Net Perceptions

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Net Perceptions
Industrysoftware
Founded1996
FoundersSteven Snyder, John T. Riedl, Joseph A. Konstan, Brad Miller, David Gardiner
HeadquartersEdina, Minnesota

Net Perceptions was a leading seller of personalization technology during the Internet boom of the late 1990s. It was based in Edina, Minnesota.[1] One of their first customers was Amazon.[2][3][4]

History[edit]

In the Summer of 1996, David Gardiner, a former Ph.D. student of John Riedl, introduced Riedl to Steven Snyder. Snyder had been an early employee at Microsoft, but had left Microsoft to come to Minnesota to do a Ph.D. in Psychology. He realized the commercial potential of collaborative filtering, and encouraged the team to found a company in April 1996. By June, Gardiner, Snyder, Miller, Riedl, and Konstan incorporated their company, and by July had their first round of funding, from Hummer Winblad Venture Partners.[5] Net Perceptions went on to be one of the leading companies in personalization during the Internet boom of the late 1990s,[6][7] went public on March 29, 2000 offering 2,000,000 shares of common stock, resulting in net proceeds to the company of $84.8 million, with 26,297,863 outstanding shares,[8] had 400 employees and stock at $60 per share,[9] and acquired marketing services startup KD1 for $126 million.[10] Then over time the stock lost 95 percent of its value, and it laid off most employees.[9] The company was delisted from the NASDAQ September 3, 2004,[11] and returned about $40 million to stockholders that same year.[12]

Move to Connecticut[edit]

In 2004, Kanders & Co. bought the company and moved it to Greenwich, Connecticut[1] "to build a diversified, global industrial products group."[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Net Perceptions sold, will move East".
  2. ^ "Brad Miller". www.luther.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-04-28.
  3. ^ "Fine Tuning the Social Web: John Riedl". 14 March 2017.
  4. ^ "Remembering John Riedl, Recommender Systems Pioneer".
  5. ^ "Minnesota in the .Com Age" (PDF). Minnesota Public Radio. 1999. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
  6. ^ Dragan, Richard (January 2001), "Net Perceptions for E-commerce 6.0", PC Magazine
  7. ^ "Firms honored at e-commerce awards". MIT. May 19, 1999.
  8. ^ "Net Perceptions, Inc. SEC Form 10-K Filed March 29, 2000". May 19, 1999. Retrieved Dec 4, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Net Perceptions has cash stash for future". Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. Dec 2, 2001. Retrieved Dec 4, 2022.
  10. ^ Newswires, Dow Jones (17 January 2000). "Net Perceptions to Buy KD1 for $126.4 Million in Stock". Wall Street Journal.
  11. ^ "Net Perceptions: laboring towards the end". TechMonitor. September 2, 2004. Retrieved Dec 4, 2022.
  12. ^ "Net Perceptions returns cash to shareholders". USA Today. Aug 7, 2003. Retrieved Dec 4, 2022.
  13. ^ "Net Perceptions, Inc. Completes the Acquisition of Concord Steel -- re> STAMFORD, Conn., Oct. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --". www.prnewswire.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13.