My dotcom experience

Charity dot-coms also have suffered
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Last June 5 (2000), the new chief operating officer at iGive.com, the Evanston-based online charity, tapped staffer Sally Duros on the shoulder and invited her into a conference room where employees had regular pizza lunches. But instead of a slice of pepperoni, Duros, 45, a member of the "cause development" team that worked with nonprofits, and about 15 of her colleagues got a slice of dot-com life.

They were laid off with two weeks' severance. Several broke into sobs.
Duros, who joined the staff in March, just a week before the tech stocks tanked, wasn't expecting to become a dot-com millionaire. But she hoped to do well by doing good at iGive, which is backed by divine interVentures, the Lisle-based Internet operating company.

She had enjoyed helping low-tech nonprofits get wired and was disappointed because she saw iGive as an opportunity to meld her interests in technology and social work.

"I was really surprised (by the layoff)," she said. "But I knew there was a risk going in. I had to take the plunge. When iGive came along, I thought I would have it all. I would do work that I love. I would have been a fool not to take it."
Her efforts to find a new job were slowed when she broke her foot June 30. She has been doing free-lance writing and consulting on developing a Web site for Chicago non-profit Genesis House.

Dot-com dreams die hard. Duros, who has done Web site development and written for Web sites, was bitten by the Internet bug. She wants to land another dot-com job. Her Web site is at www.sduros.com.

"I like being part of a new frontier. I like breaking new ground. I like playing creatively with ideas," she said. "I have no hard feelings toward iGive."

Her advice for other people thinking about working in the new economy?
"When you take this kind of job, go in with your eyes open," she said. "It will be a great learning experience. If you lose the job, understand that ultimately your job is to be a leader in your own life and career."