a16z | Marc Andreessen on Building Netscape & the Birth of the Browser @a16z | Uploaded June 2024 | Updated October 2024, 2 hours ago.
"We decided to design for the future." – Marc Andreessen | Welcome back to "The Ben & Marc Show," featuring a16z co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. In this special episode, Marc and Ben dive deep into the REAL story behind the creation of Netscape—a web browser co-created by Marc that revolutionized the internet and changed the world.
As Ben notes at the top, until today, this story has never been fully told either in its entirety or accurately.
In this one-on-one conversation, Marc and Ben discuss Marc's early life and how it shaped his journey into technology, the pivotal moments at the University of Illinois that led to the development of Mosaic (a renegade browser that Marc developed as an undergrad), and the fierce competition and legal battles that ensued as Netscape rose to prominence.
Ben and Marc also reflect on the broader implications of Netscape's success, the importance of an open internet, and the lessons learned that still resonate in today's tech landscape (especially with AI). That and much more. Enjoy!
Topics covered:
00:00:00 Teaser
00:00:30 Intro
00:02:09 Disclaimers
00:04:08 Marc's early life and education
00:08:18 Early exposure to personal computers and BBSs
00:13:44 University of Illinois
00:16:21 Credit to Al Gore
00:18:09 "The internet would never be a business."
00:22:02 Interactive television / Reed Hastings' vision for Netflix
00:25:16 Early internet usage and community
00:29:13 Paul Baran
00:33:46 Consumer online services in the early 90s
00:39:15 NCSA
00:49:27 Development of Mosaic / Design philosophy
00:58:20 Opposition in the internet community
01:01:04 Going rogue and building Mosaic
01:05:06 Marc becomes customer support for the entire internet
01:08:26 Media and press reaction to Mosaic
01:14:46 The ping pong effect / Key moments for the Internet
01:19:27 First E-commerce site
01:22:06 Graduation from UIUC
01:25:39 Jim Clark / Decision to build an internet browser
01:34:30 Marc on expert predictions
01:38:43 Building Mosaic / Conflict w/ Spyglass
01:44:05 Lawsuit against the University of Illinois
01:49:34 Parallels to modern AI discussions
01:51:40 The end of Spyglass ("A happy ending")
01:54:40 Sign off
#internet #podcast #history #tech #technology #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #vc #founder #ai #artificialintelligence #business #vr #starwars #netflix #computer #netscape #marcandreessen #benhorowitz
Book mentioned on this episode:
- “Expert Political Judgment” by Philip E. Tetlock bit.ly/45KzP6M
TV Series mentioned on this episode:
- “The Mandalorian” (Disney+) bit.ly/3W0Zyoq
Listen to Us!
- Apple: bit.ly/3SdsfNt
- Spotify: spoti.fi/3SclPOr
Resources:
Marc on X: twitter.com/pmarca
Marc’s Substack: pmarca.substack.com
Ben on X: twitter.com/bhorowitz
Stay Updated:
Find us on X: twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/a16z
The views expressed here are those of the individual personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any a16z funds. PLEASE SEE MORE HERE: a16z.com/disclosures
"We decided to design for the future." – Marc Andreessen | Welcome back to "The Ben & Marc Show," featuring a16z co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. In this special episode, Marc and Ben dive deep into the REAL story behind the creation of Netscape—a web browser co-created by Marc that revolutionized the internet and changed the world.
As Ben notes at the top, until today, this story has never been fully told either in its entirety or accurately.
In this one-on-one conversation, Marc and Ben discuss Marc's early life and how it shaped his journey into technology, the pivotal moments at the University of Illinois that led to the development of Mosaic (a renegade browser that Marc developed as an undergrad), and the fierce competition and legal battles that ensued as Netscape rose to prominence.
Ben and Marc also reflect on the broader implications of Netscape's success, the importance of an open internet, and the lessons learned that still resonate in today's tech landscape (especially with AI). That and much more. Enjoy!
Topics covered:
00:00:00 Teaser
00:00:30 Intro
00:02:09 Disclaimers
00:04:08 Marc's early life and education
00:08:18 Early exposure to personal computers and BBSs
00:13:44 University of Illinois
00:16:21 Credit to Al Gore
00:18:09 "The internet would never be a business."
00:22:02 Interactive television / Reed Hastings' vision for Netflix
00:25:16 Early internet usage and community
00:29:13 Paul Baran
00:33:46 Consumer online services in the early 90s
00:39:15 NCSA
00:49:27 Development of Mosaic / Design philosophy
00:58:20 Opposition in the internet community
01:01:04 Going rogue and building Mosaic
01:05:06 Marc becomes customer support for the entire internet
01:08:26 Media and press reaction to Mosaic
01:14:46 The ping pong effect / Key moments for the Internet
01:19:27 First E-commerce site
01:22:06 Graduation from UIUC
01:25:39 Jim Clark / Decision to build an internet browser
01:34:30 Marc on expert predictions
01:38:43 Building Mosaic / Conflict w/ Spyglass
01:44:05 Lawsuit against the University of Illinois
01:49:34 Parallels to modern AI discussions
01:51:40 The end of Spyglass ("A happy ending")
01:54:40 Sign off
#internet #podcast #history #tech #technology #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #vc #founder #ai #artificialintelligence #business #vr #starwars #netflix #computer #netscape #marcandreessen #benhorowitz
Book mentioned on this episode:
- “Expert Political Judgment” by Philip E. Tetlock bit.ly/45KzP6M
TV Series mentioned on this episode:
- “The Mandalorian” (Disney+) bit.ly/3W0Zyoq
Listen to Us!
- Apple: bit.ly/3SdsfNt
- Spotify: spoti.fi/3SclPOr
Resources:
Marc on X: twitter.com/pmarca
Marc’s Substack: pmarca.substack.com
Ben on X: twitter.com/bhorowitz
Stay Updated:
Find us on X: twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/a16z
The views expressed here are those of the individual personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any a16z funds. PLEASE SEE MORE HERE: a16z.com/disclosures
