// startup autopsy
MarchFirst
The $6 billion dot-com agency that spent $1.5 billion in 14 months and filed the largest bankruptcy in advertising history.
unit economicsBankruptcy
Fatal mistake: 100% client concentration in dot-com companies — when dot-com collapsed, all clients cut spending simultaneously
// the model, blind
Evaluating only MarchFirst’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Acquisition gone wrong as the #1 likely cause. Documented cause: Unit economics.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
MarchFirst formed from merger of USInteractive and Whittman-Hart, creating a 9,000-person web consultancy valued at approximately $6B across 40 city offices
CEO CHANGE
Robert Bernard, co-CEO and former Whittman-Hart chief, exits the company amid cultural clashes and integration failures between the two merged entities
LAYOFF
MarchFirst announces mass layoffs cutting roughly 1,000 employees as dot-com client base collapses and revenue projections are slashed amid the broader tech downturn
REGULATORY ACTION
MarchFirst defaults on a $100M credit facility and faces creditor pressure; company discloses it burned through approximately $1.5B in just 14 months of operation
SHUTDOWN
MarchFirst files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, representing the largest bankruptcy in advertising and consulting history at the time, with liabilities exceeding $1B
SHUTDOWN
Bankruptcy finalized: MarchFirst ceases all operations, liquidating remaining assets; thousands of employees lose jobs and stock options become worthless