In its first six years from 1998 to 2004, Google built one of the greatest products of all time (and certainly the greatest business of all time) with Search. Then in its next six years from 2005 to 2011, Google built seven (!) more billion+ user products: Gmail, Maps, Drive and Docs, YouTube, Chrome, Android, and Photos — all either started from scratch internally or acquired as startups that were still in their infancy. This six-year period of wild innovation STILL stands unmatched in technology history… no other tech company counts more than four billion+ user products in its portfolio total. And of course, this “Google 2.0” era culminated in the transformation of the very company itself into Alphabet.
So the question we answer today is… how did they do it?? And why? What was the strategy that led a once “pure play” search company into such far flung fields as email, mapping, funny cat videos and operating systems? We unpack the brilliant (and sometimes accidental) strategies behind each product, the simultaneous three-front war Google fought against Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook, and the spectacular failure of Google Plus that nearly destroyed the company's culture — before ultimately setting the stage for both Alphabet and the AI revolution to come.
Sponsors:
Many thanks to our fantastic Summer ‘25 Season partners:
Links:
- Sign up for email updates and vote on Fall Season episodes!
- Jeff Dean and Sanjay Ghemawat New Yorker article
- Eric Schmidt on stage at the iPhone keynote (!)
- Bill Gurley’s classic “Less than Free” Android post
- Our recent ACQ2 episode with Bret Taylor and Clay Bavor
- Worldly Partners’ Multi-Decade Alphabet Study
- Episode sources
Carve Outs:
More Acquired:
- Get email updates and vote on Fall Season episodes!
- Join the Slack
- Subscribe to ACQ2
- Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!
Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com