All In A Day's Work

This past July as the day Larry Dennison had been working toward for four years approached, 48 Hours Correspondent Erin Moriarty was on the scene, watching his Massachusetts start-up stage its initial public offering.

"I just want to sleep," said his wife, Judy Dennison. "I haven't slept in a week and a half, two weeks."

Such was the sentiment right before Avici Systems, the Massachusetts company Larry Dennison helped create, was scheduled to go public and maybe bring everyone at the company a big piece of the American dream.

And although the party tent was being raised at the Avici's headquarters, it was still too early to celebrate. There was a chance the IPO could be a bust; the gold rush in high tech and Internet stocks is over for many companies.

"What we had during 1999 and during 1998 was an aberration," explained high-tech analyst David Yedwab. "When any idea, when any concept can go public and make everybody millionaires, that was an aberration."

"Make sure you have Plan B. Things are a little tough," Jeff Osborne advised fortune seekers. Osborne became an IPO millionaire five years ago at the beginning of the Internet gold rush.

"Today's the day; today's the big day," said one employee. "For a lot of people here this could be the day that changes their lives."

After years of believing in this company and its product, Avici employees were about to find out whether investors felt the same way. While few of them really wanted to discuss this, there was a tremendous opportunity to get rich, really rich. As one insider put it: If Avici stock is selling at just $30 dollars a share at the end of th day, the first 50 employees become instant millionaires.

At just past noon, Avici's banker gave the news, "Here we go. You just opened at $90 a share."

The first trade was nearly three times higher than the price the bankers had set for the opening trade, at $31.

While his wife Sally was at Avici, Steve Graves watched the ticker at home with his brother. "That is awesome," he said.

At Avici, Sally Graves was stunned. Did she expect the stock price to start this high? "No!" she said.

"I'm just so proud of everybody. It's really incredible," Graves declared.

"Oh my god, I can't believe it," Judy Dennison gushed. The founder's wife and kids had arrived at Avici for the big moment.

"I don't believe this. This is wonderful. It's going up. It was at 98 when I sat down here, and it's at 101, 101-3," said one employee laughing.

"Coming out of school, I was just happy to have dental coverage, so this is all gravy," declared another.

These employees are only millionaires on paper. No one here can sell any of their shares for at least six months, and by then who knows where Avici, or its stock price, will be. But for now, one employee declared via a cell phone, "I'm going to Disneyworld."

They downed champagne in paper cups, making toasts.

At 4 p.m., when the market closed, Larry Dennison and others cheered.

What did the stock close at?

"96 3/4," said Larry Dennison. "I think it's fantastic."

"It was a really good day," he said.