Mozilla project, it’s very open, everyone gets a say. If you are a developer, you
get to vote on whether or not a feature gets implemented. Then we come along
and say, “We’re making a product for mom and dad. You still have a voice here,
but some of the features that you think we should add may not be the ones that
they want to use. So you have to take our word for it that, even though 500 of
you want something right now, you may actually be in the minority of a...

Livingston: So Firefox spread because the browser is better and through word
of mouth?
Ross: Yes. We don’t have people shaping a message or working the press. It’s all
been grassroots, word of mouth, done through Spread Firefox. It’s been interesting
because we’ve seen about a dozen companies adopt the same model
since then. There’s GoTrillian.com, SpreadOpenOffice.org—there are all these
different copycat sites.
Livingston:Was there ever a point when you were really worried?
Ross: Not really. But I’m making it seem like startups are so stress-free, and of
course that’s just...

even knows what it is, let alone tried it out. Smells like Firefox all over again.
Those kinds of comments are so motivating. I love the challenge.
We talked to plenty of people at the very beginning of Firefox. It was obvious
that people were not happy with their browser, and it was very clear that, if
we could do something better, we might be able to get them to use it.
Livingston: Do you remember people’s reactions when you gave an early demo
of it?
Ross: People loved the simplicity and went...

Livingston: You wanted to take advantage of the rising tide?
Ross: Right. We already had ideas around software, and we said, “This is the
time to do it if we are going to do anything. People are going to listen to us right
now, so we might as well go for it.”
Livingston: Do you have a name?
Ross:We’re calling it Parakey for now, but who knows if it will stick. Firefox was
our fourth name.
Livingston: Can you tell me about any of the challenges you’ve faced?
Ross: One thing is...

what you are doing. VCs are sharks.” Meanwhile, you hear from the VCs,
“You’re too paranoid.” So it’s hard to find the right balance and be human,
because you don’t know who’s genuine and who’s not.
Livingston: It must be frustrating not to be able to share your idea.
Ross: Incredibly. If you ever want to stop a conversation dead in its tracks, just
use my magic words: “stealth mode.” I’ve also found “programmer” to work
well in many situations. But we’ll have our day.
Livingston: Are there any lessons that you learned...