Investing in Google, especially at its inception, is likely to be the greatest success in his investment career.
The future is unpredictable; he changed Google's destiny, so will Google still succeed? Will Facebook still emerge in the future?
While the general trend remains unchanged, minor details can be altered. The emergence of search engines might be inevitable, but with so many search engine companies, can Google truly achieve market victory even with its technological advantage?
At this time, there were dozens of internet companies involved in search, both well-known and unknown. How could Google be guaranteed to stand out?
"First, our business logic must be fundamentally different from other companies. For example, Yahoo, Infoseek, and Excite have already transitioned into portal websites, and some search companies offer paid services, focusing on the enterprise market.
Google's homepage needs to be very simple, leaving a distinct impression. At the same time, we must maintain stable, secure, and fast webpage loading speeds. Perhaps we can become the go-to Page for everyone to check their internet connectivity.
As for retrieval efficiency, accuracy, and speed, I don't need to tell you; everyone knows they are crucial and form the basis of our existence.
Of course, without a profit model, everything above is meaningless. As for how to make a profit, what good ideas do you all have?" He Zhengcheng presided over the Google meeting, acting as interim CEO.
"Search is a basic need of the internet, like air and water. Air can't be charged for, but water can. Should we also implement paid search, given that our search results are the most accurate and fastest?" said Google's Programmer, Beard Greene.
"If we charge for search, it will be very difficult to open up the market. Even if some people are willing to pay, the act of paying itself is very complicated.
With so many free products on the market, we might fail before we even get off the ground."
"We are a mass-market product; even if we charge, it should only be after we have a sufficient user base," said Foster.
"Hmm, if our users exceed 100 million, and one-tenth of them become members, that's 10 million users. With 6 billion global users, perhaps we could have hundreds of millions of members, which would also be a good business," He Zhengcheng said.
"Then should we intentionally interfere with search results? This goes against our initial principles," Brin said.
"Exactly, this method won't work. If we start interfering with search results now, how will people ever trust us in the future?" He Zhengcheng asked.
"What about selling ads? Our homepage doesn't have much content. If we sell homepage ads, the value would certainly be higher than typical internet ad fees," Beard Greene suggested.
"Like a club selling chest ads? Then are we a search company or an advertising company? And we'd have to switch clients after a while…" Brin trailed off.
"How about we just forget about it for now? Let's put this issue aside and focus on becoming the NO.1 in search," Page suggested.
"I also think it's too early to think about profitability," Beard Greene added.
"Yes, as long as our search technology is good enough, we can at least provide search technology services to other large internet companies," Foster said.
"That's reliable! We have a good relationship with Yahoo's chief. I also know eBay's founder, so we can contact them then!" He Zhengcheng, Yang Zhiyuan, and Filo all knew Page and Brin, and even encouraged them during their startup phase.
So don't assume these two PhD students lacked resources; they even received private investment from Bezos. In Silicon Valley, they knew no fewer prominent figures than He Zhengcheng.
Those who fantasized about acquiring Google shares at a low price were simply deluding themselves.
"So, we've decided then: we'll first improve Google's search technology, and then consider profitability," Page concluded.
"Then let's move on to the next topic: what kind of management model do we need, and what kind of people do we need as partners in our venture?" He Zhengcheng asked.
"We're doing great right now, free and easy, everyone can focus on their own work," Beard Greene said.
"Perhaps you don't understand current internet companies. In the beginning, entrepreneurs might have called the shots, but with financing and IPOs, outsiders—even traditional business leaders with no industry background—came to dominate the internet.
I'm not saying they aren't excellent, but can those middle-aged and elderly people truly understand the internet now?
This isn't a matter of IQ, but a matter of mindset. Perhaps after the internet becomes widespread, we will also find it difficult to understand the new generation that grew up in the internet era.
The internet requires a unique way of thinking; the more excellent a person is in traditional industries, the harder it is for him to understand the internet," He Zhengcheng explained.
"Exactly, I heard that Warren Buffett has never invested in internet companies; it seems he doesn't recognize the value of internet companies," Beard Greene said.
"I believe innovation should be our biggest difference from traditional businesses. Have you noticed that there are many examples of unknown companies suddenly becoming famous overnight, with each company having its own innovations? However, innovations from a few years ago are now somewhat outdated, such as Netscape Browser."
"Exactly, Netscape Browser is actually worse than IE now," Brin said.
"But Netscape Browser is much better than when it was first released; you should all agree on that.
This shows that internet companies demand innovation many times more than traditional companies. Companies without technological innovation may find it very difficult to survive," He Zhengcheng stated.
"That makes sense. Network technology is advancing rapidly, and we all need to keep learning, let alone others," Page said.
"So, can we reach a consensus that innovation is our foundation, and Google must always maintain its innovative capability?" He Zhengcheng asked.
"I agree, internet companies must continuously innovate!"
"I agree too!"
"Alright, since everyone agrees, then you should understand the relationship between innovation and learning. That is to say, we need to become a learning organization. Whether it's our management model or organizational structure, everything needs to change according to the company's evolution. The core idea is that the company's management must not stifle its innovativeness, and must not allow Google to do evil," He Zhengcheng explained.
Step by step, He Zhengcheng established the goal of building a learning organization at Google.
Regardless of the management model, each has its own advantages and disadvantages. For a company, defining the purpose of management is paramount, unlike some entrepreneurs in Daxia who become engrossed in management, turning means into ends.
Management guru Peter Senge's "the fifth discipline" is a classic. He integrates the essence of Eastern and Western wisdom, emphasizing a holistic, systemic view of the world and problem-solving, seeking the true essence and fundamental solutions hidden behind the superficial changes in things.
How powerful his ideas are can be proven by a very intuitive method: simply search for "learning organization" or "learning society," and you'll know that he is a true master, not like those qigong masters from Jiangxi.
For a period of time, He Zhengcheng continued to serve Google, and began to build a flat management model and establish a learning organization.
"Why do these useless tasks? Because a company's ultimate achievement is directly related to its initial DNA. One minute we waste now can save an hour in the future.
If our future employee base exceeds a thousand people, how much time do you think we could save? When new investors come in later, a Google without a corporate culture will be nothing but a puppet to be manipulated!" He Zhengcheng strongly refuted those who argued against the effectiveness of management. If "the fifth discipline" is useless, how will I show off later…