In 1999, 55-year-old Silicon Valley entrepreneur Jim Clark lived in Atherten, California.

He built a new swimming pool behind his home.

But to his chagrin, he discovered that his neighbors at the back could watch the pool during breakfast.

Obviously, the best solution would be to build a taller wall, but that would violate the community's rules.

So Clark simply built a hill in the backyard.

There were no violations and the problem was solved.

"This is typical Clark thinking," said his old friend Robert Burgess, CEO of Macromedia: "The wall can only be so high, so break the rules and build a hill." Indeed.

, Clark has been changing and breaking the original rules.

Today everyone knows that he founded Netscape, the pioneering Internet company.

Previously, he founded SGI, where his high-performance workstations changed the way everything from suspension bridges to jet aircraft were designed.

"He is a rebel with a goal." The lawyer who has been helping Clark launch four startup companies said so.

Undoubtedly, Clark's difficult early life cultivated Clark's highly imaginative yet down-to-earth business instincts.

Another factor in his success: his focus on learning from his mistakes.

SGI was able to be founded back then because it was backed by venture capital.

Eventually, some backers reduced Clark's stake to about 5%—a large amount in an IPO, but Clark left the company with only $16 million.

That may be why he often reminds aspiring young entrepreneurs to carefully weigh the terms of early-stage capital raises.

"Relying on people for funding is probably wrong from the beginning," he said. "Backers are by definition early stage seed investors, but if they own 20 to 30 percent of your company, you're going to have to pay for it."

Paying a heavy price." Anderson believes that Clark's success depends on a quality that he avoids talking about.

"Napoleon is said to have said, 'It's better to have a lucky general than a smart general.' In Jim's case, I think he was a little bit of both. His kind of blend of technology, marketing and business

His ability is unparalleled. "And Clark repeatedly emphasized that without Anderson, he would not be able to achieve what he is today.

"At Netscape, I was lucky enough to meet Andreessen and start a business with him. Fortunately, we were targeting the Internet long before people were optimistic about it, and we were determined to make gold on the Internet."

Clark attributes his achievements to luck, insight and determination.

"Many people have a good eye for the market and technology, but they never understand how to win customers. To be honest, when I first founded SGI, I did not have the ability in this area. However, I gradually mastered this

kind of skill.