Opsware (with Michel Feaster)

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Aug 5, 2017

Loudcloud launched with a vision strikingly similar to AWS, then the dot-com crash forced a dramatic pivot into Opsware. Michel Feaster recounts HP’s $1.6 billion acquisition, the tug-of-war with rival BladeLogic, and the cultural challenges of bringing Opsware into a corporate giant. The story also follows how an early bet on data-center automation reshaped careers and helped set the stage for later cloud tools.

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ANECDOTE

Loudcloud's Pivot

Loudcloud’s initial customers, primarily dot-com era startups, went bankrupt after the tech bubble burst.
This forced Loudcloud to pivot, selling its managed service product to EDS for $60 million.

INSIGHT

Opsware's Transition to Product

Loudcloud pivoted by repurposing its internal data center management tool, Opsware, as a product.
This transition from an internal tool to a customer-facing product proved challenging, particularly regarding usability.

ADVICE

Market Dynamics and Company Strengths

When assessing market dynamics, determine if the market is emerging or consolidating.
Focus on your company's strengths; if you're channel-driven, leverage your existing network.

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Acquired dives into the legendary acquisition of Ben Horowitz & Marc Andreessen’s “second act” software company Opsware, from a perspective never before heard—HP’s side of the story! Our heroes are joined by Michel Feaster, who led both the acquisition for HP and then the Opsware product as part of the integrated company afterward under Ben Horowitz. Today the tables have turned: Michel is the Co-Founder and CEO of Seattle-based startup Usermind, and Ben Horowitz sits on her board on behalf of A16Z. This episode is not one to miss!

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Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredservicenow26
Legora: https://bit.ly/acquiredlegora
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26

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Topics covered include:

Opsware’s early history and origins as Loudcloud, the “second act” of internet wunderkind Marc Andreessen and Netscape product manager Ben Horowitz
Ben’s first person telling of the Loudcloud/Opsware history in The Hard Thing about Hard Things, as well as the great Wired "period piece” covering Loudcloud’s launch in August 2000
The importance of timing, and Loudcloud’s too-early vision of—essentially—AWS before AWS (including eerie parallels between the metaphor Andreessen used to describe Loudcloud during the company’s first press briefing, and Jeff Bezos’s description of AWS at YC nearly a decade later)
Creation of the “Opsware” tool inside of Loudcloud to automate deploying and configuring servers within Loudcloud’s data centers
Loudcloud's meteoric rise, crash following the burst of the internet bubble, and hard pivot as a public company into Opsware—now an enterprise software company selling datacenter tools
Michel’s role in HP’s evaluation of the company as an acquisition target, and process leading to its $1.6B acquisition in July 2007
Integration of the company into HP’s culture and sales channel
The creation of Ben & Marc’s “third act”, the VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, and what it’s like for Michel now having Ben as an investor on her board at Usermind

The Carve Out: