Google
Executive Summary
Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford University in 1995. By 1996, they had built a search engine (initially called BackRub) that used links to determine the importance of individual webpages. Larry and Sergey named the search engine they built “Google,” a play on the word “googol,” the mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeros. Google Inc. was born in 1998, when Sun co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim wrote a check for $100,000 to that entity—which until then didn’t exist.
Google’s Initial Public Offering of 19,605,052 shares of Class A common stock took place on Wall Street on August 18, 2004. Larry Page, Google’s original CEO until 2001, took up the title again in April 2011. Eric Schmidt, now executive chairman, served in the role for 10 years.
It’s really the people that make Google the kind of company it is . It hires people who are smart and determined, and they favor ability over experience. Although Googlers share common goals and visions for the company, they hail from all walks of life and speak dozens of languages, reflecting the global audience that Google serve. And when not at work, Googlers pursue interests ranging from cycling to beekeeping, from frisbee to foxtrot.
Google strive to maintain the open culture often associated with startups, in which everyone is a hands-on contributor and feels comfortable sharing ideas and opinions. In weekly all-hands (“TGIF”) meetings—not to mention over email or in the cafe—Googlers ask questions directly to Larry, Sergey and other execs about any number of company issues. Google’s offices and cafes are designed to encourage interactions between Googlers within and across teams, and to spark conversation about work as well as play.
Google’s Philosophy