Google started as a research project at Stanford called Backrub, and when Larry Page and Sergey Brin tried to sell it to big internet companies, they were rejected because no one thought search was important.

At the time, the success of Google felt completely uncertain, especially during the dot-com crash when many thought we wouldn't survive.

Negotiating the acquisition of DoubleClick by Google was about unlocking value for both sides, not just about price.

Google's success came from hiring smart engineers to tackle complex problems, contrary to the belief that search was a commodity.

At Google, we focused on a few key things, and when Larry Page said yes to something, it meant it was important and everyone rallied around it.

Google had substantial traction before raising any funds, which enabled its founders to secure favorable terms in their early fundraising rounds.

In 2000, Google was a startup with a small team, and I remember working late nights and weekends, which was the culture back then.

The key to Google's success was not the technology itself, but their innovative business model that allowed them to monetize users through advertising instead of software sales.

The early days of Google involved a lot of experimentation with advertising strategies, including self-service ads, which were initially a prototype.