VoIP Inc.

Founded: 2004

Status: Died Feb. 2008

What did it do: Vonage clone/pay-per-ad call software 

At its peak, VoIP Inc. was a CLEC in 40 states, had an E911 solution, was terminating lots of traffic, announced deals with Google and eBay for its pay-per-call ad solution...and then, abruptly shut its doors in February 2008.  The company laid off its 25 member engineering staff, wrote off $24 million in losses and stiffed Verizon out of $8 million in the process. 

Shareholders demanded an SEC investigation as the stock price plunged from $8.40 a share down to under a penny within a year.

VoIP Inc. started its shady life as Millennia Tea Masters and ended up as a hastily assembled set of parts, including the eGlobalphone VoIP service launched in 2004. In its November 3Q07 earnings report, the company ‘fessed up to not making a profit since starting operations in 2004, having experienced negative cash flows from operations and being dependent upon the issuance of debt and common stock to fund operations and capital expenditures. On top of that, independent auditors said they had substantial doubt about VoIP Inc.'s ability to survive. And they were right.