After leaving Google, I wanted to create a company that replicated the early, exciting environment of Google, focusing on building a great workplace.

When I joined Google in 1999, it was a small startup with an electric atmosphere, and I was excited to work on big projects.

The environment at Google was buzzing with productivity; everyone was excited about building great products and systems.

When I joined Google, I was the 23rd employee, and it felt really cool to be part of such a small, innovative team.

I managed to convince Brett Taylor to co-found FriendFeed with us; he was frustrated with the slow and clunky product at Google Maps and rewrote the entire JavaScript front-end over a weekend, making it ten times faster.

Working at Google was a great experience, but I never wanted to be an employee forever; I always felt the pull to be a founder.

Many startups in the 2000s blindly emulated Google's office culture, believing that adopting open offices and free snacks would guarantee their success, without understanding the unique aspects that made Google great.

FriendFeed generated a lot of buzz but struggled to grow because we competed with Facebook, which became a formidable competitor.

When Google launched, it was a fundamentally better web search product, and those who adopted it early were more productive.