Netspeed At Netscape
How the hottest software startup in history plans to outrun Microsoft and remain master of the Web
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Back in December, 1994, Netscape was just another Silicon Valley startup about to head down the road to oblivion. The World Wide Web wasn't on most folks' radar screens, and Netscape was virtually unknown beyond Silicon Valley. With no money coming in and its $12 million in seed funding almost gone, co-founders James H. Clark and Marc L. Andreessen blinked. They laid off a dozen employees, froze hiring--and hoped new Chief Executive James L. Barksdale had a plan.
He did. Barksdale ended the hiring freeze and issued his decree: Go for it. Recalls Vice-President Richard M. Schell: "Jim walked in the door and said: `This rocket is going to take off, or it's going to crash into the ground. So, ladies and gentlemen, strap it on!"'