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Google is basically a startup builder. And a really good one. How many companies manage to stay so innovative after having found their rainmaker product? Howe

Google is basically a startup builder. And a really good one. How many companies manage to stay so innovative after having found their rainmaker product? However, they should probably sell their successful startups instead of killing them. But I guess they don’t need the money.

birdyrooster 7y ago
I almost think they let their engineers launch products just so they can’t quit and go to another company.
- drewda 7y ago
  You just described the official purpose of https://area120.google.com/ https://area120.google.com/
  - birdyrooster 7y ago
    Is that Google officially accepting that 20% time is actually 120% time? I’m proud of them for baring the truth even if it is a bit oblique.
- paganel 7y ago
  I have had the exact same thought about Google for about 2 years now (and about the other big SV companies in general). I guess these golden cages are cheaper compared to doing acquihires further down the road.
- TMWNN 7y ago
  I read recently here that FAANGs hire people not because they need them, but to keep them away from rivals.
scarface74 7y ago
How are they a really good startup builder? What have they built in house that has been a success since Gmail? After flailing around for a decade, almost all of their profit is still based on ads. They are less diversified than any of the big tech companies besides Facebook.
- Mindwipe 7y ago
  I think it's been notable in the current hubbub about Stadia some have been pointing towards Gmail, Maps etc as proof Google doesn't kill everything. But the thing is all the examples seem to be more than five years old, because god help me but they don't seem to have done anything in quite a while to be honest. Google desperately needs to rethink how it moves into new areas and launches new products. "You'll get it when it arrives" seems like such a terrible attitude to take with the general public.
- iamaelephant 7y ago
  Android, Chromebook, the Home series, Maps, Drive, Google Cloud, Docs/Sheets and many more. A lot has happened since Gmail.
  - chalst 7y ago
    Maps is a clear in-house success. Android and Docs/Drive/Sheets were two acquisitions. Google is certainly a contender in cloud computing services, but they have a market share of 4% in 2018 for a product category they were one of the first to enter on a big scale, and I don't think niche success is what they are after. I'm not sure what I think about Chromebooks. I'd like to hope that it has an exciting, Fuchsia-coloured future.
    - scarface74 7y ago
      Isn’t it telling that a former bookseller was able to execute better in the cloud market than Google?
      - mburns 7y ago
        Not really, no.
    - brozaman 7y ago
      Maps is also an acquisition, although we could argue that what google maps successful was developed after the acquisition.
shadowgovt 7y ago
It's unclear who would buy. Lots of companies and private organizations were benefitting from Cloud Print, but would any of them be interested in taking on the cost of operating it? Also, would enough Googlers be willing to spin out from "the mothership" to go work for a spinoff that likely couldn't afford the same benefits package? (And this is to say nothing of the fact that most of Google's software is written atop Google's internal software infrastructure, which generally cannot be ported out of the company. It just won't work outside the ecosystem of services it assumes exist).

birdyrooster 7y ago

I almost think they let their engineers launch products just so they can’t quit and go to another company.

drewda 7y ago
You just described the official purpose of https://area120.google.com/ https://area120.google.com/
- birdyrooster 7y ago
  Is that Google officially accepting that 20% time is actually 120% time? I’m proud of them for baring the truth even if it is a bit oblique.
paganel 7y ago
I have had the exact same thought about Google for about 2 years now (and about the other big SV companies in general). I guess these golden cages are cheaper compared to doing acquihires further down the road.
TMWNN 7y ago
I read recently here that FAANGs hire people not because they need them, but to keep them away from rivals.

scarface74 7y ago

How are they a really good startup builder? What have they built in house that has been a success since Gmail? After flailing around for a decade, almost all of their profit is still based on ads. They are less diversified than any of the big tech companies besides Facebook.

Mindwipe 7y ago
I think it's been notable in the current hubbub about Stadia some have been pointing towards Gmail, Maps etc as proof Google doesn't kill everything. But the thing is all the examples seem to be more than five years old, because god help me but they don't seem to have done anything in quite a while to be honest. Google desperately needs to rethink how it moves into new areas and launches new products. "You'll get it when it arrives" seems like such a terrible attitude to take with the general public.
iamaelephant 7y ago
Android, Chromebook, the Home series, Maps, Drive, Google Cloud, Docs/Sheets and many more. A lot has happened since Gmail.
- chalst 7y ago
  Maps is a clear in-house success. Android and Docs/Drive/Sheets were two acquisitions. Google is certainly a contender in cloud computing services, but they have a market share of 4% in 2018 for a product category they were one of the first to enter on a big scale, and I don't think niche success is what they are after. I'm not sure what I think about Chromebooks. I'd like to hope that it has an exciting, Fuchsia-coloured future.
  - scarface74 7y ago
    Isn’t it telling that a former bookseller was able to execute better in the cloud market than Google?
    - mburns 7y ago
      Not really, no.
  - brozaman 7y ago
    Maps is also an acquisition, although we could argue that what google maps successful was developed after the acquisition.

shadowgovt 7y ago

It's unclear who would buy. Lots of companies and private organizations were benefitting from Cloud Print, but would any of them be interested in taking on the cost of operating it? Also, would enough Googlers be willing to spin out from "the mothership" to go work for a spinoff that likely couldn't afford the same benefits package? (And this is to say nothing of the fact that most of Google's software is written atop Google's internal software infrastructure, which generally cannot be ported out of the company. It just won't work outside the ecosystem of services it assumes exist).