Creating a product that leaves a mark is the dream of many. For Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, it’s already a reality. You probably don’t know their names, but if you like watching cat videos, they are the ones you have to thank. Learn about the history of the creators of YouTube.
The beginning of the story.
Chad, Steve, and Jawed were former PayPal employees. However, shortly after Ebay bought that company they decided to go their own way.
Chad was a designer, even one of his roles was to create the PayPal logo. While Chad and Jawed studied computer science at the University of Illinois.
They weren’t sure what they wanted to do, but one day after recording some videos and trying to share them, they realized how complicated it was. Sending it by email was impossible due to the weight of the files and uploading them to the network took a long time. So they saw the need and they got to work.
In February 2005 they bought the domain www.youtube.com. Later they developed the website and in November it was officially launched.
The history of the creators of youtube is strongly influenced by the firm Sequoia Capital. They invested 3.5 million dollars and due to the rapid growth that YouTube had in the first months, they made another investment of 8 million together with the company Artis Capital Management.
Such was its growth that at the beginning of 2006 YouTube had more than 20 million visits per month and more than 100 million views per day. By October 2006, Google’s interest in buying YouTube was made public. And in November of that same year it was official: YouTube was sold for 1.65 billion dollars.
YouTube is one of the many evidences of the fruits of having a good idea and knowing how to implement it. What other things can we learn from the history of the creators of youtube?
Learnings from the history of YouTube creators.
1. Create the best team.
They were 1 designer and 2 programmers. In theory they had what it took to get started but it wasn’t just them. After the first capital injection, PayPal’s CFO saw so much potential that he ended up serving on the board of directors and after him; Other members were joining who, with their experience and dedication, allowed YouTube to reach its full potential.
Also read: 5 questions you should ask yourself when forming a work team.
2. Create an experience.
Today’s products and services transcend their own usefulness. YouTube was born out of the need to be able to upload your own videos and have them seen by your friends. But YouTube allows you to see other places, learn an infinite number of things and is the company of more than one solitary person.
Try to make your idea go further.
3. Seek to be original.
It’s okay to see a flaw in a product and release an improved version. In fact many do and are successful. The point is that if you offer something that no one else offers, you will be in the voice of the whole world.
The success of YouTube was due to that: nobody else offered that possibility, so they created a product at the right time.
Also read: 5 commandments that your business idea must honor.
And remember, if you are really interested in creating your own business, you can read our book “How to create a company while working: Discover how to manage your time, manage your money and motivate yourself while creating a company and working for another” , where you will find all the information you need to found your own company, without having to leave your job.
