Los Angeles was a hub of innovation during that era. It rivaled the SF Bay Area in terms of the number of new internet startups. Earthlink, eToys, CitySearch, Napster, Overture, Goto.com, Picasa, Tickets.com were all founded within a 20 mile radius from one another. Then roughly two years went by and the dot-com bubble popped in August 2000. Everything came to a standstill. The Internet had just gone through its very first hype cycle. Broadband adoption was still too low, companies overspent, and the music stopped. "Everybody has a plan until you get punched in the face, " as world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson would say.