IN THE MID TO LATE 1990S, MOST FAST-TRACK GROWING companies positioned themselves for an initial public offering (IPO) of their securities as a cornerstone of their quest for rapid growth. Many of these entrepreneurial companies succeeded in offering their securities to the public. In retrospect, however, many of them lacked the management teams, the operating history, the depth of customer commitment, the revenues and the profits to support a public market or their companies' lofty valuations. As a result, the period between March 2000 and June 2001 brought with it a sharp correction as the IPO bubble burst and valuations were adjusted accordingly. Suddenly companies whose ...