Valley of the Boom (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 6 - Part 6: fatal error - full transcript
The
Justice Department has
charged Microsoft with
engaging in anti-competitive...
The government's
now going after Microsoft
with both barrels.
Designed to
maintain its monopoly...
Cool.
In personal
computer operating systems.
When you come across
a snake, you kill it.
You don't go back and
play with a dead snake.
We reached an
agreement to sell the
Netscape Communications
Corporation to AOL.
This guy who has been
calling himself Michael Fenne
is really David Kim Stanley,
a fugitive of the law.
What about the
technology that I created?
Yeah, well,
I'm trying to deal with this
bankruptcy stuff so that you
and Chuck don't get arrested.
What?
Hey, what did
y'all think of iBash?
Whooo!
You spent twelve
million dollars of my money
on something that didn't work.
Huh.
Michael Egan
told us, "I wanna do
business with you guys."
We bought 51%
for 20 million.
Which at
the time was the single
biggest investment
in Internet history
by an individual.
Got the girl.
Got the money.
Now I'm ready to live a
disgusting frivolous life.
That piece
was very damaging.
Dude, you know
they took it out of context!
You created the context!
We are running a
billion- dollar company.
And you played right
into the narrative that
maybe we shouldn't be.
Because it
burned inside me.
Because.
Be-be-be-because.
Be-be.
Because.
It burned.
Because it burned inside me.
IPO gate
is far from a sure case.
-Well, it's the Internet.
It's life in the fast line.
-Cash is cash.
-Anyone can create enough
wealth in a couple of years
to become a billionaire.
-Fun becomes popular.
-Of the 175 Internet
companies that went public
this year almost one-third
are trading below their
initial offering price.
Because it
burned inside me.
America Online says
combining the Web audience
of AOL and Netscape
will let consumers and
businesses do more on the Web.
The combination creates
a force to be reckoned
with for anyone
targeting consumers
on the Internet.
Yes, I went
to work at AOL.
Is that so difficult
to understand?
Sorry, I'm not angry at you.
Fine, let me break it
I created something
you all now use every day,
that speeds
communication, commerce,
education, even love.
And that thing was
given to all of you.
You're welcome.
Did I make a tidy sum?
Yes, I did.
Did I leverage
my wealth and position
toward the greater good?
I did the thing I did.
And I retreated
from a creative role
to something else.
I'm a human being, with
an expiration date.
And I'm living the
rest of my life.
And I'm definitely
done talking about it.
Hey.
Hey.
I'm really sorry.
No, man.
It's all good.
You were right.
No, let's go
in the conference room.
I feel really bad.
You drive this company.
You and your vision,
made this all happen.
Todd, that's not true.
You made a mistake.
One that got amplified
by the fishbowl we're
living in as the guys
who started this company.
There wouldn't be a
company without you.
There wouldn't be a fishbowl.
And there wouldn't have been
the craziest IPO in history.
We did do that.
We did.
-Because it burned inside me.
Why are we
divided into thirds?
Hello?
Heeyyy, you up?
It's a lot, right?
I know, the entire thing.
This delicious bacchanal,
this orgy if you
will of money and power,
I mean, that big ol'
juicy bubble,
it's starting to stretch tight.
Yeah, I know, you can feel
it right, yeah, I know,
it is full to bursting,
the signs are everywhere,
the center will not hold.
That's Yeats, bitch.
So, I and all of us
financial sector experts,
as certified
investment practitioners,
do the prudent thing,
the wise thing,
the right thing,
and hew tightly
to our fiduciary
responsibility, right?
Well, as they say
in the olden days,
NOT.
Everybody wanted
what we were building.
I told them, I said,
you can't have my
social security number.
You can't know who I
am or where I come from.
If you want what
we're building at Pixelon,
you have to
leave my past alone,
whatever that may be.
That was the deal.
This guy that's
been calling himself
Michael Fenne is really...
Somebody named
David Kim Stanley,
who is on the
State of Virginia's
Most Wanted List
for uh, you know,
being a fugitive of the law.
First of all, I threw
my driver's license away,
threw very piece of,
every trace of anything
that might identify
me as David Stanley.
I threw all that away.
Um, I dyed my hair blonde,
I put on 200 pounds.
I did as much as I could
do short of mutilation
to change my appearance.
The founder
is fictional, which is
kind of appropriate because
in many ways the
product is fictional too.
Almost immediately
after iBash, it was pretty
clear that it was a failure.
The fact that they were unable
to stream the event live on
the Internet confirmed:
That this was a technology that
wasn't ready for prime time.
I specifically made
it my objective to let the
chairman of the board know:
This was not possible and they
kept going forward anyway.
The actual
broadcast of it live,
Pixelon didn't
even broadcast it live.
iBash failed.
Michael, this is the last
time I'm gonna call you.
I'm getting on a flight
and we're gonna hash
this out in person.
And you'd better have some
very compelling answers.
Just try not
to attract attention.
They have people everywhere.
I don't know
how to drive and attract
any less attention.
If they've put me
"beyond salvage" that means
they might disappear me.
We just need to keep moving.
Please, speed up!
Michael,
you're scaring me.
Hey, pull over!
Ah! Ok.
Ok look, you
should be scared.
We should all be scared,
the CIA doesn't mess around.
Why would the CIA?
Hey, I told you
not to ask me about that.
It puts you at risk!
Michael's behavior
by all accounts was
increasingly erratic.
The hit squad
is probably on the way.
And this new so-called
"CEO," Paul Ward?
He's working for the bad guys.
What are
you, the "hit squad?"
Are we in danger?
I thought you liked
Paul and Denise.
We had them over to the house!
I thought the whole iBash
thing was such a big success.
Honey, I need you
to do something for me,
you go home,
get any of my papers in my
office and put them in a box
and then put them in the
cubby hole under the garage. Ok?
Yeah.
Hey, shh.
Get down!
Ok, sit tight, baby.
Do not answer
the phone or the door
under any circumstances,
I'm talking about
your life here.
This may be the last
time we see each other,
know that I have
truly loved you,
even when you let me down.
Oh, Michael,
please don't say that.
Please. I don't.
Michael, Michael!
AOL
is more powerful in consumer
activity than any company,
including Microsoft.
So here's competition at
its finest, with people
slicing up Netscape
for the real key assets.
Andreessen
becoming the AOL CTO was
a bit of, you know, wow,
that's an interesting
one, isn't it?
There's a lot
of irony around the uh
AOL purpose of Netscape.
That was just part and parcel.
Given everything
he had said about the
company, yes, it was odd.
And I don't really know
even what he did in
that role, if anything.
You've got a visitor.
Ha-ha.
I just wrapped up all
my transitional stuff here.
I just want to stop in and
let you know where we are
with the antitrust case.
Why?
Why would you
want to update me?
Are you, I, because it
has to do with the company,
Marc, with our positions.
My position?
Is that it's over.
It's far from over, Marc.
Microsoft was offered the
option of negotiating an
out-of-court settlement.
They've opted not to take it.
So it's not over.
They're not taking
the option to settle.
- No.
- Of course they're not.
Gates will continue to
starve us out until there's
nothing left; no engineers,
no will toward continuing
to fight for open source.
It's a victory by
demoralization and attrition.
"Death by a thousand
paper cuts."
It's a good
strategy, actually.
Yes or no.
Could it be a fool's errand?
Of course it could.
Could it just possibly be
an opening to achieving
some sort of victory?
I think that that
is also possible.
Are you going
back and playing with
dead snakes, Jim?
The main thing
is, I started this thing
and I'm gonna finish it.
I made a promise to
a lot of our folks to
see this thing through.
See, the thing is, Marc.
Thank you, Jim.
Alright.
The
NASDAQ finally found some
life on Friday but beneath
the broad numbers was another
day of dot-com meltdown.
one of the original
hit Internet IPOs
is now 50 cents a share.
Everyone was so
frustrated that the stock
kept dropping despite
all of our performance,
that everybody thought there
was just something broken,
something's not working,
there's a disconnect.
And that frustration
translated into
everybody saying,
"Well, we need more
stock because our stock
keeps dropping in value.
We need more stock."
A pressure cooker
was building.
I could feel that
something was gonna give.
I don't know.
I'm out of ideas.
I just might go see
the new John Woo movie.
John Woo? Ugh.
Seriously?
John Woo is "ugh?"
Bunch of operatic,
over-the-top slow-motion
diving gun battles.
Dude. He's a master.
A true artist.
John Woo is the man.
Meh.
Steph, we are so
screwed, buddy.
We are?
I don't see
any way we're not.
I mean, y'know
Todd, there are things you
could do to be less screwed.
Why are you
acting so weird?
Oh, crap.
Bro!
Okay.
Now we're screwed.
Had a good run, boys.
But it ends here.
You guys ready?
Ready.
Let's do this.
We sparked off
Internet IPO mania and we were
also the beginning of the end.
I think if we
do something radical
that gets some press,
like re-allocate 30% of.
Steph!
What?
- No.
- Yes.
He's the
chairman of our board.
It's already
being widely reported.
He didn't
even tell us.
Mike Egan was my
Gordon Gecko.
He was the guy who was
like going to make the
bet on the genius
Bud and Bud's own dad
didn't quite believe in him.
You know?
And it's like you finally get
to show off to your own dad.
You found somebody who
believes in you so mightily
and that will put so much
money behind you.
We need to go out
to the Valley.
Create a new story,
do some laps,
shake some hands,
raise some cash.
Let em know that
we're not dead yet.
Maybe Bob Halperin
will even double down.
- Ok. Ok. But Steph.
- Yeah.
No plastic pants.
Look at all
these beautiful minds
and bodies at work!
You are ALL my children!
I hope we are working at
maximum efficiency here.
What's the update on
the backend work, Brian?
Ummm, it
kinda is what it is.
Ready to ship, I guess.
"Um, uh, err,
it is what it is."
Take out the "ums"
and "ahs," friend!
"Ready to ship, Michael!"
Ready to ship,
Mr. Fenne.
Michael!
Ready to ship, Michael.
It's odd when you're
at a circumstance like
that because it's kinda
happening to everybody.
And a lot of it was um,
just keeping it to yourself.
You would have opinions
about what was going
on but nobody else seemed to
be saying anything to
keep it from happening.
You know, there
are all sorts of stories
about what happened the
day that Michael was
removed from Pixelon,
when he was essentially,
you know, fired.
The day he was
a tumultuous one.
He's launching into these
long uh, tirades on the
public-address system.
Good morning, rock stars!
iBash! What a victory.
I'm so thankful
to the lord and
our divine technology.
We are on a role people,
so let's keep it up!
And when we hit that
IPO we will be in the
land of milk and honey!
It was the dot-com era.
Everybody there thought
that they were on the
precipice of great wealth.
It's odd what that does
to people, that sort of
was the overriding thing.
Just deal with it.
Increasingly
the officers and
the investors were saying,
"Michael's got to go."
This is The Master speaking.
THE MASTER!!
Frank, report to the
woodshed, your uncle is
gonna give you a whoopin'!
Frank!
Lee Wiskowski here for...
Lee Wiskowski here
for Michael Fenne.
I'll check.
Is Mr. Fenne in?
There's a Lee Wiskowski.
I know he's here,
I can see the door is open.
Hello, security,
this is Michael Fenne.
Get your asses up here.
Sha!
Shah, sha, sheh, she.
Phew, phew!
Hi. Hi, I'm Michael Fenne.
- Hey!
- Hey, Lee!
What the hell, Paul?
I know, I know.
Things have gotten, weird.
Paul,
you're the CEO.
We hired you to keep an
eye on iBash and Fenne.
If you can't do that, then
why the are you here?
I can't
believe this is happening.
And I just gave this
nutbucket 28 million.
What's happening?
What's happening
Paul is a fatal error.
This is enough.
This is enough.
Fenne has to go.
I think in late
'95 Andreessen was talking
about how he was gonna
put us out of business.
Well, we think that
there's a series of activities
that Microsoft's been engaged
in which may or may not be
legal and we've turned over
that information to the
Department of Justice
and they'll figure out
what to do from here.
The idea of having a
government committee basically
have a design review over
engineering decisions
just made Bill and people
like me gag in our mouths.
And that is probably why we
dug in our heels even though
we had all these potential
opportunities just to get
off basically with almost
no penalties whatsoever.
Looking back on that,
everybody thinks that was
just disastrous thinking,
we got our egos in the way.
I'm not sure what
you're talking about, you'd
have to show me the context.
But it was born
out of this idea about like
the pride of engineering and
like Bill's ego really
is an engineer's
kind of ego about,
don't tell me how
to do my goddamn job.
I don't see anything
about that in here.
Well, I think
that clearly when they go
into a competitive situation
they'll use every
weapon at their disposal,
um, the only um, the
only issue now is that some of
those, some of those weapons
may or may not be legal
and it's something for the
government to uh, to decide.
If I might, Mr. Chairman,
I would like a show
of hands, how many of
you use Intel-based PCs?
And of that group,
who use PCs, how many
of you use a PC without
Microsoft's operating system?
Gentlemen, that's a monopoly.
Some people agree with
that, some people wouldn't.
Judge Jackson
had this case before
him more than 2 years.
A bunch of the
"Legal Team" felt like
this really deeply principled
uh thing about getting
the government out of
our industry.
Did you actually
read what was in there?
He found that
Microsoft had repeatedly
abused its monopoly power.
And why Bill stayed
with the suit you know
come hell or high water.
It was really born out of this
set of emotions around, hey,
like we built this industry
out of nothing.
And violated law by
crushing emerging threats
to Windows dominance.
To have lawyers
come in out of the hills
and tell us you know we made
the wrong engineering
decisions or the wrong
design decisions was
just like please just
stay out of our industry.
Just stay out of it, you're
not going to add any value.
You're just going to make
a mess of it, um, and
argue you know they did.
- Michael?
- Hey Paul.
- We need to talk.
- Right now.
Look Michael, you've
been handing out stock
options like candy,
you just blew north of 12
million on a party to announce
our tech where our tech failed,
and now quite frankly,
you're acting a little strange.
We need some answers
as to what the hell
is going on here.
Gentlemen, I think
it would be in all our best
interest if you addressed me
with a modicum of respect.
I am after all the chairman
of this enterprise and I am
guaranteed that position for
the next seven years
no matter what.
No, Michael.
No. We're past all that.
I'm ready to gather some
complaints for a class action
lawsuit unless you can provide
an immediate course
correction here.
Did you
just threaten me?
After I took your
less-than-perfect money
and allowed you to be my
date to the prom?
The one among all the
other suitors, to take this
company to the stratosphere,
where it is definitely
heading, God willing
and the lake don't rise,
as soon as we set that IPO.
I have sweated blood and
risked everything for you.
And you.
- Michael.
- Get out.
- I
- still haven't heard.
GET OUT!!
We need him out.
We don't have
enough board members.
Find them.
Gather them.
Muster their asses.
I don't care how hard
it is, do it now.
We need him out.
Okay, Steve Curtis
and Joel Shepard are local.
Get 'em down here.
Mike Kelly
is in Palo Alto.
We need
to do this today.
What the hell?
C'mon, let's get outta here.
Yeah.
Remember
Buck's of Woodside?
The place where venture
capitalists and tech
superstars shimmy on up the
great Silicon Valley
River to spawn?
Welcome back.
We need to listen to
every angle on how to make
TheGlobe viable again.
We're circling the drain.
We worked really hard
on our agenda this year.
Why can't we just execute,
and not cut and run?
If that's some veiled
reference to my sell-off,
I've already explained that I
needed capital to
stay involved here.
I just think bringing
in the guys to pitch a whole
new strategy feels desperate.
- Sorry, Jim.
- Hey.
I don't have
a lot of time.
I have a 1:15.
How's AOL treating you?
I got a ton of
work to get back to.
Sure.
You're a busy man.
Here you go,
gentlemen.
Thank you.
That's right, this
man ordered a glass of milk.
What a, I, man, what's up?
You can see me.
You know, I don't
really exist, right?
I understand.
My man.
Deja vu
all over again.
We can do this.
We can definitely do this.
Right?
Gentlemen,
welcome to Buck's.
So, how do you
two propose we turn
our company around?
We're really excited
about a way to completely
reimagine TheGlobe.
Yeah, it begins
with an entirely new staff.
Well, well,
well, Will and Brian.
Can't say I'm surprised
because you're a couple
of , and.
Mike, Ed.
Thank you.
Go yourselves.
There were a couple of
employees that were bright
guys in their own right that
were trying to do the right
thing for the company.
It's just
business, fellas.
They just sort of aligned
against Todd and Steph.
It felt like a
betrayal to Todd and I.
The fact that Mike Egan
took the meeting felt
like a betrayal.
Implying that we weren't
doing a good enough job.
They were very unhappy
um, with the fact that
that meeting occurred.
They think that we could've
handled it differently.
Um, yeah, you know,
maybe they're right.
This is huge.
"Calling the world's
largest software maker
untrustworthy,
U.S. District Judge Jackson
ordered Microsoft to be broken
into two smaller companies
to prevent it from violating
state and federal antitrust
laws in the future."
This is unprecedented.
"Microsoft was unwilling
to admit that it had violated
federal antitrust law and has
shown no willingness to
modify its business conduct."
Sounds about right.
Whew.
But Jim, it
doesn't really matter.
The war is over and we lost.
Well, at least it'll
level the playing field
for future companies.
You remember what it was
like to be a 22-year-old
wunderkind with a dream?
Like those fellas
that just left?
Oh, come on, Marc,
this is a win.
We've been fighting these
sonsabitches forever.
And we got em.
And it's the right call.
The right thing finally
prevailed for one damn
time in big business.
That doesn't make you happy?
Nothing? Anything?
Well, we'll
see if it sticks.
Really, Jim, I do
really need to go.
There's just so
much work to do.
Yeah, yeah, I hear that
from anybody except Jim Clark.
I'm pretty sure
the other Jim is riding
around on his self-driving
yacht right now.
Maybe you need
a couple of those.
Yeah, I don't think so.
Maybe I need
a couple of those.
Jim, what you did,
fighting Microsoft, that was.
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
You take care of yourself.
Yeah. I am.
Don't get me wrong.
I think they're
a great company.
But I think there's a
paradigm shift happening here,
or a platform shift where um,
by and large things are now
happening you know, with or
without Microsoft, they're,
they're no longer the
center of the universe.
It made
the industry more
competitive as you rolled into
the 2000 decade.
It probably created products
like Google and uh Facebook.
They may not have existed
had that ruling not have
been passed down and
phased in and implemented.
It's just such a
stupid thing to fall for; some
kind of father figure-mentor
comes along and I turn
into an 8-year-old kid.
Egan was the guy who
made it all happen for us;
gave us the keys
to the kingdom.
Just really hurts that
he'd go all the way to a
full douchebag betrayal.
You think of any
possible way to fix this?
I mean, we could
force Will and Brian out
because of our position,
but if Egan wants them in
he could just call a vote.
- Hey.
- What?
When's the last
time we talked about, like,
the reason we
started this company?
Like our
"mission statement?"
Oh, God.
A really, really,
really long time.
"Change the world."
"Democratize information."
"Help like-minded
people find each other."
- All that.
- A year, two, more?
- A million years ago.
- Yeah.
I'm out.
- I'm out.
- We're out.
It's time, buddy.
Todd and I decided that
moment, we're out, we're
done, we're resigning.
At the time that
we step down, we thought
we should step down.
One, the stock performance
was not particularly good.
The job had become
much less fun.
We did not think we
had a strategy that
would take us through this
time of difficulty.
And so I remember feeling
the decision to step
away was entirely good.
I thought it was appropriate
and I thought it was good.
I'm telling
you guys, Paul was there,
Fenne was talking about
God and spankings.
More importantly,
he blew 12 million of the
company's money on a
failed beta test.
I've been
looking at the books,
which are a mess,
and it looks much more
like 20 million to me.
Look, it's
very possible we might
need some police backup here.
Ok, this guy's a
freakin' nutbucket.
What we need is
one more board member so
we can vote this guy out,
if that's the consensus.
They needed one
more member to show up and
he's out on a horseback ride.
Gentlemen.
So Michael,
you understand our position.
We think we understand yours.
Your chairmanship is in a
very precarious position.
I've reached
an interesting agreement
with a certain gentleman
from the board, but
we'll leave that action
for last in our meeting.
Michael.
We're asking you to step
down as CTO and Chairman
and remove yourself from the
premises immediately,
following a binding vote
by the members present.
You are all going
to burn in hell for what
you're trying to do to me.
All in
favor of removal, aye.
-Aye, aye, aye.
- Paul.
- Aye.
Now I know
who my Judas is.
The gathering of
the board resolves when they
finally muster the votes that
they need to actually eject
Michael Fenne from Pixelon.
Finally, reality
catches up with him.
One possible explanation for
the severance package is that
they still hoped to market
this technology to somebody
and the last thing they
wanted was a disgruntled
founder who's going
and trying to torpedo
potential deals, I mean,
that's certainly
one explanation.
Another is that they
knew of his past and knew
of his false identity,
and wanted to keep that quiet.
It seems clear that you would
only pay a severance package
to somebody who's behaved like
this, if you want to keep
something quiet, that you
want to make something really
unpleasant go away.
Crucified at the altar
of greed and mediocrity.
Another takedown
by the Hit Squad.
How do we know
when irrational exuberance has
unduly escalated asset values?
Investors believe they
could get rich quick by
buying Internet stock.
Companies are going
public at prices far lower than
they would have a year ago.
Cyberspace investments
have proved to be risky.
IPOs in the technology field
have been hit really hard.
Many of those new
issues have failed to
live up to expectations.
So how did it happen?
Why did so many investors
put so much money behind
so many companies that
had never made a dime?
In hindsight, it all
appears so obvious.
The Internet mania was
a giant bubble,
destined to burst.
So, that happened.
The bubble was
burst; the Internet
stock market was dead.
Why did
the bubble burst?
Not enough was real,
and um, eventually, you know,
investors started
pulling the plug.
The world had
turned on the Internet, right?
It was panic.
People had over-extended
themselves, they had
never lived in a world
where things stop.
And suddenly they did.
Everybody had
borrowed on margin and
bought stocks and the minute
those stock prices fell
enough and they got called
in on their margins,
they had to sell,
sell at any price.
I was certainly
impacted by the bubble burst.
And it caused a lot of people
a lot of pain and suffering.
Not many people
walked away billionaires.
And I would, I would venture
to even say something I've
never said before which is,
I don't think
the right people walked away
necessarily, as billionaires.
I'm not sure it was equitable.
And I think that's what
bothers me to this day.
That many of those
people who I think put
in their heart and soul,
probably didn't get
quite enough really, when
all was said and done.
And um, that's,
that's too bad.
The pink slip parties
came about after people
started getting laid off,
the same way the
Internet took off and the
tech jobs like exploded,
when the dot-com bust
started to happen, people
were getting laid off every day
you would hear a friend saying
they got laid off.
It was just like
a wave of layoffs.
When the bubble
collapsed suddenly people
were losing their jobs,
so I came up with the
idea of hosting these
Pink Slip parties,
where employers could
network and connect with
potential employees.
Candlelight is not for
romance, but for resumes.
This Pink Slip happy
hour links ex-dot-comers
with recruiters.
We'll be doing them
every month until they're
not needed anymore.
It was stressful.
Everyone was losing
their jobs all around me
and I didn't really know what
was going to happen.
Even my day job
laid off everybody.
They went out of business.
Luckily, I had just
started making money off
the Pink Slip parties.
But I didn't feel like that
was going to be long-lived
because everyone was fleeing
by the thousands.
We are going to drink.
Dance a little.
Network a lot.
And by the end of the
night, we will have new
jobs or at the very least,
not remember losing
our old ones.
The Pink Slip
parties lasted about a year
and a half and then I had
to close the site.
Honestly, it was
kind of a relief.
I'd like to report
a sighting of a fugitive.
Somehow Michael Fenne
gets wind gets wind that
his secret identity
has been blown.
I'm a child of God who
made a mistake and who has
suffered miserably for that.
I was mystified when
I learned that Michael Fenne
was an elaborate cover for a
fugitive from the law,
David Kim Stanley.
I didn't understand how
that could've happened.
I didn't understand how
I could've missed it.
I didn't understand
how multiple investors
could have missed it.
I didn't understand how the
world could've missed this.
This was a company
that had spent, upwards
of 8 to 12 million dollars
on a launch party,
and was extensively
chronicled in the news.
How could this happen?
I still don't really know.
We found out
that, you know, he wasn't
who he said he was.
We found out that he was
you wanted on, you know,
charges from another state.
The word was he was, you know,
a fugitive from the law.
That just blew my mind.
Virginia's 10
Most Wanted List.
David Kim Stanley.
I, I was flabbergasted.
I couldn't believe it.
Hi. This is
David Kim Stanley.
I'm at Big Bear
discount gas, I'll be on
a bench by a large bear.
Copy, be advised,
David Kim Stanley
is in custody,
we're transporting now.
First comes the
boom, then the shake out.
of the company.
When he talked
about his technology, he
had a glimmer in his eye.
There was almost a halo
emanating from his head.
He either really did believe
it himself, or he was a
very, very convincing actor.
It didn't matter if
it was 1895, 1995, or 2018.
Scams all follow the
same basic playbook.
Everybody's getting rich,
you're being left out.
It was getting
bigger and crazier than
I imagined it ever could.
And yet you continued.
Because it
burned inside of me.
Would you have
kept running forever?
I always planned to
come back and you can't argue
with that because I did.
And what would you like
the world to know about you?
I'm a child of God
who made a mistake and
has suffered terribly for it.
It was
more important than you
can imagine right now,
when the concept of
the browser and the
Web and the Internet
have become conflated.
But, when, um, the browser,
mm, was created, it changed
the whole experience
of being online.
So it's interesting
that the first browser
was called Navigator um,
it made it possible
to really explore.
The fact that anyone in
the world can connect to you
from anywhere in the world,
anytime of day, any day,
at high speed in an
instant, is unbelievable.
It was a great ride
and we changed the world,
we kicked off the commercial
Internet, make no mistake
about that and I don't think
it would've happened in the
same time frame without us.
It really
unleased the power of an
inter-connected world.
What we did was
very, very important and
I'm glad and I think almost
everybody associated
with it takes a great
deal of pride in being part of
something that big
and worthwhile.
You know, we weren't
just picking our
toes in Poughkeepsie.
We were at
the time in Silicon Valley
uh, the revolutionaries.
We were the ones that would
take down the big companies,
Microsoft being one of them.
And we had a suction drawing
of brilliant people that said,
I wanna be in the resistance,
I wanna fight that.
There was definitely a
Phoenix-like element to the
dream of, of a free browser.
Firefox, which is sort of the
evolution of everything that
we were doing back in the '90s
with Netscape, has succeeded
where, where we maybe
as a corporation failed,
the ideal succeeded
and I love that.
I was just a build engineer.
But I was
part of something that was
special and I still think,
I think a lot of us still
think it was truly special.
It was an
incredible time, it's the most
joyous time of my work life.
What we really were,
when people dug creating things,
and it was very artistic,
totally artistic, and so we,
we were able to collectively
make our art.
And get it to the people
via the Internet and in
giving them this product,
we were giving them
the Internet too.
Perfect. Perfect.
The story of
the beginning of the
dot-com era is often told
with these tales of
absolute madness, sort of,
both extravagance, which
we did not have,
as well as ethical lapses.
Think about all of the hand
ringing and, and lawsuits
at the end of this period.
We did not have any of that.
It was, it was positive.
We're positive
people, but I'd be lying
if I didn't say uh,
it wasn't a disappointment.
Netscape represented
the beginning of "The New Era"
of technology and a browser.
TheGlobe simply represented
a concept of "The Internet"
and virtual community
and living online.
So that's what created
these incredible surges.
Nobody was buying into
the specifics of TheGlobe.
To both their tributes,
Todd and Steph and
Michael, they both saw it.
They knew it.
And yeah, TheGlobe,
you know, has been regarded
as a precursor to Facebook.
It was just a moment
in time where the entire
sector was a bit early.
When Facebook
started in 2004'ish, it was
ten years after TheGlobe,
computers cost one
one-hundredth, bandwidth
was one one-thousandth.
So I have no regrets there.
I don't think we could have
pulled off Facebook but we
came as close to pulling off
Facebook as one could have in
the, the first dot-com era.
You know it's like,
what we unleashed was sort
of the, the joking thing.
And we have unleashed
something completely
uncontrollable,
but that's what I love
about the Internet now is
that at the moment it is
uncontrollable and we
actually need to make
sure it stays that way.
All of us
benefit from technology
and are afraid of it.
All of us look at our
kids and see how quickly they
adopt to new technology and
wonder how they do it.
And you know what?
They're gonna feel the
same way about their kids
who are gonna feel the same
way about their kids.
This town is
always gonna have another
shot, another leg,
we just don't know what it is,
we don't know when this
leg's gonna end and we don't
know when the next one's
gonna start or
what's gonna start it.
But that's what Silicon
Valley has proven to be.
I am so glad
I was there for the
Internet revolution.
I'm happy to be
around for the, for
the cryptocurrency and
crypto revolution in general.
The
world keeps changing, and
being able to tap into this
zeitgeist is going to
be key to the long term
success of the product.
I will be in this and
many other places of splendor.
I will be singing and playing,
and taking a true
love with me to all the
places you will only be able
to think about in your head.
I will live them.
And the saddest part for
you is that I am maybe one of
the few people alive that can
actually accomplish this.
Recover completely from
the fatal wound that you
gave and rise like a Phoenix
from the ashes of
fiery death to be reborn
so much better than before.
And you know if I have
anything, I have that
kind of gift from God.
But now.
Onto the good stuff
of my new life.
Captioned by Cotter
Captioning Services.
Justice Department has
charged Microsoft with
engaging in anti-competitive...
The government's
now going after Microsoft
with both barrels.
Designed to
maintain its monopoly...
Cool.
In personal
computer operating systems.
When you come across
a snake, you kill it.
You don't go back and
play with a dead snake.
We reached an
agreement to sell the
Netscape Communications
Corporation to AOL.
This guy who has been
calling himself Michael Fenne
is really David Kim Stanley,
a fugitive of the law.
What about the
technology that I created?
Yeah, well,
I'm trying to deal with this
bankruptcy stuff so that you
and Chuck don't get arrested.
What?
Hey, what did
y'all think of iBash?
Whooo!
You spent twelve
million dollars of my money
on something that didn't work.
Huh.
Michael Egan
told us, "I wanna do
business with you guys."
We bought 51%
for 20 million.
Which at
the time was the single
biggest investment
in Internet history
by an individual.
Got the girl.
Got the money.
Now I'm ready to live a
disgusting frivolous life.
That piece
was very damaging.
Dude, you know
they took it out of context!
You created the context!
We are running a
billion- dollar company.
And you played right
into the narrative that
maybe we shouldn't be.
Because it
burned inside me.
Because.
Be-be-be-because.
Be-be.
Because.
It burned.
Because it burned inside me.
IPO gate
is far from a sure case.
-Well, it's the Internet.
It's life in the fast line.
-Cash is cash.
-Anyone can create enough
wealth in a couple of years
to become a billionaire.
-Fun becomes popular.
-Of the 175 Internet
companies that went public
this year almost one-third
are trading below their
initial offering price.
Because it
burned inside me.
America Online says
combining the Web audience
of AOL and Netscape
will let consumers and
businesses do more on the Web.
The combination creates
a force to be reckoned
with for anyone
targeting consumers
on the Internet.
Yes, I went
to work at AOL.
Is that so difficult
to understand?
Sorry, I'm not angry at you.
Fine, let me break it
I created something
you all now use every day,
that speeds
communication, commerce,
education, even love.
And that thing was
given to all of you.
You're welcome.
Did I make a tidy sum?
Yes, I did.
Did I leverage
my wealth and position
toward the greater good?
I did the thing I did.
And I retreated
from a creative role
to something else.
I'm a human being, with
an expiration date.
And I'm living the
rest of my life.
And I'm definitely
done talking about it.
Hey.
Hey.
I'm really sorry.
No, man.
It's all good.
You were right.
No, let's go
in the conference room.
I feel really bad.
You drive this company.
You and your vision,
made this all happen.
Todd, that's not true.
You made a mistake.
One that got amplified
by the fishbowl we're
living in as the guys
who started this company.
There wouldn't be a
company without you.
There wouldn't be a fishbowl.
And there wouldn't have been
the craziest IPO in history.
We did do that.
We did.
-Because it burned inside me.
Why are we
divided into thirds?
Hello?
Heeyyy, you up?
It's a lot, right?
I know, the entire thing.
This delicious bacchanal,
this orgy if you
will of money and power,
I mean, that big ol'
juicy bubble,
it's starting to stretch tight.
Yeah, I know, you can feel
it right, yeah, I know,
it is full to bursting,
the signs are everywhere,
the center will not hold.
That's Yeats, bitch.
So, I and all of us
financial sector experts,
as certified
investment practitioners,
do the prudent thing,
the wise thing,
the right thing,
and hew tightly
to our fiduciary
responsibility, right?
Well, as they say
in the olden days,
NOT.
Everybody wanted
what we were building.
I told them, I said,
you can't have my
social security number.
You can't know who I
am or where I come from.
If you want what
we're building at Pixelon,
you have to
leave my past alone,
whatever that may be.
That was the deal.
This guy that's
been calling himself
Michael Fenne is really...
Somebody named
David Kim Stanley,
who is on the
State of Virginia's
Most Wanted List
for uh, you know,
being a fugitive of the law.
First of all, I threw
my driver's license away,
threw very piece of,
every trace of anything
that might identify
me as David Stanley.
I threw all that away.
Um, I dyed my hair blonde,
I put on 200 pounds.
I did as much as I could
do short of mutilation
to change my appearance.
The founder
is fictional, which is
kind of appropriate because
in many ways the
product is fictional too.
Almost immediately
after iBash, it was pretty
clear that it was a failure.
The fact that they were unable
to stream the event live on
the Internet confirmed:
That this was a technology that
wasn't ready for prime time.
I specifically made
it my objective to let the
chairman of the board know:
This was not possible and they
kept going forward anyway.
The actual
broadcast of it live,
Pixelon didn't
even broadcast it live.
iBash failed.
Michael, this is the last
time I'm gonna call you.
I'm getting on a flight
and we're gonna hash
this out in person.
And you'd better have some
very compelling answers.
Just try not
to attract attention.
They have people everywhere.
I don't know
how to drive and attract
any less attention.
If they've put me
"beyond salvage" that means
they might disappear me.
We just need to keep moving.
Please, speed up!
Michael,
you're scaring me.
Hey, pull over!
Ah! Ok.
Ok look, you
should be scared.
We should all be scared,
the CIA doesn't mess around.
Why would the CIA?
Hey, I told you
not to ask me about that.
It puts you at risk!
Michael's behavior
by all accounts was
increasingly erratic.
The hit squad
is probably on the way.
And this new so-called
"CEO," Paul Ward?
He's working for the bad guys.
What are
you, the "hit squad?"
Are we in danger?
I thought you liked
Paul and Denise.
We had them over to the house!
I thought the whole iBash
thing was such a big success.
Honey, I need you
to do something for me,
you go home,
get any of my papers in my
office and put them in a box
and then put them in the
cubby hole under the garage. Ok?
Yeah.
Hey, shh.
Get down!
Ok, sit tight, baby.
Do not answer
the phone or the door
under any circumstances,
I'm talking about
your life here.
This may be the last
time we see each other,
know that I have
truly loved you,
even when you let me down.
Oh, Michael,
please don't say that.
Please. I don't.
Michael, Michael!
AOL
is more powerful in consumer
activity than any company,
including Microsoft.
So here's competition at
its finest, with people
slicing up Netscape
for the real key assets.
Andreessen
becoming the AOL CTO was
a bit of, you know, wow,
that's an interesting
one, isn't it?
There's a lot
of irony around the uh
AOL purpose of Netscape.
That was just part and parcel.
Given everything
he had said about the
company, yes, it was odd.
And I don't really know
even what he did in
that role, if anything.
You've got a visitor.
Ha-ha.
I just wrapped up all
my transitional stuff here.
I just want to stop in and
let you know where we are
with the antitrust case.
Why?
Why would you
want to update me?
Are you, I, because it
has to do with the company,
Marc, with our positions.
My position?
Is that it's over.
It's far from over, Marc.
Microsoft was offered the
option of negotiating an
out-of-court settlement.
They've opted not to take it.
So it's not over.
They're not taking
the option to settle.
- No.
- Of course they're not.
Gates will continue to
starve us out until there's
nothing left; no engineers,
no will toward continuing
to fight for open source.
It's a victory by
demoralization and attrition.
"Death by a thousand
paper cuts."
It's a good
strategy, actually.
Yes or no.
Could it be a fool's errand?
Of course it could.
Could it just possibly be
an opening to achieving
some sort of victory?
I think that that
is also possible.
Are you going
back and playing with
dead snakes, Jim?
The main thing
is, I started this thing
and I'm gonna finish it.
I made a promise to
a lot of our folks to
see this thing through.
See, the thing is, Marc.
Thank you, Jim.
Alright.
The
NASDAQ finally found some
life on Friday but beneath
the broad numbers was another
day of dot-com meltdown.
one of the original
hit Internet IPOs
is now 50 cents a share.
Everyone was so
frustrated that the stock
kept dropping despite
all of our performance,
that everybody thought there
was just something broken,
something's not working,
there's a disconnect.
And that frustration
translated into
everybody saying,
"Well, we need more
stock because our stock
keeps dropping in value.
We need more stock."
A pressure cooker
was building.
I could feel that
something was gonna give.
I don't know.
I'm out of ideas.
I just might go see
the new John Woo movie.
John Woo? Ugh.
Seriously?
John Woo is "ugh?"
Bunch of operatic,
over-the-top slow-motion
diving gun battles.
Dude. He's a master.
A true artist.
John Woo is the man.
Meh.
Steph, we are so
screwed, buddy.
We are?
I don't see
any way we're not.
I mean, y'know
Todd, there are things you
could do to be less screwed.
Why are you
acting so weird?
Oh, crap.
Bro!
Okay.
Now we're screwed.
Had a good run, boys.
But it ends here.
You guys ready?
Ready.
Let's do this.
We sparked off
Internet IPO mania and we were
also the beginning of the end.
I think if we
do something radical
that gets some press,
like re-allocate 30% of.
Steph!
What?
- No.
- Yes.
He's the
chairman of our board.
It's already
being widely reported.
He didn't
even tell us.
Mike Egan was my
Gordon Gecko.
He was the guy who was
like going to make the
bet on the genius
Bud and Bud's own dad
didn't quite believe in him.
You know?
And it's like you finally get
to show off to your own dad.
You found somebody who
believes in you so mightily
and that will put so much
money behind you.
We need to go out
to the Valley.
Create a new story,
do some laps,
shake some hands,
raise some cash.
Let em know that
we're not dead yet.
Maybe Bob Halperin
will even double down.
- Ok. Ok. But Steph.
- Yeah.
No plastic pants.
Look at all
these beautiful minds
and bodies at work!
You are ALL my children!
I hope we are working at
maximum efficiency here.
What's the update on
the backend work, Brian?
Ummm, it
kinda is what it is.
Ready to ship, I guess.
"Um, uh, err,
it is what it is."
Take out the "ums"
and "ahs," friend!
"Ready to ship, Michael!"
Ready to ship,
Mr. Fenne.
Michael!
Ready to ship, Michael.
It's odd when you're
at a circumstance like
that because it's kinda
happening to everybody.
And a lot of it was um,
just keeping it to yourself.
You would have opinions
about what was going
on but nobody else seemed to
be saying anything to
keep it from happening.
You know, there
are all sorts of stories
about what happened the
day that Michael was
removed from Pixelon,
when he was essentially,
you know, fired.
The day he was
a tumultuous one.
He's launching into these
long uh, tirades on the
public-address system.
Good morning, rock stars!
iBash! What a victory.
I'm so thankful
to the lord and
our divine technology.
We are on a role people,
so let's keep it up!
And when we hit that
IPO we will be in the
land of milk and honey!
It was the dot-com era.
Everybody there thought
that they were on the
precipice of great wealth.
It's odd what that does
to people, that sort of
was the overriding thing.
Just deal with it.
Increasingly
the officers and
the investors were saying,
"Michael's got to go."
This is The Master speaking.
THE MASTER!!
Frank, report to the
woodshed, your uncle is
gonna give you a whoopin'!
Frank!
Lee Wiskowski here for...
Lee Wiskowski here
for Michael Fenne.
I'll check.
Is Mr. Fenne in?
There's a Lee Wiskowski.
I know he's here,
I can see the door is open.
Hello, security,
this is Michael Fenne.
Get your asses up here.
Sha!
Shah, sha, sheh, she.
Phew, phew!
Hi. Hi, I'm Michael Fenne.
- Hey!
- Hey, Lee!
What the hell, Paul?
I know, I know.
Things have gotten, weird.
Paul,
you're the CEO.
We hired you to keep an
eye on iBash and Fenne.
If you can't do that, then
why the are you here?
I can't
believe this is happening.
And I just gave this
nutbucket 28 million.
What's happening?
What's happening
Paul is a fatal error.
This is enough.
This is enough.
Fenne has to go.
I think in late
'95 Andreessen was talking
about how he was gonna
put us out of business.
Well, we think that
there's a series of activities
that Microsoft's been engaged
in which may or may not be
legal and we've turned over
that information to the
Department of Justice
and they'll figure out
what to do from here.
The idea of having a
government committee basically
have a design review over
engineering decisions
just made Bill and people
like me gag in our mouths.
And that is probably why we
dug in our heels even though
we had all these potential
opportunities just to get
off basically with almost
no penalties whatsoever.
Looking back on that,
everybody thinks that was
just disastrous thinking,
we got our egos in the way.
I'm not sure what
you're talking about, you'd
have to show me the context.
But it was born
out of this idea about like
the pride of engineering and
like Bill's ego really
is an engineer's
kind of ego about,
don't tell me how
to do my goddamn job.
I don't see anything
about that in here.
Well, I think
that clearly when they go
into a competitive situation
they'll use every
weapon at their disposal,
um, the only um, the
only issue now is that some of
those, some of those weapons
may or may not be legal
and it's something for the
government to uh, to decide.
If I might, Mr. Chairman,
I would like a show
of hands, how many of
you use Intel-based PCs?
And of that group,
who use PCs, how many
of you use a PC without
Microsoft's operating system?
Gentlemen, that's a monopoly.
Some people agree with
that, some people wouldn't.
Judge Jackson
had this case before
him more than 2 years.
A bunch of the
"Legal Team" felt like
this really deeply principled
uh thing about getting
the government out of
our industry.
Did you actually
read what was in there?
He found that
Microsoft had repeatedly
abused its monopoly power.
And why Bill stayed
with the suit you know
come hell or high water.
It was really born out of this
set of emotions around, hey,
like we built this industry
out of nothing.
And violated law by
crushing emerging threats
to Windows dominance.
To have lawyers
come in out of the hills
and tell us you know we made
the wrong engineering
decisions or the wrong
design decisions was
just like please just
stay out of our industry.
Just stay out of it, you're
not going to add any value.
You're just going to make
a mess of it, um, and
argue you know they did.
- Michael?
- Hey Paul.
- We need to talk.
- Right now.
Look Michael, you've
been handing out stock
options like candy,
you just blew north of 12
million on a party to announce
our tech where our tech failed,
and now quite frankly,
you're acting a little strange.
We need some answers
as to what the hell
is going on here.
Gentlemen, I think
it would be in all our best
interest if you addressed me
with a modicum of respect.
I am after all the chairman
of this enterprise and I am
guaranteed that position for
the next seven years
no matter what.
No, Michael.
No. We're past all that.
I'm ready to gather some
complaints for a class action
lawsuit unless you can provide
an immediate course
correction here.
Did you
just threaten me?
After I took your
less-than-perfect money
and allowed you to be my
date to the prom?
The one among all the
other suitors, to take this
company to the stratosphere,
where it is definitely
heading, God willing
and the lake don't rise,
as soon as we set that IPO.
I have sweated blood and
risked everything for you.
And you.
- Michael.
- Get out.
- I
- still haven't heard.
GET OUT!!
We need him out.
We don't have
enough board members.
Find them.
Gather them.
Muster their asses.
I don't care how hard
it is, do it now.
We need him out.
Okay, Steve Curtis
and Joel Shepard are local.
Get 'em down here.
Mike Kelly
is in Palo Alto.
We need
to do this today.
What the hell?
C'mon, let's get outta here.
Yeah.
Remember
Buck's of Woodside?
The place where venture
capitalists and tech
superstars shimmy on up the
great Silicon Valley
River to spawn?
Welcome back.
We need to listen to
every angle on how to make
TheGlobe viable again.
We're circling the drain.
We worked really hard
on our agenda this year.
Why can't we just execute,
and not cut and run?
If that's some veiled
reference to my sell-off,
I've already explained that I
needed capital to
stay involved here.
I just think bringing
in the guys to pitch a whole
new strategy feels desperate.
- Sorry, Jim.
- Hey.
I don't have
a lot of time.
I have a 1:15.
How's AOL treating you?
I got a ton of
work to get back to.
Sure.
You're a busy man.
Here you go,
gentlemen.
Thank you.
That's right, this
man ordered a glass of milk.
What a, I, man, what's up?
You can see me.
You know, I don't
really exist, right?
I understand.
My man.
Deja vu
all over again.
We can do this.
We can definitely do this.
Right?
Gentlemen,
welcome to Buck's.
So, how do you
two propose we turn
our company around?
We're really excited
about a way to completely
reimagine TheGlobe.
Yeah, it begins
with an entirely new staff.
Well, well,
well, Will and Brian.
Can't say I'm surprised
because you're a couple
of , and.
Mike, Ed.
Thank you.
Go yourselves.
There were a couple of
employees that were bright
guys in their own right that
were trying to do the right
thing for the company.
It's just
business, fellas.
They just sort of aligned
against Todd and Steph.
It felt like a
betrayal to Todd and I.
The fact that Mike Egan
took the meeting felt
like a betrayal.
Implying that we weren't
doing a good enough job.
They were very unhappy
um, with the fact that
that meeting occurred.
They think that we could've
handled it differently.
Um, yeah, you know,
maybe they're right.
This is huge.
"Calling the world's
largest software maker
untrustworthy,
U.S. District Judge Jackson
ordered Microsoft to be broken
into two smaller companies
to prevent it from violating
state and federal antitrust
laws in the future."
This is unprecedented.
"Microsoft was unwilling
to admit that it had violated
federal antitrust law and has
shown no willingness to
modify its business conduct."
Sounds about right.
Whew.
But Jim, it
doesn't really matter.
The war is over and we lost.
Well, at least it'll
level the playing field
for future companies.
You remember what it was
like to be a 22-year-old
wunderkind with a dream?
Like those fellas
that just left?
Oh, come on, Marc,
this is a win.
We've been fighting these
sonsabitches forever.
And we got em.
And it's the right call.
The right thing finally
prevailed for one damn
time in big business.
That doesn't make you happy?
Nothing? Anything?
Well, we'll
see if it sticks.
Really, Jim, I do
really need to go.
There's just so
much work to do.
Yeah, yeah, I hear that
from anybody except Jim Clark.
I'm pretty sure
the other Jim is riding
around on his self-driving
yacht right now.
Maybe you need
a couple of those.
Yeah, I don't think so.
Maybe I need
a couple of those.
Jim, what you did,
fighting Microsoft, that was.
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
You take care of yourself.
Yeah. I am.
Don't get me wrong.
I think they're
a great company.
But I think there's a
paradigm shift happening here,
or a platform shift where um,
by and large things are now
happening you know, with or
without Microsoft, they're,
they're no longer the
center of the universe.
It made
the industry more
competitive as you rolled into
the 2000 decade.
It probably created products
like Google and uh Facebook.
They may not have existed
had that ruling not have
been passed down and
phased in and implemented.
It's just such a
stupid thing to fall for; some
kind of father figure-mentor
comes along and I turn
into an 8-year-old kid.
Egan was the guy who
made it all happen for us;
gave us the keys
to the kingdom.
Just really hurts that
he'd go all the way to a
full douchebag betrayal.
You think of any
possible way to fix this?
I mean, we could
force Will and Brian out
because of our position,
but if Egan wants them in
he could just call a vote.
- Hey.
- What?
When's the last
time we talked about, like,
the reason we
started this company?
Like our
"mission statement?"
Oh, God.
A really, really,
really long time.
"Change the world."
"Democratize information."
"Help like-minded
people find each other."
- All that.
- A year, two, more?
- A million years ago.
- Yeah.
I'm out.
- I'm out.
- We're out.
It's time, buddy.
Todd and I decided that
moment, we're out, we're
done, we're resigning.
At the time that
we step down, we thought
we should step down.
One, the stock performance
was not particularly good.
The job had become
much less fun.
We did not think we
had a strategy that
would take us through this
time of difficulty.
And so I remember feeling
the decision to step
away was entirely good.
I thought it was appropriate
and I thought it was good.
I'm telling
you guys, Paul was there,
Fenne was talking about
God and spankings.
More importantly,
he blew 12 million of the
company's money on a
failed beta test.
I've been
looking at the books,
which are a mess,
and it looks much more
like 20 million to me.
Look, it's
very possible we might
need some police backup here.
Ok, this guy's a
freakin' nutbucket.
What we need is
one more board member so
we can vote this guy out,
if that's the consensus.
They needed one
more member to show up and
he's out on a horseback ride.
Gentlemen.
So Michael,
you understand our position.
We think we understand yours.
Your chairmanship is in a
very precarious position.
I've reached
an interesting agreement
with a certain gentleman
from the board, but
we'll leave that action
for last in our meeting.
Michael.
We're asking you to step
down as CTO and Chairman
and remove yourself from the
premises immediately,
following a binding vote
by the members present.
You are all going
to burn in hell for what
you're trying to do to me.
All in
favor of removal, aye.
-Aye, aye, aye.
- Paul.
- Aye.
Now I know
who my Judas is.
The gathering of
the board resolves when they
finally muster the votes that
they need to actually eject
Michael Fenne from Pixelon.
Finally, reality
catches up with him.
One possible explanation for
the severance package is that
they still hoped to market
this technology to somebody
and the last thing they
wanted was a disgruntled
founder who's going
and trying to torpedo
potential deals, I mean,
that's certainly
one explanation.
Another is that they
knew of his past and knew
of his false identity,
and wanted to keep that quiet.
It seems clear that you would
only pay a severance package
to somebody who's behaved like
this, if you want to keep
something quiet, that you
want to make something really
unpleasant go away.
Crucified at the altar
of greed and mediocrity.
Another takedown
by the Hit Squad.
How do we know
when irrational exuberance has
unduly escalated asset values?
Investors believe they
could get rich quick by
buying Internet stock.
Companies are going
public at prices far lower than
they would have a year ago.
Cyberspace investments
have proved to be risky.
IPOs in the technology field
have been hit really hard.
Many of those new
issues have failed to
live up to expectations.
So how did it happen?
Why did so many investors
put so much money behind
so many companies that
had never made a dime?
In hindsight, it all
appears so obvious.
The Internet mania was
a giant bubble,
destined to burst.
So, that happened.
The bubble was
burst; the Internet
stock market was dead.
Why did
the bubble burst?
Not enough was real,
and um, eventually, you know,
investors started
pulling the plug.
The world had
turned on the Internet, right?
It was panic.
People had over-extended
themselves, they had
never lived in a world
where things stop.
And suddenly they did.
Everybody had
borrowed on margin and
bought stocks and the minute
those stock prices fell
enough and they got called
in on their margins,
they had to sell,
sell at any price.
I was certainly
impacted by the bubble burst.
And it caused a lot of people
a lot of pain and suffering.
Not many people
walked away billionaires.
And I would, I would venture
to even say something I've
never said before which is,
I don't think
the right people walked away
necessarily, as billionaires.
I'm not sure it was equitable.
And I think that's what
bothers me to this day.
That many of those
people who I think put
in their heart and soul,
probably didn't get
quite enough really, when
all was said and done.
And um, that's,
that's too bad.
The pink slip parties
came about after people
started getting laid off,
the same way the
Internet took off and the
tech jobs like exploded,
when the dot-com bust
started to happen, people
were getting laid off every day
you would hear a friend saying
they got laid off.
It was just like
a wave of layoffs.
When the bubble
collapsed suddenly people
were losing their jobs,
so I came up with the
idea of hosting these
Pink Slip parties,
where employers could
network and connect with
potential employees.
Candlelight is not for
romance, but for resumes.
This Pink Slip happy
hour links ex-dot-comers
with recruiters.
We'll be doing them
every month until they're
not needed anymore.
It was stressful.
Everyone was losing
their jobs all around me
and I didn't really know what
was going to happen.
Even my day job
laid off everybody.
They went out of business.
Luckily, I had just
started making money off
the Pink Slip parties.
But I didn't feel like that
was going to be long-lived
because everyone was fleeing
by the thousands.
We are going to drink.
Dance a little.
Network a lot.
And by the end of the
night, we will have new
jobs or at the very least,
not remember losing
our old ones.
The Pink Slip
parties lasted about a year
and a half and then I had
to close the site.
Honestly, it was
kind of a relief.
I'd like to report
a sighting of a fugitive.
Somehow Michael Fenne
gets wind gets wind that
his secret identity
has been blown.
I'm a child of God who
made a mistake and who has
suffered miserably for that.
I was mystified when
I learned that Michael Fenne
was an elaborate cover for a
fugitive from the law,
David Kim Stanley.
I didn't understand how
that could've happened.
I didn't understand how
I could've missed it.
I didn't understand
how multiple investors
could have missed it.
I didn't understand how the
world could've missed this.
This was a company
that had spent, upwards
of 8 to 12 million dollars
on a launch party,
and was extensively
chronicled in the news.
How could this happen?
I still don't really know.
We found out
that, you know, he wasn't
who he said he was.
We found out that he was
you wanted on, you know,
charges from another state.
The word was he was, you know,
a fugitive from the law.
That just blew my mind.
Virginia's 10
Most Wanted List.
David Kim Stanley.
I, I was flabbergasted.
I couldn't believe it.
Hi. This is
David Kim Stanley.
I'm at Big Bear
discount gas, I'll be on
a bench by a large bear.
Copy, be advised,
David Kim Stanley
is in custody,
we're transporting now.
First comes the
boom, then the shake out.
of the company.
When he talked
about his technology, he
had a glimmer in his eye.
There was almost a halo
emanating from his head.
He either really did believe
it himself, or he was a
very, very convincing actor.
It didn't matter if
it was 1895, 1995, or 2018.
Scams all follow the
same basic playbook.
Everybody's getting rich,
you're being left out.
It was getting
bigger and crazier than
I imagined it ever could.
And yet you continued.
Because it
burned inside of me.
Would you have
kept running forever?
I always planned to
come back and you can't argue
with that because I did.
And what would you like
the world to know about you?
I'm a child of God
who made a mistake and
has suffered terribly for it.
It was
more important than you
can imagine right now,
when the concept of
the browser and the
Web and the Internet
have become conflated.
But, when, um, the browser,
mm, was created, it changed
the whole experience
of being online.
So it's interesting
that the first browser
was called Navigator um,
it made it possible
to really explore.
The fact that anyone in
the world can connect to you
from anywhere in the world,
anytime of day, any day,
at high speed in an
instant, is unbelievable.
It was a great ride
and we changed the world,
we kicked off the commercial
Internet, make no mistake
about that and I don't think
it would've happened in the
same time frame without us.
It really
unleased the power of an
inter-connected world.
What we did was
very, very important and
I'm glad and I think almost
everybody associated
with it takes a great
deal of pride in being part of
something that big
and worthwhile.
You know, we weren't
just picking our
toes in Poughkeepsie.
We were at
the time in Silicon Valley
uh, the revolutionaries.
We were the ones that would
take down the big companies,
Microsoft being one of them.
And we had a suction drawing
of brilliant people that said,
I wanna be in the resistance,
I wanna fight that.
There was definitely a
Phoenix-like element to the
dream of, of a free browser.
Firefox, which is sort of the
evolution of everything that
we were doing back in the '90s
with Netscape, has succeeded
where, where we maybe
as a corporation failed,
the ideal succeeded
and I love that.
I was just a build engineer.
But I was
part of something that was
special and I still think,
I think a lot of us still
think it was truly special.
It was an
incredible time, it's the most
joyous time of my work life.
What we really were,
when people dug creating things,
and it was very artistic,
totally artistic, and so we,
we were able to collectively
make our art.
And get it to the people
via the Internet and in
giving them this product,
we were giving them
the Internet too.
Perfect. Perfect.
The story of
the beginning of the
dot-com era is often told
with these tales of
absolute madness, sort of,
both extravagance, which
we did not have,
as well as ethical lapses.
Think about all of the hand
ringing and, and lawsuits
at the end of this period.
We did not have any of that.
It was, it was positive.
We're positive
people, but I'd be lying
if I didn't say uh,
it wasn't a disappointment.
Netscape represented
the beginning of "The New Era"
of technology and a browser.
TheGlobe simply represented
a concept of "The Internet"
and virtual community
and living online.
So that's what created
these incredible surges.
Nobody was buying into
the specifics of TheGlobe.
To both their tributes,
Todd and Steph and
Michael, they both saw it.
They knew it.
And yeah, TheGlobe,
you know, has been regarded
as a precursor to Facebook.
It was just a moment
in time where the entire
sector was a bit early.
When Facebook
started in 2004'ish, it was
ten years after TheGlobe,
computers cost one
one-hundredth, bandwidth
was one one-thousandth.
So I have no regrets there.
I don't think we could have
pulled off Facebook but we
came as close to pulling off
Facebook as one could have in
the, the first dot-com era.
You know it's like,
what we unleashed was sort
of the, the joking thing.
And we have unleashed
something completely
uncontrollable,
but that's what I love
about the Internet now is
that at the moment it is
uncontrollable and we
actually need to make
sure it stays that way.
All of us
benefit from technology
and are afraid of it.
All of us look at our
kids and see how quickly they
adopt to new technology and
wonder how they do it.
And you know what?
They're gonna feel the
same way about their kids
who are gonna feel the same
way about their kids.
This town is
always gonna have another
shot, another leg,
we just don't know what it is,
we don't know when this
leg's gonna end and we don't
know when the next one's
gonna start or
what's gonna start it.
But that's what Silicon
Valley has proven to be.
I am so glad
I was there for the
Internet revolution.
I'm happy to be
around for the, for
the cryptocurrency and
crypto revolution in general.
The
world keeps changing, and
being able to tap into this
zeitgeist is going to
be key to the long term
success of the product.
I will be in this and
many other places of splendor.
I will be singing and playing,
and taking a true
love with me to all the
places you will only be able
to think about in your head.
I will live them.
And the saddest part for
you is that I am maybe one of
the few people alive that can
actually accomplish this.
Recover completely from
the fatal wound that you
gave and rise like a Phoenix
from the ashes of
fiery death to be reborn
so much better than before.
And you know if I have
anything, I have that
kind of gift from God.
But now.
Onto the good stuff
of my new life.
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