Netscape Time: The Making of the Billion-Dollar Start-Up That Took on Microsoft [Paperback]

Jim Clark (Author), Owen Edwards (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 16, 2000

In 1993, the Internet was about to explode into the world, changing the way we do business and live our lives. Jim Clark saw the potential immediately, and along with a rag-tag group of programmers, set out to create a start-up company that would reach enormous levels of success, and even challenge the monopolistic reign of Microsoft. Jim Clark, now the chairman of Netscape, tells the no-holds-barred story of the company that fought its way to the forefront of technology in a culture where technology is the key to the future.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Sitting at your desk, not getting much done, you finally give in to the temptation and click onto www.coolwaytokilltime.com. Little do you know, as you check on the price of cattle futures in Bolivia, that you have Jim Clark to thank for this wonderful research tool and time waster. Clark didn't invent the Internet (that was the Pentagon, looking for an inscrutable way to transmit classified information--or Al Gore, if you can believe him) or even the World Wide Web (that was a Swiss researcher named Tim Berners-Lee). Nor did he invent the first Web browser with a graphical interface; that was a pair of University of Illinois computer geeks named Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina. What Clark did was team up with Andreessen to create Netscape, and their first product, Netscape Navigator, made the Net more universally accessible than it had ever been. It also made a lot of people really rich, a fact Clark dwells on in perhaps too much detail.

The story of Netscape alone is thrilling enough, but Clark also gives tremendous insight into the real way American business operates nowadays--the speed, the risks, and the hatred for rivals (lots of hatred, mostly for Microsoft and Bill Gates.) Most of the book covers the founding of Netscape Communications, but there's an epilogue, too, discussing the merger of Netscape with America Online, the ongoing battle with Microsoft, and, most important, the impact the Web has had on everyday life. Clark makes a sound argument that Netscape had a lot to do with that. Oh, and did you know it made him rich? --Lou Schuler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In this sharply written account, Clark provides the ultimate insider's look at Netscape from its launch in summer 1994 to its sale to America Online in late 1998. Netscape's origins can be traced to when Clark was forced out of the first company he founded, Silicon Graphics. Bolstered by a "minor fortune" of $15 million, Clark was determined to do financially better for himself in his next venture. At the suggestion of a colleague, Clark met with Marc Andreessen, a recent graduate of the University of Illinois who had led the team that developed the Mosaic Web browser. The two hit it off, and after some false starts, they decided to form a company dedicated to building a "Mosaic killer." With the decision made, events moved at a rapid pace (what he calls "Netscape Time"). As Clark tells Netscape's story, he sheds light on the different mindsets of managers, programmers and venture capitalists. Of his programmers he writes: "these were my rock 'n' roll stars. I wasn't about to make them unhappy by telling them to grow up." His tale of keeping them all togetherAand of recruiting Jim Barksdale to be CEOAas Netscape headed for its famously successful IPO is one of the most engrossing parts of the book. There's even a villain: Microsoft. Clark charges that monopolistic practices (i.e., bundling its Web browser with Windows) allowed Microsoft to weaken Netscape to the point where it was forced to merge with AOL. Clark's hatred of Microsoft is evident throughout the book, but that doesn't mar a heady tale of one of Silicon Valley's greatest success stories. Author tour. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (July 16, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312263619
• ISBN-13: 978-0312263614
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Computers & Technology > Microsoft > Development > .NET
  • #36 in Books > Computers & Technology > Business & Culture > Biographies
  • #56 in Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > High-Tech

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Real Thing" for Those Who Read The New New Thing, November 8, 2000

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Netscape Time: The Making of the Billion-Dollar Start-Up That Took on Microsoft (Hardcover)

If you liked Michael Lewis' book, The New New Thing, about Jim Clark,
I think you will like Jim Clark's ruminations even more in this book
about what he learned at Silicon Graphics and how he helped create
Netscape. I also recommend this book as a superb case history
concerning key lessons about entrepreneurship in the Internet age.

If you don't know Clark's and Netscape's story, here's a quick
summary. Jim Clark uncovered a software approach to creating 3D
graphics while an academic. He left to found Silicon Graphics, and
eventually suffered from conflicts with his hand-picked CEO.
Frustrated by the inability to redirect the company towards a low-end
workstation and PC-based business, he resigned at age 50 with stock
worth about $15 million. Looking around for something to do, one of
his SGI colleagues suggests he meet Marc Andresson, the 23 year old
who had primarily co-written Mosaic, the first browser (along with
Eric Bina). Clark's first use of Mosaic was to e-mail Andresson.
They quickly decided to do something together, and Clark agreed to
fund it up to three million dollars. After two false starts on a
concept, they decide to create a "Mosaic Killer." The
strategy then becomes to hire all the people who had worked on Mosaic
at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the
University of Illinois. That, too, is quickly accomplished.

The
young men except for Bina have to wait to graduate from college, and
then a company is built around them as "rock star"
developers under Andresson's technical leadership. Within months, the
first release of what will become Navigator is up on the Web for free
downloading. Netscape quickly begins to sell licenses to major
companies, Jim Barksdale is hired as CEO, and the company goes public
to an astonishingly positive reaction. The company soon decides to
concentrate on software as its business rather than becoming a content
provider. Microsoft soon notices a new competitor, and the allegedly
anticompetitive actions now being ajudicated in the courts take place.
Netscape is sold to AOL. Clark later goes on to found his third
company, which is the subject of The New New Thing.

But, you
probably knew all or most of that. Why read this book then?

To
me, the value of what I found here was that Jim Clark seemed to be
pretty candid about why he decided to do or not do certain things that
had a very large impact on SGI's and Netscape's success. As a result,
this is an excellent study in entrepreneurship that considers how the
Internet changes everything. Whether your business is in the old or
the new economy, I think you can learn many valuable lessons from this
thought process and its consequences.

Here are the successes:

First, one important thing he did right was to fund the start-up
initially with his own money. His purpose was to get a bigger piece
of the pie for himself and the key developers. As founder of SGI, he
had received only about 1.5 percent of the company's market cap.
Early use of venture capitalists had cost him money in his view, and
he was probably right. A software start-up doesn't need tremendous
amounts of money. Founders and angels can often fund round one. This
made it easier for him to work with Andresson to attract the
development team, and reward them properly.

Second, his initial
strategy was to focus on getting all of the Mosaic development talent
into Netscape. That also was a good decision. In a new technology
area, the people are usually more important than the intellectual
property. Spyglass focused on getting the intellectual property
without the people, and did not do very well. This looks like another
good decision.

Third, he began selling software licenses early.
This gave him credibility, cash flow, and access to more financings at
an attractive price.

Fourth, he overcame his error in picking a
leader at SGI and chose Jim Barksdale. Clearly, Barksdale was a good
choice. I suggest you read Clark's thinking about why entrepreneurs
should usually find someone else to run the company for them. In
Clark's case, he just isn't interested in working on all of the
details and hanging around. But every business needs a CEO who does.

Fifth, he went along with Andresson's preferences to "release
early and often" and to make the software free. This speeded up
development time, and the company's growth. This was a key strategic
decision. Clark quickly grasped that Internet businesses needed
faster action and could provide it than hard asset businesses
could.

He also made some errors. Here they are:

First, and most
importantly, he knew that he was taking on Microsoft ultimately, but
did not properly prepare. As Sun Tzu suggests, your strategy should
either ensure that you do not have to fight or that the fight is under
circumstances so favorable that you cannot lose. Machiavelli suggests
that you always kill your enemy, because wounded enemies are lethal.
Netscape needed more and more powerful allies, and a way to insulate
itself from the inevitable Microsoft browser product buried in a
Windows package for free. I suspect that the error here was that he
didn't fully realize that he had the potential to create another
Microsoft.

Second, he focused the company on browser software to the
exclusion of content opportunities. All of the later Web successes
like Amazon, Yahoo and eBay could have been innovated by Netscape at
that point. Clark didn't want to split the company's focus, and the
browser product was hot. In retrospect, he probably left 99 percent
of the opportunity on the table. In this case, he probably did not
fully appreciate the future potential of the Internet. A better
solution would have been to start-up new companies with partner and VC
funding to put these operations together. They would have been
outside of Netscape and had their own focus and funding. Netscape
could have been an even more successful version of CMGI.

Third, he
ruffled the feathers of the people at the University of Illinois. He
waited until they were annoyed before making peace. This disagreement
wasted a lot of time and money, and slowed down corporate acceptance
of Netscape. He needed a diplomat on his team earlier on.

As you
can see, that's a lot to think about in one book.

After you have
finished absorbing and applying these lessons, I suggest that you ask
yourself where your pursuit of opportunities and examination of
potential risks may be too limited. Learn from Jim Clark's
experiences to take full advantage of the potential of where you are,
and then you will not need a new new thing.

Lead others and yourself
into greater prosperity!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read For All Book Lovers, Not Just NetHeads, January 12, 2000

By 

Jack Jalove - See all my reviews

This review is from: Netscape Time: The Making of the Billion-Dollar Start-Up That Took on Microsoft (Hardcover)

To all these 1 and 2 star reviewers: What planet are you on? This book is excellent. Easy to read. Really well written. And with much insight from the voice of someone who's been thru the business battleground. Clark's simile on page 134 about how Netscape's offices looked a few months into the start-up, the manic, hectic, pressurized pace left the offices looking "like a conceptual art exhibit at a state mental institution" qualifies the author as a first class wordsmith. And I second that opinion that Clark could make yet another fortune as a writer.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LIGHT THROUGH A MOSAIC, June 10, 1999

By 

"bpjammin" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Netscape Time: The Making of the Billion-Dollar Start-Up That Took on Microsoft (Hardcover)

Would you spend twenty dollars to spend about 8 hours listening to Jim Clark reminisce about starting SGI and Netscape? Then buy the book.

For those familiar with the struggle of trying to accomplish something innovative, you will find his story strangely familiar. For those trying to innovate something on the Internet, you will find this book very encouraging. For those who read between the lines, you will find that it's not about the money, it's about "getting it" and being right, and money is the proof statement in this brave new world.

Clark's direct no-nonsense style can be in your face at times, and you can see why the dense just couldn't get it, because no one likes being shouted awake from a deep sleep. But like most prophets, Clark sees no profit in beating around the burning bush. It seems to be a trait of the innovator.

There is some real insight buried among the stories, as well as advice on how to deal with VCs and dilution of equity, problems many of us look forward to having.

This should be an audio CD, since it is more of an epic poem than a book. It would be great to have a DVD version with addition points of view and multimedia. Netscape made the Internet a multimedia experience; it would seem only fitting that a book by its founder would do the same.