They never stopped believing -- and on Monday, the much-downsized staff of Beliefnet, the Web's most popular religion site, celebrated their emergence from bankruptcy.
Founder and CEO Steve Waldman says they aren't ''clear if it's a reincarnation, a resurrection, or just good fortune. But we do know we're alive and feeling very blessed!''
Launched in late 1999, Beliefnet .com, a multi-faith site with thoughtful and easy-to-digest articles, essays, quizzes and message boards on all things religious, quickly became the Net's most popular religion site. Even through seven months of reorganization, the site drew 1 million visitors a month, reaching 4 million to 5 million with daily e-mail newsletters.
But traffic does not necessarily translate into profit. A victim of the dot-com recession that left many popular sites broke, Beliefnet defied the odds the old-fashioned way: Layoffs, drastic pay cuts and hard work.
''We had a big party last week when the cleaning service was reinstated,'' says Waldman, who was among staffers who took turns scrubbing the bathroom after janitors were laid off. The staff of nearly 70 was reduced to five, and is now back up to 15.
''Learning how to do things on the cheap is a necessary survival skill these days,'' says media analyst David Card of Jupiter Research. But Beliefnet has always been an unusual start-up. ''The weird thing about them is the site is not associated with a particular religion. It's for people interested in searching out different kinds of beliefs.''
Waldman, formerly of Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, brought editorial experience and his vision of a place on the Net where people of all religions could discuss everything from Jesus and Islam to the simple spirituality and rituals of their lives. He stood quietly by and watched the business side of the New York-based site during the wild Internet heyday.
''The fact that I didn't have an MBA was an advantage'' in waging Beliefnet's comeback, he says. ''I didn't know anything fancy beyond 'revenues really ought to be more than the expenses.' ''
Beliefnet has defied much skepticism beyond Internet business models. Many thought that a multi-faith site couldn't survive, arguing that most people look to the Internet to confirm their own religious beliefs, not explore others.
Religion also wasn't thought to be among the Web's hot topics. But research by the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds 25% of surfers have searched for religious information on the Web -- more than those who bank, shop or gamble online. And while many churches have sites to attract new congregants, Beliefnet attracted a huge cross section of both the ''devout and the spiritual shopper,'' says Waldman.
The dot-com frenzy may be over, he says, but there are thousands of years of ''people passionately interested in religion, and a strong need and desire of millions to get spiritual or religious nourishment. If that weren't true, we wouldn't have a chance.''