in the following years, with offices "spawned" by sending multi-disciplinary teams from other offices into new geographies, including locations in New York City
, Dallas, Chicago
, Los Angeles
, London
, Houston, Atlanta, and Munich
.
Some of its clients were Polo Ralph Lauren
, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, Compaq
and Radio Shack
. It also pioneered web-based multimedia with the launch of sputnik7.com, which Viant planned on making the online equivalent of MTV.
The company went public in June 1999. By the end of that year Viant enjoyed a stock price of US$
105 per share and a market capitalization of over $2 billion.
Vann-Adibé left the firm in June 2000.
s in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Employees later nicknamed each round based on their dates and impact, calling the Dec 7th round (10% cut) the "Pearl Harbor" round, while the March 2001 and 2002 rounds (40% cuts) were referred to as "Hiroshima" and "Nagasaki".
The company was sold in September 2002 to Divine
, a company founded by Andrew Filipowski
.
History of the Internet
The history of the Internet starts in the 1950s and 1960s with the development of computers. This began with point-to-point communication between mainframe computers and terminals, expanded to point-to-point connections between computers and then early research into packet switching...
.
History
The company was founded by Eric Greenberg, Duc Haba, Dwayne Nesmith, and Robbie Vann-Adibé as Silicon Valley Internet Partners (SVIP).It was one of the first consulting firms to attempt to integrate the disparate disciplines of strategy, 'creative' (design), and technology into a single value proposition and project approach. Such blended multi-disciplinary approaches have since become common.
With investment from Mohr Davidow Ventures
Mohr Davidow Ventures
Mohr Davidow Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in early stage technology companies. For over 28 years, Mohr Davidow has helped to build more than 250 startup companies. The firm has $1.85B under management...
, Trident Capital, and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers
Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers ' is a world-leading venture capital firm located on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park in Silicon Valley. The Wall Street Journal has called it one of the "largest and most established" venture capital firms in the world...
, SVIP grew rapidly.
Robert Gett, from Cambridge Technology Partners
Cambridge Technology Partners
Cambridge Technology Partners was founded by John J. Donovan in 1991 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA as a division of Cambridge Technology Group, is a leading consulting firm with focus on solving complex business problems with technology based solutions.Today, the headquarters are based in Nyon...
, was recruited in mid-1996 in be the CEO. At this point, SVIP corporate functions moved to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Greenberg left the company in early 1997, and subsequently founded Scient
Scient
Scient was a San Francisco-based Internet consulting company, founded in 1997, that was one of the large American consulting firms during the dot-com bubble. The company was founded by Eric Greenberg, who had previously founded its competitor, Viant. Its CEO was Robert Howe, the former head of IBM...
.
SVIP changed its name to Viant in the spring of 1998 after a company-wide vote. Its San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
offices relocated in 1998 to the South of Market area in San Francisco.
Viant grew its staff at 100% or greater in the following years, with offices "spawned" by sending multi-disciplinary teams from other offices into new geographies, including locations in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Dallas, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Houston, Atlanta, and Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
Some of its clients were Polo Ralph Lauren
Polo Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren Corporation is a luxury clothing and goods company of the American fashion designer Ralph Lauren. Ralph Lauren specializes in high-end casual/semi-formal wear for men and women, as well as accessories, fragrances, home and housewares...
, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, Compaq
Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation is a personal computer company founded in 1982. Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for US$25 billion by Hewlett-Packard....
and Radio Shack
Radio shack
Radio shack is a slang term for a room or structure for housing radio equipment.-History:In the early days of radio, equipment was experimental and home-built. The first radio transmitters used a noisy spark to generate radio waves and were often housed in a garage or shed. When radio was first...
. It also pioneered web-based multimedia with the launch of sputnik7.com, which Viant planned on making the online equivalent of MTV.
The company went public in June 1999. By the end of that year Viant enjoyed a stock price of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
105 per share and a market capitalization of over $2 billion.
Vann-Adibé left the firm in June 2000.
Business impacted by Dot com bust
The Dot com bust hit the company hard, forcing layoffLayoff
Layoff , also called redundancy in the UK, is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or a group of employees for business reasons, such as when certain positions are no longer necessary or when a business slow-down occurs...
s in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Employees later nicknamed each round based on their dates and impact, calling the Dec 7th round (10% cut) the "Pearl Harbor" round, while the March 2001 and 2002 rounds (40% cuts) were referred to as "Hiroshima" and "Nagasaki".
The company was sold in September 2002 to 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....
, a company founded by Andrew Filipowski
Andrew Filipowski
Andrew J. "Flip" Filipowski is a Polish American technology entrepreneur born in 1950 in Chicago, IL. He is currently the Executive Chairman and CEO of SilkRoad Equity, a private investment firm, and founded Platinum Technology in 1985...
.