Valley of the Boom

I'm just not 100% sold on going public.

Even with Microsoft entering the arena,

the IPO gives us room to expand,

to stay ahead, not just keep up.

Till we need more money, I can make some calls.

We won't be able to keep it afloat with a few grand here and there.

Netscape reached $5 million from a 30-minute meeting.

We need venture capitalists.

NASDAQ is pumping. Why don't we have a price?

$71 a share.

Another round of begging friends and family for money?

Did you guys see this yet?

If anybody needed proof that the Internet is real, here you go.

We are the top browser in the business, so congratulations.

.

It also makes us a target.

I'm trying to get a round trip ticket to San Jose.

Actually make that one-way.

-Hey there, are you uh new to town?

I sure am.

I'm actually looking for some office space.

When Netscape went public, investors couldn't get enough.

Huh. I'm Michael Fenne.

The boom was a product of what we now call FOMO,

you know the fear of missing out.

Did we attract a lot more people who thought they could make money?

So you had a very large number of people who didn't understand

what these products were, they wanted to take it on the train even

though they didn't know where the hell the train was going.

Everybody thought they could get rich with a website, with a, new technology,

with an advancement of the technology, you know,

and people who weren't making money felt like they were left out.

It was most definitely a gold rush.

.

made everybody look the other way, uh and allow Michael Fenne

to pull the wool over people's eyes.

I am doing Marcus Aurelius in the Easter drama here

and I have to wear a Roman legion battle toga.

It is so cool.

I was trying to take a picture and show you the new me,

but I am still afraid that names deleted may betray me and take it to the officials.

I finally got my hair the way I intended.

It took five treatments with salon coloring, but it looks absolutely good.

Even if I could I would not go back to my original color,

because this looks so cool.

Almost blinding.

When I get my face done, even name deleted may not recognize me when I see her this summer,

but she'll know me, I know she will.

I am getting brown now, very hot here, and am, yes, supplementing with a tanning

bed for the Easter drama, since Romans were bronze.

What say you, Lucius Veras?

-Marcus Aurelius, is it the truth you tell?

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact.

Everything we see is a perspective, not truth.

-But sir, do you or do you not dissemble?

Do you not see? It matters not.

Our life is what our thoughts make it.

-Marcus Aurelius, I beseech you.

Defend the city of Rome and its citizens.

Senators, we must speak of war provisions.

The Silicon Valley money machine is still cranking.

They are buying the $4 million, the $3 million homes.

Welcome to the front lines of the technology revolution.

These kids are 25 to 35.

And they've all made it.

There was The Valley before Netscape.

And The Valley after Netscape.

Things were changing like this, gradual, gradual, and then boom!

Hockey stick, you were in a completely different place.

They were raising fund after fund after fund.

$400 million, $800 million to invest in this new thing called the Internet.

Never had there been anything on the scale of what happened

when the Internet hit and the dot com showed up.

There was a proliferation of wealth and there were different

kinds of people moving here.

All the Harvard Business School started to come in when they

would never come to Silicon Valley before this.

It was much more of a scene.

It became a scene.

Once you came up with a, an idea.

Well then it was just a question of getting people to believe in that idea

and riches were possible.

Netscape really changed everything,

the beginning of what now has become much, much more common.

To have an engineer, a geek, become a rock star.

-This is absolutely the number one seller.

-And how much does this one go for?

-They're approximately a quarter million dollars.

Wow.

February was a great month at Ferrari of Los Gatos.

The Nasdaq was soaring and its Silicon Valley customers

rushed to convert stock market riches:

into sinew, steel and fire engine red paint.

-We sold 7 of these things in one Friday afternoon.

D'Anne was just a warm, nice jovial person.

So I think she made everyone feel at home and at ease

and she was a little like a den mother.

You always need someone like D'Anne.

I was Jim Clark's secretary.

When he started Netscape with Marc Andreessen, he said,

it's a risk with pretty much zero job security,

but I can offer you stock options, and I was in.

The boys called me "Netscape Mom."

And, y'know, it worked out.

I worked so hard to literally dress these guys and tie their ties but,

after the IPO, suddenly I was rich!

And overnight, "Netscape" was a name that everyone knew.

Hi Marc.

Hi, D'Anne.

What changed in our culture or individually after the IPO,

not as much as you would think.

A lot of it was nose to the grindstone,

"We've got a mission and a vision to change the world."

I mean, some of us knew we'd made money, don't get me wrong.

We weren't stupid.

But we had a higher paradigm and vision of what we wanted to do.

Yeah baby, blow the top off!

It just keeps going up and you can see it happen!

Hey, guys, know how we feel about celebrations of success.

Let's just keep our eyes on the prize.

Jim. Yeah?

We already got the prize.

And our stock just went up another 12%.

I hear you, darling, I really do.

I just want to make sure we're all focused on getting this company to the finish line

so we can all keep all this imaginary stock option money.

Because it ain't real till it's real.

Fair, fair enough.

Alright.

And this is another Barksdale quote:

"The main thing is to always keep the main thing the main thing."

That's what Barksdale was trying to do when he said

don't get too distracted about this IPO.

Oh, and D'Anne.

Some of these people weren't here before the IPO.

I just wanna make sure they're excited to be here and they all feel like

they're part of the team, so.

Got it. You get it.

Yeah. It went up again!

Good morning, Sunshine!

Okay Jim, whatta you want?

Why does it mean I want something just cause I greet you in a friendly manner?

Do I need to repeat the question?

Okay, fine, I'll skip the niceties.

We're taking the Microsoft meeting.

Ok.

I want to see their cards.

I can tell you what's in their hand right now.

Lay it on me.

Gates will try to close us on some kind of strategic partnership.

And then basically lock us up in their tower like Rapunzel.

Or eliminate us entirely like a gnat.

Nah, we're too big.

Really? Well aren't we?

Next to Microsoft? Market share.

True. But I doubt Bill Gates sees it that way.

True. Great talk.

Always.

Really nice space. Really nice. I like it.

Thanks. Yeah, well, it works out.

Yeah. Well, I can definitely help you out,

bring your people into the 21st Century.

I know the complete Office Suite very well.

In fact, I'm friendly with the Microsoft team in Redmond,

it really is a small community of innovators.

Really? Well, that's very impressive.

I'm still kinda getting up to speed.

Thing is, I've got some pretty big things going on, so.

Big things?

Oh, the Internet is changing the game, Chuck.

But you know better than anyone,

anyone that doesn't get on board is gonna miss out in some very meaningful ways.

Well, I'm hoping to get on board.

I'm in the process of not only changing the game, but blowing the game to bits.

Revolutionary stuff, consulting some pretty big players.

That's exciting.

Lord help me. Saudis, you name it. Yeah.

Big money, big headache!

I guess.

Yeah. I can help you out during the day, okay,

and then I'll just get most of my business done later or at night.

Sound good?

Terrific. Uh, the way we work it around here is you

just give me a small deposit,

I'll cut you a good deal on the space in exchange for some lessons.

Or, how about this: let's just skip the deposit and lowered rate,

and I just cut you in on my repair gig,

slide over some of that Saudi money? 5%?

Oil money? Hell yeah, that could work!

Alright. Alright.

Jesus Christ, I am so tired.

Allow me.

That's okay, I'll get the next one!

Like it's that easy for a brother to get a cab around this mother...

Hi! Hi, hi. Hey there. Remember me? No?

Well, that's okay, most people don't remember the stockbrokers.

But me myself, yeah, I'm going be here for a while, so get used to me.

The name's at the bottom. Check it.

Name is not at the bottom. Uh.

Has anybody seen my chyron? Has anybody seen my chyron?