They say the first child is often born late, so perhaps it's appropriate the launch of drspock.com has been delayed. The parenting Web site based on the writings of best-selling author Dr. Benjamin Spock, was supposed to launch this month, but the Menlo Park-based startup has decided to retool for a September unveiling.

"We decided a September 'back-to-school' launch was a better way to go," says Doug Lee, the CEO of drspock.com. Lee, who previously was Managing Director at Premier Medical Partner Fund (a healthcare venture capital fund), replaced former CEO Ted Shelton last month. Shelton is no longer with the company. Drspock.com received $2 million in seed funding from Broadview International and the formation of the company was announced in January. Dr. Spock's widow, Mary Morgan, is on drspock.com's board of directors and has spearheaded the successful effort to secure online publishing rights to all the late Dr. Spock's published works.

While a delay of even a few months might be crucial to some companies staking a claim in the fast-moving 'Internet land grab,' Lee has no such concerns. "We start out the gate as a mega-brand while other dotcoms have to build their brand," says Lee.

Indeed, Lee says drspock.com, with only 13 employees currently onboard, plans to be much more than a Web site, expanding into cable TV and books. "The best comparison to what we have planned is probably CNET," says Lee. Drspock.com is already negotiating cable TV deals that Lee says should bear fruit by next year. Books, videos and audiotapes are in development, and the company is also negotiating co-branded versions of drspock.com content to license to healthcare organizations.

The launch delay may be a blessing in disguise given the highly publicized financial troubles of another famous doctor's site, drkoop.com. But Lee dismisses any comparison to the site named for former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, who serves as that company's Chairman of the Board).

"Dr. Koop is sputtering, but there hasn't been any debate about the need for good health care information online. Where they've failed is in execution," says Lee. "Also, we start out with a great, established publishing asset; Koop is inventing things as they go."

Much of Dr. Spock's work has stood the test of time. For example, his "Baby and Child Care" book, first published in 1946, has sold over 55 million copies.

THE NAME'S NOT ENOUGH

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But Jupiter Communications online healthcare analyst Rachel Terrace says drspock.com has tough challenges ahead. "Yes they won't have to spend a gajillion dollars trying to establish the Dr. Spock name, which is already a trusted parenting brand, but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy to make money," says Terrace.

"At the end of the day, they're a content play and there are just so many ad dollars to go around," Terrace continutes. "Drkoop.com came out with blow out traffic with its trusted name, but now its traffic is just respectable and below other sites like WebMD.com. The name alone doesn't get you profitability. Dr. Drew has a national radio and TV show and is very popular in the GenX market, but the drdrew.com site is struggling to get a lot of traffic and isn't profitable."

The key to drspock.com's success, according to company officials, is that it will be more than an information conduit. "There is plenty of information at pediatric sites, books and elsewhere already," says Mary Morgan. "But Ben had this incredible ability to make readers feel like they have good sense and to empower them with the wisdom to take the right steps in raising their kids. That's really the goal of the Web site, to make sure his voice and spirit remain intact."