I lived and worked through this era in the DC area with one of the first nationwide commercial ISPs. It's why I made a point of watching Valley of the Boom and why I really enjoyed it.
I understand some people's confusion or disappointment with aspects of the series but not the number of low stars or the depth of the nasty reviews. It was much better than that, especially as the episodes progressed.
I admit I was a little put off at first by the "breaking-the-fourth-wall" moments and musical numbers, but I grew to appreciate their function. The little math whiz explaining IPOs and the developer explaining open source with the chicken salad sandwich were spot-on and a much better way to explain them to viewers who don't know about those concepts than through standard exposition.
And the interviews with the actual people involved -- especially the secondary players, whom you would otherwise rarely hear from in a documentary -- were worth watching the entire series for. The acting, too, brought their moments to life in a really credible way. (The actor's characterization of Marc Andreessen was so much like a CTO colleague from that time that it triggered some pretty uncomfortable feelings and memories.)
I haven't thought about those moments from my career or, more accurately, felt like that about them in a very long time. For me personally, that's a good measure by which to judge the success of the series.
