Episode 42: Opsware (with special guest Michel Feaster)
Acquired5 Elo 2017

Episode 42: Opsware (with special guest Michel Feaster)

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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© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC


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:

Jaksot(205)

Episode 4: Bungie (with Xbox Co-Founder Ed Fries)

Episode 4: Bungie (with Xbox Co-Founder Ed Fries)

Ben and David are joined by Former Microsoft VP and Co-Founder of Xbox, Ed Fries, to discuss the Bungie acquisition and the development of Halo. Highlights include: Ed’s call with Steve Jobs after the acquisition, and sharing the stage with Steve and Bungie Co-Founder Alex Seropian at the Macworld Keynote.Bungie today, and the unlikely path to get there led by Harold Ryan.How to find something that all parties want to get a deal done, the creation Peter Tamte’s spin-out Mac gaming studio, and orchestrating the division of current Bungie projects and assets with Take-Two, led by Ryan Brandt.Saving a project that’s off schedule and missing the mark, and how Jason Jones led the effort to make Halo 2 a hit at launch.Sponsors:Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnHuntress: https://bit.ly/acqhuntressMore Acquired!:Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC

30 Marras 20151h 7min

Episode 3: Twitch

Episode 3: Twitch

Ben and David discuss Amazon's acquisition of Twitch in 2014. Unlike previous episodes, this recent acquisition still has a lot of open questions, and Amazon hasn't publicly reported growth of Twitch since the purchase. Ben and David talk about Justin Kan's original product with Justin.tv, and the transformation into the Twitch that Emmett Shear is running today.Sponsors:Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnHuntress: https://bit.ly/acqhuntressMore Acquired!:Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC

16 Marras 201553min

Episode 2: Instagram

Episode 2: Instagram

Ben and David discuss Facebook's acquisition of Instagram in 2012. Was it a success? If so, what are the criteria that made it work? What lessons can be learned for other acquisitions in the future?Sponsors:Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnHuntress: https://bit.ly/acqhuntressMore Acquired!:Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC

1 Marras 201542min

Episode 1: Pixar

Episode 1: Pixar

Ben and David discuss Disney's acquisition of Pixar in 2006. Was it a success? If so, what are the criteria that made it work? What lessons can be learned for other acquisitions in the future?Sponsors:Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsnHuntress: https://bit.ly/acqhuntressMore Acquired!:Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC

15 Loka 201538min

Trailer: What is Acquired?

Trailer: What is Acquired?

Every company has a story. Learn the playbooks that built the world’s greatest companies — and how you can apply them. The episodes are deep and heavily-researched, uncovering the full histories behind household names you thought you already knew like Rolex, Amazon, Starbucks, or NVIDIA. Enjoy!

1 Loka 20152min

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