FWIW, dotcom bubble was real. I also find myself frequently thinking about the "railroad era" in the US - from what I read, that too was a bubble, and companies

FWIW, dotcom bubble was real. I also find myself frequently thinking about the "railroad era" in the US - from what I read, that too was a bubble, and companies that built up rail lines across the continent all went bust, leaving investors out to dry. In both cases, even though the investors lost money when the bubble popped, the infrastructure remained, and allowed the next generation of companies to flourish and transform the economy and lives of everyone. Perhaps this is a pattern? That laying down infrastructure and building up expertise are critical, but people doing it don't get to reap the rewards of it.