Marc Andresson Isn’t Retiring Anytime Soon
He’s Done This And That And This
Marc Andreessen, the man who helped develop the first commercial Web browser, is still referred to in some circles as the poster boy of the Internet age. They remember him as the smiling, baby-faced kid from Wisconsin who appeared on a 1996 cover of Time magazine barefoot, sitting on a throne. Andreessen hasn’t allowed himself to be frozen in time or relegated to has-been status. He’s still moving and shaking, and reaping the financial rewards.Last month, Hewlett-Packard Co. shelled out $1.6 billion for the company he co-founded as a follow-up to Netscape Communications Corp. Also in July, his third Web software operation that business partner Gina Bianchini runs, landed $44 million in its first round of venture funding. Though he was late to the blogging party, his online diary he launched in June has quickly built a readership among entrepreneurs and financiers interested in the inner workings of Silicon Valley.As Friendster, MySpace and other social-networking websites tussled for consumers’ affections, Andreessen and Bianchini decided to make software tools that let people create their own social networks and other Web applications. Its called Ning, which means “peace” in Chinese. A social network, which can be public or private, is a place online where people meet around a topic or interest and make comments, share photos and post videos. “The best time to be an entrepreneur was in ‘93, ‘94 and ‘95,” Andreessen said. “But this is a good time because the Internet is a huge global medium.” He also joined the board of Harmonic Communications, a software company that tracked and measured advertising. He’s also an author. He’s also this and that and this….
