48 Hours

Gold Rush (14x2)

Air date: Oct 05, 2000

They are drawn to California's Silicon Valley, New York's Silicon Alley, and places all over the country where Internet and high-tech work abounds. These Internet entrepreneurs and employees work long hours for hefty pay. But how long will their good fortune last? In fact, some indications show the market has already slowed some. 48 Hours reports from the frontlines of the Internet frontier. Avici's Coming Out Party: What's it like to be a hotshot Web entrepreneur? Who are these people striking it rich on the Internet? 48 Hours decided to find out. Last summer, Correspondent Erin Moriarty tracked the co-founder of a Massachusetts company taking the very risky gamble of going public. See how Larry Dennison's Avici Systems fared. Are the glory days of the Internet over? For one company, they came to an abrupt halt. In Learning From Boo's Scare, Correspondent Anthony Mason reports on one Internet worker's experience at a glitzy high-spending fashion Web site called Boo.com. Space In The Valley Is Dear: With so many striking it rich, a housing crunch has cropped up in Silicon Valley, where a cool million doesn't buy you much. Harold Dow reports on how high the real estate market has climbed.