Netscape's Work Culture

By: Sakshi Sachdeva

Founders of company
• Netscape was co-founded by Jim Clark (Clark) and Andreessen.
• Clark was a Stanford University professor turned entrepreneur.
• Andreessen was an undergraduate from the University of Illinois,
working with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.
Time line
 How the company found its growth path
• Six million copies of Navigator were in use around the world.
March 1995

• Netscape announced its plans to launch the commercial version of Navigator 1.2
August 1995

• By launching new versions of browsers quickly, Netscape set new productivity standards in the
October 1995 web browser market

• In total, within the first 15 months of its inception, Netscape rolled out 11 new products.
June1996

• Within a year of its inception, Netscape made an Initial Public Offering (IPO), which was well
received by the investing public.
How the company found its growth path

• Netscape broadened its product portfolio by developing Internet content services

March 1997

• Netscape transformed its corporate website into Netcenter website – a site

September featuring news and chat group services.
1997

• Netscape faced increasing competition from Microsoft in the browser market.

Netscape therefore entered new businesses like enterprise and e-commerce
1998 software development.
What Analysts think…..
• In November 1998, Netscape was acquired by AOL, the world's largest
online services provider.
• Analysts remarked that Netscape's ability to respond quickly to
market requirements was one of the main reasons for its success.
• The ability to introduce new versions of products in a very short span
of time had made the company stand apart from thousands of
startup dotcom companies that were set up during that period.
• Analysts said that Netscape's culture, which promoted innovation
and experimentation, enabled it to adapt quickly to changing market
conditions.
Work Culture of Netscape…
• Netscape promoted a
• casual, flexible and independent culture.
• Employees were not bound by rigid schedules
• They were even allowed to work from home.
• environment of equality – everyone was encouraged to contribute his
opinions.
• Everyone including CEO worked in a cubicle.
• There was no dress code at Netscape
• People stay here because they have space to operate.
• Netscape's management reposed a high degree of trust in its employees,
which translated into empowerment and lack of bureaucracy.
• Job rotation was another important feature of Netscape's culture.
• Netscape offered a wide range of on-campus services to its employees
• standard package of health
• employees were able to get some of their routine work done like dry cleaning,
paying bills, getting the oil changed in their automobiles, etc.
• They could also consult a dentist or even have a massage.
• to plan for holidays as well as order gifts.
• Sick children of employees were also looked after at a child-care facility near the
campus for US $10 a day.
• Netscape gave them paid vacations
• Incentives were given to employees at all levels, not just senior employees.
• Employees earned bonuses on the basis of individual or group performance.
• Senior executives were entitled to bonuses in the range of 1-30% of their
annual salaries.
• Employees were allowed to bring their dogs to work.
• The company's employees strength had increased from 2 to 330 in
just 15 months between April 1994 and July 1995.
• The company attracted promising student's fresh out of college by
offering them a lot of incentives including beach parties, free clothes,
signing-on bonuses and free computers.
• Once they joined, to keep up morale, employees were offered stock
options, which translated into huge profits when the company
performed well.
• Compared to the industry attrition rate of 30%, Netscape's attrition
rate was 20%. Netscape's management believed that more than the
pay check, employees were interested in meaningful work,
independence, flexibility, and a desire to learn on the job.
The Setback
• After the acquisition, AOL planned to integrate Netscape's web-
browser products and Netcenter portal site with its Interactive
Services Group.
• he company created a Netscape Enterprise Group in alliance with Sun
Microsystems to develop software products ranging from basic web
servers and messaging products to e-commerce applications.
• However, overlapping technologies and organizational red tape
slowed down the process of integration.
• Within a year of the acquisition, Netscape browser's market share fell
from 73% to 36%. Andreessen, who had joined AOL as chief
technology officer, resigned only after six months on the job.
• Before resigning from AOL, Jamie Zawinski, the 20th person hired at
Nescape, said, "When we started this company, we were out to
change the world.
• We were the ones who actually did it. When you see URLs on grocery
bags, on billboards, on the sides of trucks, at the end of movie credits
just after the studio logos – that was us, we did that. We put the
Internet in the hands of normal people. We kick-started a new
communications medium. We changed the world." Another ex-
employee said, "We really believed in the vision and had a great
feeling about our company."
• The ex-employees of Netscape did not care to answer that question.
They only knew that their old company and its culture had gone
forever. An analyst remarked, "Unfortunately, AOL is a good
technology company that doesn't know what to do with good
technology. It's sad what they did to Netscape."