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Mark Wattles built up a very successful video rental company, Hollywood Entertainment Inc., in the '90s and then he took his eyes off the ball with nearly disastrous consequences.
The Hollywood Entertainment founder then got involved in the internet boom by buying Reel.com for $100 million in 1998. However, his plans to take Reel.com public were stifled by the collapse of the dotcom bubble.
At the same time, Hollywood's performance suffered when Wattles ceased to oversee its daily operations. But he returned a few years later and brought it back to profitability. Wattles, who now lives in Las Vegas and commutes to company headquarters in Wilsonville, was the speaker at the Oct. 28 Power Breakfast presented by The Business Journal.
He described the purchase of Reel.com as a sort of hobby he undertook when he wanted to spend less time with Hollywood Video and more with his family.
It turned out to be an expensive hobby as Reel.com burned through $50 million in its first year and another $50 million in the second year.
But things were looking positive as Wattles prepared to take Reel.com. public late in 1999. An investment bank...