High Stakes, No Prisoners : A Winner’s Tale of Greed and Glory in the Internet Wars

High Stakes, No Prisoners is a sharp, brilliant insider's account of the way Silicon Valley really the sharks, powerful incumbents, and old-boy networks who play hardball all the time and the geniuses who make the products that have changed the world. Charles Ferguson started Vermeer Technologies and turned his very cool, very big idea into FrontPage, the first software product for creating and managing a website. A mere twenty months after starting the company, he sold it to Microsoft for $133 million, making a fortune for himself and his associates. FrontPage now has millions of users and is bundled with Microsoft Office. But getting there wasn't always fun. High Stakes, No Prisoners is the book about the Valley and reflects Ferguson's unique experience not only as a successful entrepreneur but also as a policy analyst, computer industry consultant, and academic. Reveals A Great Internet Success Story High Stakes, No Prisoners is a highly personal account of what it really takes to win as a high-technology startup, especially in the Internet industry, where any speed below warp nine doesn't get you to takeoff. From securing venture capital to getting both the strategy and the technology right, from dealing with Microsoft's power to working with some of the quirkiest, smartest people on the planet, it's all here. The Valley story has never been told with this much depth and honesty. Reports from the Trenches of the Internet Wars Vermeer was right in the middle of the battle between Microsoft and Netscape. Both companies wanted to either acquire Vermeer or kill it. Skewers the Sacred Cows of the Valley Yes, Microsoft declared war on Netscape, but the latter's demise was caused as much by itself as by Microsoft. Ferguson, for example, sees Jim Barksdale, the former CEO of Netscape, as arrogant, ignorant about technology, distracted by politics and glamour, and running a company in partnership with a twenty-three-year-old who'd never held a serious job before." Here's Netscape as it has never before been revealed. Explains the Real Problem with Microsoft Microsoft's business model is unquestionably one of the great creations of American business. But its power has become so great, its behavior so unrestrained, and its abuses so dangerous that intelligent action has to be taken. Ferguson's analysis of what must be done is a major contribution to one of the most important public-policy questions of our time. Silicon Valley is the crown jewel of the American economy and a critical driver of American technology. It's electric, addictive, vulgar, full of brilliance, brutally fair and brutally unfair, fiercely competitive, often dishonest, tremendously exciting, and utterly unique. With High Stakes, No Prisoners , the real story has finally been told--with frankness, insight, and great wit. Annotation The things that strike people when they meet Charles Ferguson are his drive, paranoia, ambition, intelligence, and outspokenness. Especially his outspokenness. This is a book so sharp that it could easily have been called Why I'll Never Eat Lunch in Silicon Valley Again. Ferguson sold his company -- Vermeer Technologies, which developed FrontPage, the first product for PC users who want to develop and manage their own web site -- to Microsoft for $133 million a mere twenty months after starting it from scratch. Since Ferguson doesn't intend to start another company, he is perfectly happy to say anything he wants to about whomsoever he pleases. And he does this with abandon in High Stakes, No Prisoners. While this is a book that will set tongues wagging in the Valley, Ferguson provides large lessons to a varied and broad audience. Entrepreneurs will find much to think about (and dream about) in this tale of a successful start-up. Investors will find it invaluable because it shows the ingredients neccesary in a successful high-tech venture. And a general public fascinated with the Internet will find it laced with a keen perspective about the future of America's most important industry High Stakes, No Prisoners is a sharp, insider's account of the way Silicon Valley really works: the sharks, powerful incumbents, and old-boy networks who play hardball all the time and the geniuses who make the products that have changed the world.. "Charles Ferguson started Vermeer Technologies and turned his very cool, very big idea into FrontPage, the first software product for creating and managing a website. A mere twenty months after starting the company, he sold it to Microsoft for $133 million, making a fortune for himself and his associates. FrontPage now has millions of users and is bundled with Microsoft Office. But getting there wasn't always fun.. "High Stakes, No Prisoners is the book about the Valley and reflects Ferguson's unique experience not only as a successful entrepreneur but also as a policy analyst, computer industry consultant, and academic.

Disc. Microsoft's & Netscape's desire to acquire Vermeer, problems with Netscape & Microsoft, technology policy, etc.

"High Stakes, No Prisoners is a sharp, insider's account of the way Silicon Valley really works: the sharks, powerful incumbents, and old-boy networks who play hardball all the time and the geniuses who make the products that have changed the world."--BOOK JACKET. "Charles Ferguson started Vermeer Technologies and turned his very cool, very big idea into FrontPage, the first software product for creating and managing a website. A mere twenty months after starting the company, he sold it to Microsoft for $133 million, making a fortune for himself and his associates. FrontPage now has millions of users and is bundled with Microsoft Office. But getting there wasn't always fun."--BOOK JACKET. "High Stakes, No Prisoners is the book about the Valley and reflects Ferguson's unique experience not only as a successful entrepreneur but also as a policy analyst, computer industry consultant, and academic."--BOOK JACKET. Publisher Fact Sheet Now in its third printing, Charles Ferguson's hilarious, hard-boiled journey into the heart of high-tech darkness has become the signal book of the start-up generation. Ferguson took a good idea, started a company, & sold it to Microsoft for $133 million--all in less than two years. He names names & tells tales in this blistering insider's account of the Silicon Valley way. "The Liar's Poker of the Internet economy ... a wickedly funny book."--James Fallows, The New York Review of Books "A minefield of a book ... few give a better portrait of the financial machinations that govern the life of a start-up."--San Jose Mercury News "Great reading. Ferguson has a flair for describing the inside angle."--The Industry Standard "A terrific inside account of the journey from inspiration to start-up to IPO takeover target ... fascinating."--Chicago Tribune Starting the company The internet awakens as the giants sleep, 1990-94; the invention of the Web and Mosaic, Netscape's first browser, Vermeer gets a strategy, and much, much more First-round funding Vermeer, Fall 1994-Summer 1995; making a beautiful machine and preparing it for war The industry, January-August 1995; Netscape lights its roman candle, Bill Gates wakes up, and AOL rolls with the punch Wins and losses; or, no more Mr. Nice Guy Wins and losses, continued; or, things get really complicated The making of a deal Speaking ill of the dead; a strategic analysis of Netscape's failure and the future of internet software The Microsoft question The future, and some large questions The author describes how he transformed FrontPage, a software product for building a web site, into millions and discusses the obstacles that he had to overcome along the way