YC
How David Lieb Turned a Failing Startup Into Google Photos | Backstory
@ Y Combinator
12/19/24
Takeaways
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David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
To create a product like Google Photos that billions will use, you must be fully committed and understand that success rarely follows a straight path; expect failures and challenges along the way.
DL
David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
I realized that the best way to build a product is to trust your own intuition about what it should be, especially when you're creating something for yourself.
DL
David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
When building a startup, especially in the early days, you have to do everything yourself; there's no marketing or engineering team to support you.
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David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
We learned that the frequency of use for Bump was too low for the value it provided, which ultimately led to its decline.
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David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
After realizing our initial product wasn't meeting user needs, we pivoted to focus on photo sharing, leading us to develop a new app called Flock.
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David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
It's crucial to analyze quantitative data, like user logs and retention curves, to understand how your product is actually being used, rather than relying solely on user feedback.
DL
David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
I felt a lot of pressure during one of the most challenging periods of my life when our second attempt, Flock, also didn't work and we were running out of money.
DL
David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
Paul Graham encouraged us to think bigger and suggested we replace the entire photos app on the phone to increase usage of our photo sharing product.
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David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
We realized that the existing photos app on the iPhone wasn't very good, and if we designed it, we could make it much better.
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David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
Despite not being able to launch our photo roll product, we recognized its potential, and several companies showed interest in it, indicating it could be the photo app of the future.
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David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
After selling our company to Google, we planned to rebuild our photo roll idea with Google technology to create Google Photos, and I was optimistic about its success.
DL
David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
On our first day at Google, we found out that all our plans were changed, and we were assigned to work on Google+ instead of Google Photos, which created a lot of conflict for me.
DL
David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
I believed strongly that Google Photos would be a billion-user product, so I continued to work on it despite being told not to, which led to conflicts with my bosses.
DL
David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
Eventually, I gathered support from engineers who wanted to build Google Photos instead of the assigned social network, despite our bosses' explicit instructions not to pursue it.
DL
David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
I didn't want my previous work on Bump to be a failure, so I fought to pursue the opportunity with Google Photos, refusing to take no for an answer.
DL
David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
After being told to leave the team twice, I leveraged my connections in the industry to gain support for building Google Photos, and ultimately, we got the green light to proceed.
DL
David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
Once we received approval, our team from Bump collaborated with Google engineers to build Google Photos from scratch in about nine months, launching it in 2015.
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David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
The core idea of Google Photos was to create a home for all of your life's memories, making photos and videos easily accessible and organized through AI technology.
DL
David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
Google Photos was a hit from day one, growing rapidly and becoming one of the fastest-growing products of all time, reaching over a billion users in less than four years.
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David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
During a successful period at Google Photos, I was diagnosed with leukemia, which changed my perspective on life and work.
DL
David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
Faced with the possibility of dying, I spent the night looking at photos of my family on Google Photos, which helped me appreciate my life and memories.
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David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
After waking up alive the next morning, I learned I had leukemia, but there were treatment options available, and I was determined to face the challenge head-on.
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David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
The treatment plan involved a year of intensive chemotherapy followed by three years of less intense treatment, which was a challenging journey for me.
DL
David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
After my treatment, I realized that my job at Google had evolved away from building products for users, and I wanted to work with people who were innovating the future.
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David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
I left Google in September 2022 to join Y Combinator, where I could work closely with founders and help them avoid the mistakes I made in my own journey.
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David Lieb
12/19/24
@ Y Combinator
Having gone through significant personal and professional challenges, I now see my role as a coach to help the next generation of founders build impactful products.