1: Things were looking bleak. Very bleak.
The year was 2001, and the dot-com crash was happening.
One by one, technology startups that only a year earlier boasted sky-high valuations and lavish offices were collapsing, leaving behind empty cubicles, burned-out servers, and a sobering lesson in the perils of unchecked optimism.
Loudcloud CEO Ben Horowitz decided to sell the company’s cloud business and pivot to software.
“The situation was complex, … continue reading
1: Netscape founder Marc Andreessen to his business partner and then Loudcloud CEO Ben Horowitz:
Marc: “Do you know the best thing about startups?”
Ben: “What?”
Marc: “You only experience two emotions: Euphoria and terror. And I find that lack of sleep enhances both.”
The year was 2000. The dot-com implosion was happening.
Ben and Marc had raised almost $200 million to launch Loudcloud, a startup focused on network … continue reading
1: “Ben, think about how you might run the business if capital were free.”
That was the advice Andy Rachleff of Benchmark Capital gave Ben Horowitz, who was the CEO of Loudcloud, a startup focused on network security, scaling, and disaster recovery.
The year was 1999.
Ben and Loudcloud co-founder  Marc Andreessen were coming off the spectacular sale of  Netscape to AOL for $4.2 billion.
Benchmark invested $15 million … continue reading
