How David Lieb Built Google Photos from Failure

"You have to keep moving forward, no matter what...I really don't like losing."

• Persistence is key to navigating startup hurdles.
• Competitive spirit can drive you to succeed.
• Determination helps push through failures.

"You get to tell them all the mistakes you made...maybe be that honest voice that, you know, I wish I had had in hindsight in building my startup."

• Reflect on failures to gain valuable insights.
• Mentorship can accelerate others' success.
• Openly discussing mistakes fosters growth.

"I just got this like bonus life period granted to me...How do I want to spend it?...I wanted to work with people who were building the future."

• Reassess your goals to align with your values.
• Choose work that brings fulfillment and impact.
• Life is short; focus on what truly matters.

"We were able to build all of Google Photos basically from scratch in about 9 months...it was a team of like 20 of us."

• Small teams can be more agile and efficient.
• Alignment on a clear goal accelerates progress.
• Leverage the strengths of each team member.

"I just couldn't let it go...I didn't want to be a loser...I just didn't take no for an answer when the bosses told me, you know, we're not doing Google Photos."

• Perseverance can turn challenges into opportunities.
• Risk-taking is essential for breakthrough success.
• Believe in your vision even when others doubt.

"He made us kind of think a little bit bigger...He pushed us, he said, you know what you should do? You should just replace the entire photos app on the phone."

• Don't limit your vision to incremental improvements.
• Bold ideas can lead to significant breakthroughs.
• Mentors can help you see beyond your current scope.

"If you don't know what to do, go talk to your users...I asked our team, give me the email addresses of the top 100 users...I learned some interesting things."

• User feedback can guide product direction.
• Identify unexpected use cases through conversations.
• Direct user engagement is crucial when facing challenges.

"We hired a bunch of people to just keep up with demand. And, you know, in hindsight, we probably should have hired a lot slower. We spent time going to conferences...We raised too much money too quickly because we could."

• Avoid hiring beyond immediate needs.
• Be cautious about raising excessive funds early.
• Focus on core business problems before scaling.

"It just went on the app store and...pretty quickly it just started to take off...it really was driven by word of mouth."

• Focus on creating a product worth talking about.
• Leverage early user enthusiasm to drive growth.
• Organic growth can outperform paid marketing.

"Why hasn't somebody solved this? ...the idea that you could share contact information by taking two phones and bumping them together popped into my head in an accounting class one day."

• Trust your intuition when building for yourself.
• Personal frustrations can reveal unmet market needs.
• Solving your own problem can lead to solutions others need.