Sandberg Hopes To Repeat Google Feat
Fortune, Monday, April 14, 2008 11:15 AM
Fortune's Jessi Hempel underlines the main problem facing former Google exec Sheryl Sandberg as she assumes the role of Facebook COO: "Even though Facebook is seen as the embodiment of Web 2.0, it has the quintessential Web 1.0 problem: No one has figured out how to make real money off it." That's a big, big problem for a company with a $15 billion valuation, and one heck of a task to be charged with, but if there's one thing that's Sandberg specialty, it's scaling a business. As vice president of global online sales and operations at Google, she managed the company's tremendous international growth, in addition to running (and scaling) the AdWords sales department.
"I don't think there is a business in the world that was getting users at that pace," said Adam Freed, whom Sandberg hired to launch AdWords internationally. Freed recalls that she was creating divisions and hiring people to manage them at a torrid pace, at a time when Google had just 300 employees. "We were a 10-person team and we were thinking, 'Why are you going to hire that?' And she said, 'Trust me, you need to think not about now, but where are we going to be in five steps and ten steps?' "
Indeed, Sandberg nurtured Google as it grew up, and she's been brought into Facebook to do the same thing. "This feels like Google when I started," she said. "It feels like a great thing that is starting to happen but really at the very, very beginning."
Read the whole story at Fortune »
"I don't think there is a business in the world that was getting users at that pace," said Adam Freed, whom Sandberg hired to launch AdWords internationally. Freed recalls that she was creating divisions and hiring people to manage them at a torrid pace, at a time when Google had just 300 employees. "We were a 10-person team and we were thinking, 'Why are you going to hire that?' And she said, 'Trust me, you need to think not about now, but where are we going to be in five steps and ten steps?' "
Indeed, Sandberg nurtured Google as it grew up, and she's been brought into Facebook to do the same thing. "This feels like Google when I started," she said. "It feels like a great thing that is starting to happen but really at the very, very beginning."
Recent Around the Net In Online Marketing Articles
-
Google Glass Apps Adding Up May 17, 11:47 a.m.
In what has become a necessary step for any successful operating system, Google Glass is starting ... -
Groupon Drags Out CEO Search May 17, 11:46 a.m.
Speaking of Groupon, the deal site says it’s unlikely to name a permanent new CEO until ... -
Andrew Mason Plotting Next Company May 17, 11:44 a.m.
What’s Andrew Mason been up to since being booted from the top spot at Groupon? Well, ... -
Yahoo Kicking Tumblr's Tires May 17, 11:44 a.m.
Yahoo is reportedly considering partnering with, investing in, or buying Tumblr. “Sources said the talks were ... -
Google, NASA To Study A.I. With "Quantum Computer" May 16, 12:01 p.m.
Google and NASA are creating a laboratory to study artificial intelligence. Their focus, as The New ... -
Skift Closes $1 Seed Round May 16, noon
Skift -- the travel intelligence and news startup founded by Rafat Ali -- has closed $1.1 ... -
USA Network Vies For Social Media Control May 16, 11:59 a.m.
USA Network on Thursday is expected to debut a new Web and mobile platform that, as ... -
Microsoft, Google At Odds Over App Ads May 16, 11:58 a.m.
After Microsoft updated its own YouTube application for Windows Phone the other week, Google sent the ... -
Larry Page Explains Soft-Spokenness May 15, 10:30 a.m.
More than personal quirk or mere curiosity, Larry Page’s soft-spokenness has led some analysts to question ... -
Brightcove Bows Mobile Live-Streaming Tool May 15, 10:29 a.m.
Video distribution platform Brightcove is introducing a new module that is designed to help customers run ...
Be the first to comment on "Sandberg Hopes To Repeat Google Feat"
Leave a Comment