It is enlightening to read in detail how Google started. Larry and Sergey didn’t set out to create the largest search engine in the world, they set out to make searching through Stanford’s library easier; a solution to one of their problem. I found much similarity with other companies/founders. The founders of Airbnb didn’t set out to create a company that has more rooms for rent than Hilton, they started off because they needed a cheap place to stay when they went to tech conferences; a solution to their problem.

Discovering the early years of Google was truly remarkable. Things like Jeff Bezos of Amazon being an early investor, or that Larry and Sergey actually tried selling Google to Yahoo. The culture that was established early on is what attracted brilliant people. Larry and Sergey made it a point that every new hire must be a little smarter than the intelligence of the average Googler. Amazon currently implements a similar approach to hiring.

As Google expanded and grew, there was a lot of pressure on the founders to get a CEO to manage the firm. Larry and Sergey were very hesistant, and even after Eric Schmidt joined the team, they were uncertain if it was the right decision. Levy provides insight into the dynamics between the three in the early years and how that shaped the future of Google.

The book is filled with insight after insight. From AdWords to Gmail and Maps, from the early hired to the people who quit to join facebook. I continously found myself intrigued by the detail of these events. If your really want to discover how Google started and gain insight into this entire journey, I highly recommend reading In the Plex.