American History 1988
Chapter 330 - 320: Give Me a Reason

Chapter 330: Chapter 320: Give Me a Reason

"Durell, you didn’t say you were coming over today~" Dean recognized the voice immediately.

In Silicon Valley, aside from the straightforward "Rocketman" Valentine.

Durell’s "improvisational" style often led him to take surprisingly unpredictable actions.

Just like now, simply because he happened to use the Explorer browser at home once again.

He dropped the work he had been halfway through with and headed straight for Dean’s office at Byte.

Then, finding Dean wasn’t there, he didn’t even think before rushing over to Netscape.

"It turns out we’re on the same page, right now we’re both focusing on the same thing."

After entering, Durell didn’t hesitate to grab a chair and sit down.

He knew everyone in the room and they all shared deep relationships.

"Tell me, when can I get in on Netscape?

In Silicon Valley, no startup can survive without venture capital, and it’s not a matter of funds."

"So you’re sure it’ll be a good business?" Dean turned his chair to face him.

"Have you forgotten who I am, Dean?" Durell pointed to his chest.

"I’m a venture capitalist, I make my living off this craft.

Eight years ago, I already knew the internet would become the next big thing."

Dean shrugged at Clark, who stood to the side with his arms folded, "I had no idea venture capitalists had the power to predict the future."

Clark laughed out loud, and Durell showed a helpless expression.

"Come on, Dean, I started studying venture capital as a business twenty years ago."

Durell was used to thinking about the future five years ahead. In ’74, when he transferred to Harvard Business School from Rice University in St. Louis, Missouri.

He became fascinated with Silicon Valley’s venture capital, and at that time, the term "venture capital" had just recently appeared.

He called those venture capital firms that he had never contacted to see if any would offer him a job.

But at that time the market was at its lowest point, many venture capital firms in Silicon Valley had shut down their funds, and Durell had no work experience whatsoever.

"Forget about venture capital as a career," someone from a venture capital firm told him, "go work for Andy at Intel."

Because the industry wasn’t doing well, Durell turned to Intel.

At first, he served as an engineer and project manager, but later grew tired of it.

He took the initiative to join the sales team and quickly became a top salesperson.

It was also there that he realized the driving force of chips on computers, and later he joined KeyPoint Ventures.

At that time Silicon Valley was in the midst of the personal computer boom, and he even learned semiconductor VLSI and solid-state processing technology for it.

Two years later, he took time off to spend a few months in Tim Woss’s senate office.

Yes, that Tim Woss who managed the NSFnet.

There, Durell learned everything related to the ARPANET and even became the highest-paid summer intern on Capitol Hill.

Starting from that time, Durell consciously began to pay attention to the development of the network.

All his investments thereafter were mostly IT-related, such as Compaq, Symantec, Sun Microsystems, etc...

Unfortunately, the network, being controlled by the National Science Foundation, did not present any business opportunities.

Not until ’91 when he learned from Tim Woss that the NSFnet was set to privatize within a few years.

Only then did he perk up again, and AOL naturally entered his sights.

Through Dean’s connection, he managed to get a piece of the action from AOL’s IPO.

Now he had discovered the potential of browsers and websites, like Explorer, Price’s List...

Okay, sitting at home, Durell suddenly realized. All the things in the network that could become hot business were related to Dean.

Intuition told him if he didn’t act soon, he’d miss a grand slam like with Byte Company.

"But right now, Netscape isn’t making a profit, and we don’t even need funds for the time being."

At the start of the year, Dean and Clark invested another 3 million dollars in Netscape, proportionally.

They had no choice, the team had expanded. And to support the commercial release, the funds left over from the previous financial statements were definitely not enough.

"Dean, I’ve said it before, I’m a venture capitalist, you don’t need to doubt my confidence in browsers.

If the World Wide Web is an apple, then Explorer is the Macintosh.

It has opened the doors to the world of the web for millions, and people will be fascinated by it."

As one of the early web users, Durell was already tired of the pure text-based web environment.

Explorer transformed the internet into an addicting, colorful, mouse-clicking experience.

Dean and Clark exchanged smiles and then turned to Durell.

"Alright, you guessed it, browsers are indeed very popular with users.

Jim, how many times has our Explorer been downloaded?"

"About four million, and the number changes every day."

"Oh~Shit!" Durell stood up in shock, "Guys, are you sure this isn’t a joke?"

He knew browsers were popular and that Explorer was one of the best.

But he had not anticipated that over four million people were using it; Silicon Valley colleagues were going to be frenzied.

The figure rendered Durell speechless, as if his head had been hit by a nuclear bomb.

It took him quite a while to regain his senses.

"Guys, you may have dug up another big business."

Four million users, even if it’s free, won’t affect Netscape’s grand future.

Durell knew that as a company related to networking, they could develop many value-added services.

"We’ve temporarily stopped updating the old version, but it’s still very popular."

"Wait, the old version?!" Durell sharply caught the keyword.

"Let’s set that issue aside for now and talk about the purpose of your visit here."

Dean thought it was about time to talk about the investment.

"Oh~ speaking of that~" Durell immediately perked up, "Of course, it’s to invest in this business."

"So what can KeyPoint Ventures bring to Netscape, apart from the money?"

With Dean’s net worth, he didn’t need to worry about Netscape’s financing issues.

Therefore, financing wasn’t the top priority. If Durell wanted to invest, he needed to give a convincing reason.

"This company has just been founded," Durell turned and glanced at the messy office outside.

"It needs an experienced leadership and marketing team, and I happen to have the connections in this area.

Moreover, no matter where Netscape’s profits come from, I think it will need enterprise customers.

KeyPoint Ventures is on the shareholder list of many technology companies, I can build bridges for Netscape."

"Umm~" Dean nodded, then looked at Clark, "Java needs to become the industry’s default standard.

JSP must also become one of the most commonly used languages for developers, which includes Netscape’s Javascript."

"You’re absolutely right." Carlock smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"So where do we start promoting all-new programming technology first?"

Although Dean posed the question to Clark, his gaze was fixed on Durell.

"I will contact Compaq, HP, Symantec, Sun, and all other companies on the list."

Durell immediately assured him, "I can even persuade them to pre-install Explorer browser on computers.

As for the Java you just mentioned...wait, is that some kind of coffee?"

Facing Durell’s sudden confusion, Dean and Clark both laughed.

"Well, Durell, Java is a development language that software companies might need."

"That’s no problem at all, I have connections with most software companies here in Silicon Valley."

Durell took it all in stride; he was now brimming with enthusiasm for Explorer.

"Sounds good?" Dean turned to Clark.

"At the very least, other venture capitalists won’t offer more help than this." Clark endorsed Durell’s self-pitch.

"OK," Dean nodded, "Durell, you are the first venture capitalist Netscape has been in touch with."

"I think that’s my honor," Durell was pleased to hear this from Dean.

"But as you can see, Explorer is very popular.

We are preparing to launch its commercial version in the next update; just as you mentioned, this is a product aimed at enterprise users.

Honestly, we don’t worry too much about sales because we already have a user base of over 4 million.

So Netscape’s valuation will be very high, unlike any other startups before."

When Dean and Clark established Netscape, they never considered seeking angel investment.

Because they were the biggest angel investors, if Netscape considered financing one day, it meant it was close to Nasdaq.

"So how much are you preparing to value it?" Durell was already braced for the answer.

Netscape really was different, having such a large user base already.

Looking at Durell’s earnest gaze, Dean suddenly smiled.

"Let’s wait a bit longer to discuss valuation, let’s say, for a period of three months.

By that time, Explorer 2.0 will be launched, and I think the market’s feedback will give us a good reference.

At the same time, I assure you that Netscape will indeed accept investment from KeyPoint Ventures, and be the first one."

Durell hadn’t expected Dean to postpone the valuation negotiations; it was evident he had great confidence in Netscape.

"Can I take a look at this Explorer 2.0 you mentioned, and that... Java?"

Durell felt that he didn’t know enough about Netscape yet; he needed to fully understand the object of his investment.

"Of course," Dean stepped aside to reveal the computer behind him, "It’s right here."

"Oh~ God!" The moment Durell saw the constantly running Mario on the computer screen.

What followed goes without saying. With Clark’s introduction, Durell quickly marveled at the advancements of Explorer 2.0.

He examined the new generation browser, yet to be released, with the appreciation one might have for a rare treasure.

While the two of them were eagerly engaged, Dean was frowning, deep in thought about another issue.

The creativity behind the browser needed no emphasis, but he always felt something was lacking.

Especially when Mosaic also emerged in his mind, the two browsers kept intertwining in his thoughts.

Suddenly, Dean’s eyes paused; he knew where the problem lay.

Whether it was Explorer or Mosaic, they were both being treated as application tools.

As long as they served the same function, users didn’t mind whether it was Mosaic or Explorer, or any other new browser that appeared.

In other words, browser users had almost no loyalty.

Especially when the technology of both was at the same level, people could switch browsers without any burden.

Dean’s brain began to whirl again; he vaguely grasped a thread of insight.

Beep beep beep, right in the middle of his contemplation, the phone in his pocket rang again.

Well, after listening for a bit, Dean realized he had another business venture about to launch soon.