This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers visit http://www.djreprints.com. https://www.barrons.com/articles/tech-companies-gave-consumers-great-bargains-that-free-ride-is-about-to-end-51578057327 On bikes and scooters, messengers with bright orange satchels whipped and weaved through Manhattan’s teeming streets. Their bags held snacks, DVDs, and diapers for a start-up called Kozmo.com, which promised deliveries in under an hour. It was the year 2000. And it all seemed magical. The real magic, it soon turned out, was Kozmo’s ability to raise more than $250 million in funding despite running a money-losing operation.