Four years ago, long before business-to-business (B2B) became an industry buzzword, Internet Capital Group <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ICGE)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ICGE)") end if %> was founded as an incubator for B2B specialists.

It's been a wild ride since the company's stock market debut back in August. As expected, not all Fools agree on the prospects for the venture capitalist. This week, Paul Larson (TMF Parlay) and Bill Mann (TMF Otter) are Dueling Fools. Paul is impressed with the B2B potential while Bill is wondering if you can pull the plug on an incubator without hurting the hatchlings.

Enjoy! And, once you're done and voted for the argument that moved you, check out our Duel Flashback. This time we go back for a six-month checkup after our sweet Hershey <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: HSY)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: HSY)") end if %> v. Tootsie Roll <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: TR)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: TR)") end if %> indulgence.

The Bull Argument... Certainly one of the most exciting investment themes over the past year has been business-to-business electronic commerce, and for good reason. Go ask any market research firm about the potential market size for B2B and they will all come back with the same answer: huge. Continue »

The Bear Argument... ICG has been described in the press alternately as a "proxy B2B play" and a "collection of lottery tickets." The former argument assumes that there is insufficient competition in the markets ICG's partners are trying to address, the latter that one or more ICG-incubated companies is going to pay off. In both cases, it is too soon to predict the end result with any accuracy. Continue »

The Bull Argument »

 This Week's Duel