Last minutes for technology pin-up

In the five years that Martha Lane Fox has spent at the helm of lastminute.com she has earned a fortune, lost much of it and climbed out of the wreckage of the dot.com crash – and all before the age of 30.

At the peak of the dot.com boom in 2000, Ms Lane Fox was the pin-up of the technology age. Her blonde hair, wholesome good looks and tender age ensured that it was she, and not co-founder Brent Hoberman, who drew the media attention.

But once the bubble burst and loss-making lastminute.com’s shares plummeted from their peak of 560p to less than 40p, Ms Lane Fox found herself under pressure from press and investors alike.