VerticalNet says they can win online

Despite the stock market's recent roller coaster ride, one company thinks it knows how to stay on top. Instead of assuming that the "Internet changes everything," VerticalNet chairman Mark Walsh suggested that it will be "everything [which] changes the Internet." Walsh, a former senior vice president of America Online, started his unlikely Internet career as a news director. "I've always been selling things on a screen; now the screen has changed," Walsh said. Last week, Walsh spoke at Steinberg-Dietrich Hall to about 40 undergraduate students eager to hear from the chairman of one of Philadelphia's top Internet businesses. The lecture, part of the Musser-Schoemaker Leadership Lecture Series, provided some insights on the company and his forecast for the future of the Internet and business. Optimistic about the company's future, Walsh described the rapid growth of VerticalNet, which currently owns and operates 58 industrial trade communities. He added that despite recent market fluctuations, he believes VerticalNet will continue to succeed. While much of the Internet focuses on dealing directly with consumers, VerticalNet functions strictly on a business-to-business platform. According to Walsh, the advantage is that businesses have a greater loyalty to their supplier than consumers, while business' global reach makes for a better market. In reaction to a student's question about the recent deflation of tech stocks, a plight from which VerticalNet has not been immune, Walsh answered, "gravity works." He explained that the fall of VerticalNet's stock value is attributed to the normal flow of the market -- not to any shortfalls of the company. Last month, VerticalNet's chief executive officer, Joseph Galli, resigned after only six months on the job. The company later eliminated more than 8 percent of its workforce in an effort to cut costs. Commenting on the industry's growth, Walsh warned that Internet business must overcome some global obstacles. He cited Internet security and international disagreement over necessary freedom of information as two of these roadblocks. Responding to criticism about Internet industry instability, Walsh quoted racecar driver Mario Andretti, "If you feel everything is under control... you're not going fast enough." Walsh also noted, "There is no map for the Internet," but VerticalNet is ready to meet the challenges. Walsh offered the audience more than just a perspective of VerticalNet, adding some practical advice. "If you don't want your boss's job, you're in the wrong job," he said. Several Wharton undergraduates said they enjoyed the talk, adding that they were partly there for the networking possibilities. "I'm here for gaining contacts," Wharton freshman Andrea Alexander said, noting that Walsh's ties to Philadelphia drew her to the lecture.

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