Point Cast: The Rise And Fall Of An Internet Star

On Apr. 9, Christopher R. Hassett settled into his home office overlooking the Hudson River on New York's West Side. The 37-year-old co-founder and ex-CEO of PointCast Inc., once the hottest Internet startup around, poured a glass of white wine and slipped a sheaf of paper into his fax machine. At 10 p.m., Hassett dialed the Silicon Valley home of PointCast's new CEO, Phil Koen. Within minutes, a tentative $20 million bid to retake control of PointCast, now a debt-laden shadow of its former self, was offered. Says Hassett, who was pushed out of the company two years ago: "With the right capital and right management team, PointCast has a bright future. It's just a matter of making those things happen."

The precariousness of PointCast's future demonstrates more than anything just how unforgiving the ever mutating Internet world can be. In an environment where revenues and profits seem to be afterthoughts, it serves as a sad but harrowing reminder that not every Internet deal or visionary concept blossoms into an Amazon.com or Yahoo! Inc.