Take Christine and Isabel Maxwell, whose company, McKinley Group, was sold to Excite in 1996 in return for shares worth 100m today. Or Mark Hunter, who failed his A-levels before setting up an ebusiness consultancy in 1994, and floated the company for 30m at the age of 36. The internet millionaire is not purely a US phenomenon. And as European networks and mobile technologies mature, European ecommerce could leapfrog the US, says Rosemary O' Mahony, director of Andersen Consulting's European internet practice.
People joining dot coms expect to be given stock option.
According to Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, the number of European internet users will reach 100 million by 2003, with penetration rates of 30 per cent - roughly equivalent to US rates today. The organisation grew from 1000 to 30,000 members in five months, says Julie Meyer, vice president of global marketing. People think if they don't get into the internet space, they will become obsolete. But along with this desire to join an internet company comes the expectation of making a quick buck. But they have a lot of commitment and enthusiasm that we can use.