Larry Page & Sergey Brin: Building Google and Organizing the World's Information
Larry Page and Sergey Brin's story is one of the most remarkable in tech history. Two Stanford PhD students who started Google as a research project and built it into Alphabet, one of the world's most valuable companies. Their journey demonstrates the power of academic research, innovation, and thinking big.
The Early Years
Larry Page: - Born in 1973 in East Lansing, Michigan - Father was a computer science professor at Michigan State - Mother taught computer programming - Graduated from University of Michigan with a degree in computer engineering - Started PhD at Stanford in 1995
Sergey Brin: - Born in 1973 in Moscow, Soviet Union - Family emigrated to the United States when he was 6 - Father was a mathematics professor - Mother worked at NASA - Graduated from University of Maryland - Started PhD at Stanford in 1993
The Meeting
Page and Brin met at Stanford in 1995. Initially, they didn't get along—Brin thought Page was "obnoxious." But they were assigned to work together on a research project.
The Research Project: - Page was interested in the mathematical properties of the World Wide Web - Wanted to understand the link structure of the internet - Brin was working on data mining and information extraction - They collaborated on a search engine called "BackRub"
The Breakthrough: PageRank
The key innovation was PageRank, an algorithm that ranked web pages based on: - The number of links pointing to a page - The quality of those links - The assumption that important pages receive more links
The Innovation: - Traditional search engines ranked by keyword frequency - PageRank considered the web's link structure - This produced more relevant search results - Became the foundation of Google's success
Starting Google
In 1998, Page and Brin incorporated Google (initially as "Googol," a mathematical term for 1 followed by 100 zeros).
The Early Days: - Started in Susan Wojcicki's garage (now YouTube CEO) - First server was made from LEGO blocks - Hired their first employee, Craig Silverstein - Processed 10,000 searches per day initially - Moved to their first office in 1999
The Name: - Originally called "BackRub" - Changed to "Googol" (misspelled as "Google") - The name stuck and became iconic
The Struggles
Google's early days were challenging:
Funding Challenges: - Initially funded by family and friends - Approached multiple investors who weren't interested - Finally got $100,000 from Andy Bechtolsheim (Sun Microsystems co-founder) - Raised $25 million in 1999 from Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins
Technical Challenges: - Had to build infrastructure to handle millions of searches - Scaling was a constant challenge - Had to index billions of web pages - Maintaining search quality while growing
Business Challenges: - No clear revenue model initially - Competed against established players (Yahoo, AltaVista, Excite) - Had to convince users to switch from existing search engines - Needed to monetize without compromising user experience
The Breakthrough: AdWords
Google's revenue breakthrough came with AdWords:
The Innovation: - Launched in 2000 - Text-based ads relevant to search queries - Advertisers bid on keywords - Ads shown based on relevance and bid amount - This created a massive revenue stream
The Success: - AdWords became Google's primary revenue source - Generated billions in revenue - Maintained search quality while monetizing - Created a new advertising model
Going Public
In 2004, Google went public with an unconventional IPO:
The IPO: - Used a Dutch auction instead of traditional IPO - Raised $1.67 billion - Stock price: $85 per share - Valued at $23 billion - Made Page and Brin billionaires
The Expansion
Google expanded beyond search:
Key Products: - Gmail (2004): Free email with 1GB storage (unprecedented at the time) - Google Maps (2005): Transformed navigation - YouTube (2006): Acquired for $1.65 billion - Android (2005): Acquired and developed into dominant mobile OS - Chrome (2008): Web browser that became dominant - Google Cloud: Enterprise cloud services
The Philosophy: "Organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."
The Struggles and Challenges
Google faced numerous challenges:
Competition: - Competed against Microsoft, Yahoo, and others - Faced new competition from Facebook, Amazon - Had to constantly innovate to stay ahead - Pressure to maintain market dominance
Regulatory Challenges: - Antitrust investigations in multiple countries - Privacy concerns and regulations - Criticism over data collection - Fines totaling billions of dollars
Internal Challenges: - Managing rapid growth - Maintaining company culture - Balancing innovation with profitability - Navigating the transition to Alphabet
The Triumph
Google achieved extraordinary success:
The Numbers: - Processes over 8.5 billion searches per day - Market cap of over $1.5 trillion - Generated hundreds of billions in revenue - Employs over 150,000 people - Owns some of the world's most valuable platforms
The Impact: - Transformed how people access information - Made information universally accessible - Created new industries (search advertising, etc.) - Enabled millions of businesses - Changed how we navigate, communicate, and work
The Evolution: Alphabet
In 2015, Google restructured into Alphabet:
The Structure: - Google became a subsidiary of Alphabet - Other "moonshot" projects became separate companies - Page became CEO of Alphabet, Sundar Pichai became Google CEO - Allowed focus on both core business and experimental projects
Moonshot Projects: - Waymo (self-driving cars) - Verily (life sciences) - X (experimental projects) - And many more
Lessons from Larry Page & Sergey Brin
1. Think Big "Always deliver more than expected." Page and Brin thought about organizing all the world's information, not just building a search engine.
2. Focus on Users "Focus on the user and all else will follow." Google prioritized user experience over short-term revenue.
3. Innovation Matters "Great just isn't good enough." Google constantly innovated and took risks on new products.
4. Hire the Best "You can be serious without a suit." Google focused on hiring talented people and giving them freedom.
5. Don't Be Evil Google's original motto emphasized doing the right thing, even when it's difficult.
The Philosophy
Page and Brin's approach:
Innovation: "We're not afraid to try new things, and we're not afraid to fail."
Long-Term Thinking: "We're in this for the long haul. We're building a company that we hope will be around for decades."
User Focus: "The perfect search engine would understand exactly what you mean and give back exactly what you want."
Moonshots: "If you're not doing some things that are crazy, then you're doing the wrong things."
Key Takeaways for Entrepreneurs
- Solve a real problem - Google solved the problem of finding relevant information
- Think big - Don't limit yourself to small ideas
- Focus on quality - Better products win in the long run
- Innovate constantly - Don't rest on your laurels
- Hire great people - Talent is your most important asset
- Think long-term - Some investments take years to pay off
- Stay mission-focused - A clear mission guides decisions
The Personal Journey
Larry Page: - Stepped down as Alphabet CEO in 2019 - Remains on the board - Focuses on long-term projects - Known for thinking big and taking risks
Sergey Brin: - Stepped down as Alphabet President in 2019 - Remains on the board - Focuses on moonshot projects - Known for innovation and technical excellence
The Legacy
Page and Brin's impact is profound:
Technology: - Transformed information access - Created new industries - Pioneered new technologies - Influenced entire tech ecosystem
Business: - Created new business models - Proved the power of search advertising - Demonstrated the value of free products - Showed how to scale globally
Society: - Made information accessible to billions - Enabled new forms of communication - Created new opportunities - Changed how we work and live
Conclusion
Larry Page and Sergey Brin's journey from Stanford research project to building one of the world's most valuable companies is a testament to the power of innovation, vision, and execution. Their story demonstrates:
- The importance of solving real problems
- The power of thinking big
- That academic research can lead to commercial success
- The value of focusing on users
- That innovation requires taking risks
At Janteera Ventures, we're inspired by founders like Page and Brin who prove that with vision, innovation, and the ability to execute, you can build companies that transform how people access and use information. Their journey reminds us that the best companies start with solving real problems and thinking about how to make the world better.
As Page once said, "If you're not doing some things that are crazy, then you're doing the wrong things." This philosophy of taking bold risks, thinking big, and constantly innovating is what made Google successful and continues to guide Alphabet as it builds the future of technology.