History of Google company 9

Playboys

The problems began on May 4, 2004, literally a few days after the release of Google’s financial results. Geico, a car insurance company, filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the search giant. She said that Google illegally makes a profit from advertising, which uses the names of trademarks owned by Geico. Since advertising was Google’s sole source of revenue, the news of a lawsuit was a thunderbolt for her. “Google is passing — and perhaps will be in the future — as a defendant in claims of infringement of intellectual property rights, which is costly. Decisions on them can oblige us to compensate for losses, as well as limit our ability to use certain technologies ",- Said in the company's application for IPO, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In other countries where Google had good prospects for development, its activities also became the subject of litigation. “A court in France recognized Google accountable for the fact that the company allowed customers to advertise under certain words and phrases that are registered trademarks. We have appealed this decision. Google also acts as a defendant in two lawsuits filed in Germany. ” In addition, it turned out that shortly before filing an IPO application, Google softened its trademark policy in the United States, allowing advertisers to conduct online bidding for brand names that belonged to other commercial organizations. This is a key change, according to the founders,"May increase the likelihood of lawsuits against the company." By the way, Yahoo! one of its main competitors in the field of search, did not place such advertisements. Google stated that it had adjusted its policy solely for the sake of users, however, according to experts, she took this step in order to increase profits before the IPO.

Google had no doubt that after it announced its information on income and profits, the competition with Yahoo! and Microsoft. Internet surfers are likely to benefit from all this, but Google considered competition as a risk factor for potential shareholders. “If Microsoft and Yahoo! will offer search results that are similar in quality to ours or exceed them, or improve the platform and make their services more accessible than ours, the attendance of our search resource can be significantly reduced, ”the company said in a statement. Google also made it clear that due to increased competition and "the inevitable decline in growth rates with increasing revenues," the dynamics of its development are likely to slow down.

Considerable concern was also the fact that Google was completely dependent on advertising, or rather on one particular form. Because of this, the company could have big problems in the future. If Yahoo! and Microsoft will improve their information search technology, users will switch to their resources, followed by advertisers. “Reducing advertising revenue or losing it can cause serious damage to our business,” said Google’s IPO application.

At first, the company earned money by advertising on Google.com. But now half of its sales came from a network of websites that Google delivered advertisements with. This self-developing network to a certain extent determines the future of the company. Thanks to her, the search server gains a significant competitive advantage. But there is also a negative point: less than half a dozen partners, primarily America Online and Ask Jeeves, provide a significant portion of the revenue from this network. If they leave and sign a cooperation agreement with Microsoft or Yahoo! the search giant will be tight. “If relations with one (or several) of our key partners are interrupted or not renewed and an Internet company of the same scale does not take its place, our revenues will decrease,” the same application noted.

Google’s small and unobtrusive text ads were very popular. But, like large TV and cable networks that were seriously affected by innovations (mainly from the remote control), which allowed viewers to quickly “turn off” advertising, the company was not immune to the advent of technologies that would allow users to simply “turn off” promotional offers.

Entering the stock exchange also represented a potential threat to the company's culture. The relaxed atmosphere reigned in the Googleplex, many employees Larry and Sergey knew only by name. The rapid growth and the upcoming transformation in the JSC dictated the need to introduce a more traditional management style. It will be necessary to get rid of cheap “supermarket” software for accounting, as well as to organize a full audit of the company by a large audit firm. In the face of expanding staff and increasing sales, reorganizing corporate governance without sacrificing corporate culture was a primary task for Eric Schmidt.

Google - the company whose name has become a household name - has created a network of partners and a strong world-famous brand exclusively by promoting its services. Nothing like this has ever been done on such a scale. Undoubtedly, the Internet helped her. However, the profitability of Google will certainly fall if the company is forced to spend money on advertising and marketing in order to increase brand awareness. Marketing guru Peter Seeley, in a conversation with one of the authors of this book, noted that Bryn and Page rejected his advice to study the opinion of consumers about the brand on the pretext that they did not want to spend money on advertising. “They are arrogant about the need to strengthen the brand and communicate with consumers,” said Sealy. “These guys don't even know what their brand symbolizes.” Programmers are programmers. ”

Despite the fact that the spread of pornography on the Internet is a very profitable business, at one time, Google stated that it does not advertise for adults only. However, on the eve of an IPO, its automated registration system no longer blocked such announcements, which meant the emergence of another legal risk. The company could also be held accountable for advertising drugs, financial services, alcoholic beverages, or firearms.

Based on the experience of other newly created joint-stock companies, it was possible to assume that soon after the IPO, Google is waiting for a brain drain. The generosity with which Larry and Sergey handed out stock options to the newly minted employees of the company when it was still a closed joint-stock company, and the absence of strict restrictions on the sale of shares meant that turning shares into cash and leaving Google would be pretty easy. In Silicon Valley, newcomer companies tracked and lured such specialists to themselves. In addition, hundreds of Google employees who suddenly became millionaires may lose their motivation. Will the company be able to create the financial incentives necessary to attract intelligent specialists, without being able to allocate stock options to them? Finally, what if Sergey and Larry decide that they’re not interested in running Google,and start on some other project? “If we lose Eric, Larry, Sergey, or other senior managers, we can hardly implement our business strategy,” the company warned.

But worst of all, Google was defeated by a multibillion-dollar lawsuit filed by Overture, now a subsidiary of Yahoo! in which it was claimed that the Google advertising system was similar to that developed and patented by Overture. At best, Google will have to pay Yahoo! license fee or permanently transfer certain amounts to it. At worst - the company will be forced to introduce another system of advertising.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an investigation into the company's internal procedures. Google has released a huge number of stock options and stocks, without registering them and not providing their employee shareholders with information about the company's financial results. The mere fact of conducting such an investigation on the eve of an IPO is a serious blow to any firm. How could Google’s chief legal adviser and legal advisers allow this? Experts suggested that Larry and Sergey did not want the employee-shareholders to find out how much money the company earned, as they feared information leaks, and therefore, despite legislative norms, they preferred to keep this information secret.

The unusual way of selling shares - through an online auction - was also not without flaws. “An electronic auction can create a phenomenon known as the winner’s curse, with the result that investors may incur losses,” the company warned. “Certain winners may consider that they have paid too much for our shares and will try to sell them as soon as possible in order to avoid significant losses if the stock price starts to fall.”

Since the middle of summer was nearing, and the Securities and Exchange Commission still did not complete an analysis of the mechanism for the functioning of an online auction, most experts agreed that Google would be listed on the stock exchange no earlier than Labor Day [12]. The search giant, it seems, was going to earn billions of dollars on the placement of shares, and in August, when Wall Street was traditionally plunged into drowsiness, the “heavyweight” companies did not conduct an IPO. At this time of year, investment bankers went to Hampton [13], to Martha's Vineyard [14] and other exotic places, since important decisions were practically not taken in August. Major customers, including company executives and investors, also went on vacation.

But Larry and Sergey did the opposite. The process of preparing for an IPO took them a lot of time and did not allow them to fully concentrate on their work. The faster they hold the bidding, the sooner everything will fall into place. That is why in the summer of 2004, they did not slow down, despite the fact that more and more new questions surfaced, which is why the tone of the press with respect to Google in this period became less and less benevolent.

The combination of three factors — a slow but steady decline in the IT sector index on the stock exchange, a summer lull, and a number of critical materials in the media, from which it appeared that Google’s internal management leaves much to be desired — indicated that the IPO was better to do in the fall, when the heat subsides. But Bryn and Page were afraid that in this case Google’s reputation would be even more damaged: Wall Street firms, competitors and experts questioned the company's future development forecasts and called the minimum ($ 110) and maximum ($ 135). the price per share is too high, since the latter is approximately 150 times higher than the earnings per share. For those who remembered well the collapse of the Internet technology market in 2000, such prices seemed “bubble-like”. Besides,although Google provided ordinary users with the opportunity to purchase stocks, the procedure for admission to the auction was difficult. To participate in it, individuals had to open accounts in certain firms and then act in accordance with specially developed and rather complicated rules. In general, the founders wanted an IPO as soon as possible in order to finally improve the difficult atmosphere around the company.

In those summer months of 2004, Google was particularly vulnerable. The process of preparing for an IPO was watched by the media very carefully, and every mistake or potential risk was inflated without a doubt. All this devalued the words of the founders that investors who want to acquire a stake in Google should trust Larry and Sergey. Such trust was associated with a fair amount of risk. The company just “polished” its image to brilliance, but these “spots” very spoiled the image of the founders.

Meanwhile, on Wall Street, individual brokerage firms decided that the game was not worth the trouble. So, Merrill Lynch, without explanation, refused to participate in the IPO. Her clients have taken a cautious stance on Google shares. This circumstance (and not only it) prompted financial analysts and consultants to recommend their clients to refrain from participating in the process of entering the company on the stock exchange, but to decide whether to invest money in the company’s shares, to take later, when trading begins. Fears were also growing that those who purchase shares at auction; within the framework of an IPO, they will only lose, because the stock price will inexorably begin to fall.

But even before the X hour arrived, investors had new ones; issues that related to the readiness of Google to convert to the JSC.

Given the numerous media reports about the investigation conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, other legal issues, and the likelihood that Google’s stock price would skyrocket during the auction, there were serious doubts about the successful outcome of its IPO. At some point it did not matter what caused such problems - the rapid growth of Google, the inability of the company to strictly comply with the provisions of the law on securities or targeted harassment from Wall Street.

In the time since Brin and Page’s submission of the IPO application, the public sentiment towards Google has changed. Then, in April, there was nothing to reproach her with. Now the spirit of doubt was in the air. There were persistent rumors that investors, large and small, would not take part in the auction and that the demand for Google shares would be so low that companies may have to postpone the exit to the exchange. Trust in top executives of Google has fallen. Some experts have criticized the legal advisers from Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston for urging Brin and Page to set such a high minimum and maximum share price. Whatever it was, compared with April, Google clearly lost its position.

And now, when it already seemed that all the troubles were over, Playboy magazine published a great interview with Larry and Sergey, entitled “Google Guys”. According to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the fact of publishing an interview in the media after submitting an IPO application testified to the end of the “silence period”. This puncture only reinforced doubts about the competence and maturity of Google executives. After all, it wasn't the Wall Street Journal or BusinessWeek, traditional sites for successful American companies. Playboy, better known not for informational articles, but for photos of naked girls, took this interview in April, but published it at the height of the hype around Google.

Someone interviews with Brin and Page seemed funny, but the main investors of the company it enraged. The commission, which has not yet completed the investigation into the non-registration of Google shares, now had to decide whether to impose penalties on the company for violating the “silence period” rule. To do this, lawyers of the Commission first needed to read the text of the interview. The crooks and caricaturists relished the following picture in every way: the lawyers of a serious organization turn the pages of Playboy in search of the Google Guys article, pretending that they are not interested in savory photos. Could Google’s founders, after all this, expect to be trusted with billions of dollars?

Playboy editor David Sheff, who took this interview, wrote that when he came to the Googleplex, “Bryn barefoot played volleyball in an open area. I barely dragged him away. He pondered my questions with a serious look on his face, occasionally reinforced by a salad. During the conversation, he and Page (this one was in shoes) practically did not sit down. They stood leaning on the back of a chair, or walked around the conference room. Probably, when you are engaged in changing the world for the better, it is very difficult to sit still. ”

On Wall Street, the only talk that was about the probable failure of the Google IPO: given the slow creeping of the IT sector index and weak demand for Google stocks, almost no one believed that the company would be able to place them at prices ranging from $ 110 to $ 135, as announced by investment firms. There were other issues of concern to potential investors. The biggest obstacle was the litigation between Google and Yahoo! because of the advertising system.

Then, John Derr and Michael Moritz, representatives of venture firms that have invested $ 25 million in Google, intervened in the matter: they urged the company to finally settle the dispute with Yahoo !. As a result, Google concluded with Yahoo! the settlement agreement, under which pledged to provide her 2.7 million shares. And now the world will never know exactly how Google violated patent law. The settlement of the dispute cost Google hundreds of millions of dollars, but it removed the uncertainty that hung over the company's IPO. “It would be wrong to call it a resolution of a copyright dispute. Rather, it’s a recognition by Google of the fact that it violated copyright, ”said David Rammelt, a lawyer at another company that filed a lawsuit against Google for infringing trademark rights. Google insisted that it did not violate copyright.

Taking into account all these problems, Derr, Moritz, Brin and Page discussed the possibility of transferring the IPO to the autumn. “In early August, we gathered to discuss the pros and cons,” says Moritz. - There was one question on the agenda: is there any reason to wait until October. As a result, it was decided not to postpone the IPO date, to conduct it in August, so that we could finally focus on daily operations. I think it was the right decision. Otherwise, we would again have to participate in a grueling three-month marathon. ”

Since Sergey and Larry clearly did not want the IPO preparation process to last at least one day longer than necessary, the fate of the company was now in the hands of the Securities and Exchange Commission. “Commission members are probably studying Playboy numbers now,” said Tom Tolly, author of a book about the nuances of the IPO process. What decision will the lawyers of this organization take regarding the IPO of Google?

Meanwhile, Google's legal advisers from Wilson Soiisint approved a possible solution to the problem: presenting the Commission an interview from Playboy as an attachment to the company's IPO application and including it in the package approved by the Commission available to all potential investors. This move was in good agreement with one of the Commission’s main principles: providing information to investors eliminates all problems. And fortunately for Google, it worked: the Securities and Exchange Commission Board, reserving the right to conduct a detailed investigation into the publication of the Playboy interview later, decided that including the article in the IPO application and correcting the inaccuracies contained in it would enough, and did not apply sanctions against the company.

Finally, Google could begin accepting applications from investors, establish a single auction price for shares and take up organizational issues. However, the minimum and maximum prices (software $ and $ 135, respectively), established by it earlier, now looked too high. The promulgation of the unsightly facts from Google’s activities, the 40 percent drop in the IT companies index over the past few months, and the complexity of the auction rules caused a decline in demand for the company's shares. The wave of critical materials about Google in the press and hostility towards it from Wall Street also contributed.

In order to increase the attractiveness of the IPO, Derr and Moritz took a number of additional steps: they reduced the minimum and maximum share prices to $ 85 and $ 95, respectively, which will increase the demand for stocks and increase trust in Google. On the first day of trading, the company's stock price will certainly go up, which will set investors in an optimistic way. And so that the August IPO was not considered an act of despair, Derra, Kleiner Perkins, and Moritz, Sequoia Capital, decided to hold on to the shares they were going to sell, making it clear that experts believe that Google’s stock price will rise.

And after long months of waiting, after the sea of newspaper headlines, one way or another connected with the upcoming exchange, the company's IPO under the GOOG exchange symbol began at the NASDAQ stock exchange on August 19, at an initial price of $ 85 per share. Bidding on Google’s 19.6 million shares did not start at 9:30, when the stock exchange opened, but a little later, at 11:56, because demand was significantly higher than supply for a relatively small number of stocks put up for bidding. Soon the stock price jumped to $ 100.01. As part of the initial public offering, the company earned $ 1.67 billion, which meant that its market value was $ 23.1 billion. The fee of the firms Credit Suiss First Boston and Morgan Stanley who managed the process of preparing for an IPO, did not exceed half the standard fee for Wall Street.

Suddenly it was discovered that the value of Google on the exchange is greater than the value of many reputable and reputable companies. Individual investors who bought search engine shares during an IPO sold them in a couple of days with a good profit. The use of an auction format, new to the stock exchange, allowed Google to accomplish one of two goals: the company, not Wall Street, managed the process, distributing shares in a fair manner, based on investors' requests. Such an “egalitarian” approach eliminated the possibility of a scandal similar to the one that shook Wall Street in recent years, when, within the framework of tasty IPOs, shares were distributed only among a select few. But the second goal - a higher stock price - could not be realized. Having sold its shares at $ 85, the company did not receive a substantial amount. If the preparatory period for the initial public offering had passed more smoothly, the rules for participation in the auction were not so complicated, and Google would not have been adamant in its decision to hold an IPO in August, it would certainly have been possible to achieve a higher price.

On the morning of the IPO on the day, Sergey Brin came to work at the Googleplex - as a sign that the company pays attention to daily business in all circumstances. And the second founder of Google went to New York, where, together with the company's CEO Eric Schmidt and venture investment specialist John Derr, he took part in the opening ceremony of the trading session. Before this, Page and Schmidt had a breakfast with the leaders of the NASDAQ, during which Page, that very morning became a billionaire, looked somewhat cold and detached. “It will be interesting for me to watch the whole process,” he muttered in response to the formally polite questions of the exchange managers. As GQ magazine wrote, Paige, dressed in a tuxedo, clearly felt ill at ease and managed to sit on a plate with cream, soiling his pants. “Well, it happens,” Schmidt remarked philosophically. “They've seen worse.”

For Brin and Page, the Google-to-OAO conversion process has finally been completed. They did an IPO in their own way, which dealt a serious blow to the Wall Street cartel. Now they could fully focus on managing their business. However, since the shareholders of their company were now people with whom they had never met before, the founders had to feel a qualitatively different level of public control and responsibility.

The Google IPO has become a watershed between Silicon Valley and Wall Street. Larry and Sergey turned one of the largest exits to the stock exchange in its entire history, retaining control over the process and earning the respect of corporate leaders who passed through the Wall Street meat grinder. There was a discussion in the media about whether Google’s IPO was a precursor to the onset of a new era in the stock life of IT companies, or was it another testament to the power and uniqueness of the enterprise. Very few companies would be able to successfully conduct the August IPO under such adverse conditions for themselves. As for Larry and Sergey, they finally breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that now things will change, especially given the legal and other issues facing the newly formed joint stock company. But at least life in the Googleplex will now be back to normal.

A few days later, Larry and Sergey went to the “Burning Man” festival, which, according to their friends, indicated that, having become billionaires, they did not change at all.

Have charlie

Celebrating Google’s stock market, Sergey and other Googleplex residents ate kilograms of Ben & Jerry’s wonderful ice cream. The fact that on this significant day they are waiting for such an unusual treat, nobody knew. Usually, in such cases, corks are slammed, champagne is poured in wine glasses and inspired speeches are made about the bright future of the company. But Google has done everything differently. When Sergey saw a special refrigerator for ice cream, he was surprised no less than others, since he had nothing to do with his appearance. The call to Ben & Jerry's was made by Google’s “minister of culture”. His name does not appear in the list of company executives, but his role in shaping a pleasant, beneficial and cozy atmosphere is truly invaluable. “Ice cream was cool, fun, unexpected,” Google chef Charlie Ayers says. - It was something like “we will turn left again, because they think we will turn right”. In general, everyone was very pleased. ”

Back in 1998, when Google was not yet a year old and its twelve employees were huddled together in close places in the center of Palo Alto, Sergei met Charlie Ayers to invite him to the position of chef. Delicious, healthy, free food for employees, said Brin, will highlight Google against other firms. In addition, Ayers once worked as a cook in the famous rock band Grateful Dead, and his rocker past will make the company even more attractive in the eyes of programmers. But Bryn’s proposal was not very appealing: Aers was quite small, the company was experiencing a chronic lack of funds and its future seemed rather vague. In general, their conversation was short then.

- Sergey, do you really need a chef? - Ayers asked.

“Tens of thousands of specialists will work with us,” said Brin. - We really need a chef.

“But you don’t even have a kitchen,” Ayers said.

On that and parted. Ayers left the building on University Avenue and reluctantly returned to his duties as a personal chef in a wealthy family, where his talent could not be appreciated. Well, he will have to find another way to get out of there. And eight months later, Ayers heard that Google was interviewing the chefs and testing their culinary skills. The company even posted on its website a corresponding ad:

NEED CHEF! GOOGLE STAFF EMERGENCY !!!

One of the most promising and fast-growing companies in Silicon Valley is looking for an experienced and progressive gourmet chef for complete control over the culinary process. Your duties will include the management of the dining room - from drawing up the menu to serving. Our chef should be creative and friendly, especially at the menu design stage. We have gathered here people with a refined taste and an irresistible tendency to epicureanism.

The only opportunity for a chef to get stock options!

By that time, Google had 45 professionals and had already moved to Mountain View. Before the intrigued Ayers went there, the company tested twenty-five candidates and rejected all of them. Ayers, who was still not satisfied with his place of work, was already mentally ready for the transition to Google. At least, Sergey and the staff of the company made an impression of people who were cheerful and friendly. Yes, and eat it, except for the nearby fast food McDonald's and Krispy Kreme, there was nowhere.

“First of all I asked to show me my future place of work. It was a small, outdated electric kitchen, ”Ayers recalls. - I said: "We need a good modern kitchen." And they answered: “Do not worry. You will have the best food you can buy for money. ”Sergey was determined to organize his own dining room. He wanted his employees to eat on the Googleplex, to increase labor productivity, so that people, coming to work, wondered what they would be offered for breakfast, and that for lunch. I hung out the menu not earlier than ten minutes before lunch. They wanted hamburgers, hot dogs, burritos - just like little kids.I told them: “I was hired here to cook dishes of a different kind - truly healthy, varied food from natural products.” When I first met the founders, Sergey talked a lot about saving the world and all sorts of ideals. I noticed that good nutrition fits in well with this concept. They all looked at food through the eyes of the consumer. I knew what I was saying, and I was morally ready to change the state of affairs, I adore taking a challenge. ”

Charlie Ayers, hired on November 17, 1999, became the fifty-sixth employee of Google. Like many other professionals who came to the company in the early years of its existence, he lost a bit of money compared to the previous place of work.At 33, he was older than other employees, whose average age was less than thirty.

The founders of the company dreamed of organizing free and healthy meals for the staff. The presence of a dining room was beneficial for several reasons at once: employees will not be too distant from their workplaces and will sit side by side with their colleagues; they will not develop bad eating habits, which may adversely affect productivity; they do not have to spend time hiking in McDonald's or Krispy Kreme; Finally, they will feel part of one big family.

Six months passed, several thousand portions were eaten, and Ayers were completely exhausted. He alone fed the Google employees and washed all the dishes. "I say:" You guys just kill me. " And they told me: “You, Charlie, cook only fifty people a day.” Then I told them: “Have you ever tried to cook for fifty people a day and then wash all the dishes?”

But the air here was saturated with a sense of something new and unusual, and Chief Charlie was pleased to realize that he was contributing to the development of the company. The motivation of the staff was very high. Everyone saw a common goal and were a single team. They were a working family, and he was their breadwinner. They appreciated him very much. At the table, Charlie played the role of a wise uncle, with whom Sergey, Larry and others loved to chat about this and that. He knew everyone by name. And when the company’s staff increased, Sergei kept his word: he allowed Charlie to get helpers. “I physically felt the energy emanating from the guys from Google,” recalls Charlie. - All of them were as focused as possible, everyone had one goal - to make this company successful. They all seemed to say: "Look what we did," and not "Look at me." It was absolutely teamwork. Once they came to me: “We are going to the wire-party this weekend. How are you? “I had no idea what it was, but I came to our data center in San Jose. Unexpectedly, I found myself pulling cables. We all worked very smoothly. ”

By the time Google moved to its permanent office in Mountain View (which happened in January 2004), in the Silicon Valley they had already heard that the company feeds its employees, young and mostly unmarried, for free and tasty.Breakfast was like breakfast, but when it came to dinner, Charlie preferred to keep everyone in the dark. In Silicon Valley, it was rumored that food on Google tasted better than in restaurants around. Whether you're a vegetarian, an Asian or Middle Eastern cuisine fan, or just a programmer who needs to fill his stomach with something to quickly return to his workplace and continue working on the program, Google will feed the best. No need to think about where you will have lunch, with whom and if you have not forgotten the money for lunch.

Every Monday, Google employees told Charlie that the restaurants they visited on weekends do not cook as tasty as he does. Charlie explained to them: “The whole difference is that I care about you guys. I cook with love. Others prepare only to receive your money. ”

Very soon, without dining at Charlie, as it was called, the Googleplex could not be imagined. Charlie’s influence on Google’s reputation has grown. A rumor spread around Silicon Valley that a former Grateful Dead chef prepares delicious meals for employees of the fastest-growing US IT company. Food, drinks and snacks were available not only in the dining room, but also at other points within the complex. People felt cared for. In response to a questionnaire about how much they liked the company, nine out of ten Google employees mentioned free food.

After learning how to appreciate the best programmers of the country, Charlie and his staff, Google executives decided to place a sample menu on the vacancy page.

ONE OF OUR DECORATED MENU ... UNEXTENDED!

Soups

Tomato soup with sweet potato, peppered and corn

Soup with cream, cauliflower and Parmesan cheese

Salads

Hot chicken salad, seasoned with spicy buttermilk, roasted pecans, corn, green onions and tomatoes

Tortellini Primavera Salad - tortellini mixed with zucchini, yellow pumpkin, tomatoes, sweet peas and seasoned with pesto

Green salad

Main dishes

Small New York grilled fillet seasoned with Creole spices and served with New Orleans meat sauce and crispy onion rings

Stew with tofu and mushrooms - cultivated and wild mushrooms, vegetables, leeks

In the list of ten arguments in favor of working for a company hosted on Google.com, this was also: “Finally, we have such a thing as a free lunch. We have lunch in our dining room every day. The food here is healthy, appetizing, cooked with care for us. ”

Charlie's authority was held not only at breakfast, lunch and dinner. On Fridays evenings, all the staff members were going to a TGIF party (Thanks God It's Friday - "Thank God, Friday!"), Where they were treated to beer, soda and snacks.Once a month TGIF was visiting, Charlie invited various groups and creative teams to it. On other Fridays, Larry, Sergey, or Erik talked about how things were going on Google, answered questions, and introduced new employees to the team. In order to raise the morale of newbies (and the others too), Charlie took a few surfboards, instructed carvers to knock out the Google logo on them and “loaded” their sushi, chocolate fondue and other goodies before the parties.

“Every day I had to create the illusion that they were not at work, but somewhere aboard a cruise liner or at a resort. I managed it with the help of various dishes, interior decoration, entertainment events and other things, says Charlie. - The air was literally electrified. Everyone was burning enthusiasm. As soon as a man crossed the threshold of our office, the ninth wave of all the colors of the rainbow fell on him: a bright hall, colorful walls, lava-lamps, adults who ride along the corridors on scooters. He looked around and silently asked: “Where have I got?” The atmosphere is largely “Stanford”. Creativity has always been encouraged. We have come up with many new things in the service sector. After two and a half years, we even got hold of an awning and put a mobile kitchen next to it, so that people could have dinner outside if they wanted to. In fact, we have expanded our dining room.

None of the young Google employees have ever encountered at work with this level of service and cooking art. I told them: "You also get paid for joining a new kitchen."

Soon, Google began to post funny facts about dishes served on the Googleplex on its website. Since the company's employees were from different countries of the world, Ayers constantly made changes to the menu. At the same time, it was necessarily attended by high-calorie, well digestible dishes. “We cooked Californian, classic Italian, French, African, my version of Asian and Indian cuisine,” he recalls. To find the right recipes, he often resorted to using the search engine Google.

“I helped them create the appropriate culture with food, barbecue and live music, and organized all the entertainment.”On the fourth anniversary of their work, “they” presented Charlie, who by then had become the company's chief chef, with a t-shirt saying: “It has been serving grateful Google employees since 1999.”

Charlie's Fried Chicken was the best dish Google ever tasted. The influence of the chef on the culture and image of the company was very great. Here is what he once wrote in a Google diary:

Long ago, long before joining Google, I worked in the kitchen of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel along with one worthy southerner named Robert Brown. It was rumored that Mr. Brown served as a cook for Elvis Presley himself. Mr. Brown chose not to talk about it, but he let us know that the king of rock and roll loved his fried chicken and cookies.

Mr. Brown had a luxurious head of hair that framed a swarthy face with a white cloud, which was decorated with a big bulging golden tooth and dark glasses with thick glasses - he had never taken them off, even in the kitchen. He was a born chef: he could not explain his actions, but he knew exactly when his dish was becoming not just “good”, but “GUUUUD”. He cooked the most delicious fried chicken I've ever tried.

One day I plucked up courage and asked him for a recipe, to which he replied: “Charlie, I usually don’t give anyone any recipes for my signature dishes, but you, I see, are a capable boy. And since none of my sons followed in my footsteps, I, so be it, will give it to you. ” The secret of his recipe was in long pre-marinating chicken in buttermilk and adding almost all the spices that he had on hand.

Whenever I cook a fried chicken, Robert Brown’s words come to my mind: “Charlie, you are cooking this chicken for people. You will find friends for the rest of your life. ” I hope I have already found. This recipe is based on the number of Google employees.

Fried Chicken, which he adored ELVIS

glasses of thyme; glasses of oregano; glasses of basil; glasses of onion powder; glasses of garlic powder; ½ cup of mustard powder; ½ cup of paprika;

½ chili powder;

½ cup celery seeds;

½ tablespoons of salt;

½ cup of coriander;

½ cup cumin;

½ cup kosher salt;

½ cup cayenne pepper;

½ cup of black ground pepper;

½ cup white ground pepper;

½ gallon (1 gallon = 3, 78 l) of buttermilk;

½ a pack of chickens (not broilers) or about 30 chickens, cut into separate portions of 1.5-2 pounds each.

Pour all the spices in a large bowl, add buttermilk and mix thoroughly. Pour this mixture over the chickens and place in the refrigerator where they will marinate for five days.

For frying

Take four times more spices, pour into a large bowl and add 2 pounds of cornstarch and 8 glasses of wheat flour.

Sprinkle the marinated chicken richly with this mixture in a large frying pan poured with peanut butter and fry at 190 ° C.When the chickens are covered with a golden brown crust, put them in the oven.

Shortly before his thirtieth birthday, both Larry and Sergey asked Charlie to make a menu and prepare dishes to celebrate their birthdays. It was a great honor for him. In addition, he already knew their culinary tastes. For Larry's birthday party, an event to which all Google employees were invited, he prepared simple dishes: big sandwiches and pizza, and for dessert - a big square cake with butter cream, decorated with a palette of colors from the Google logo. “Afterwards they said that the food was so-so, nothing special,” recalls Charlie. - I just cooked what he likes. These were not Quizno sandwiches or Domino pizza. It was something different, and therefore special. ”

Sergey celebrated his thirtieth birthday in a narrower circle, and everything that was on the table corresponded to his preferences. Charlie cooked sushi, various Indian, Mediterranean snacks and other such goodies. With an abundant meal with several main dishes, Sergei preferred light writing, which you can eat with your hands: it allowed you to fully communicate. "Once or two bitten off - and enough," says Charlie. - In the first place they put communication. Given the culinary diversity, Sergey's party was "somewhat brighter." The chef, as they say, took the soul. For dessert, they served chocolate-covered strawberries with Trap Marnier liqueur, truffle candies, croutons with apples and baklava. “They pulled off well. A magician and a snake-man performed at the party. Sergey received a lot of fun. "

Larry and Sergey recognized the significance of Charlie’s contribution to Google’s development, raising his salary and providing an opportunity to purchase an inexpensive package of shares when the company was still a closed joint-stock company. Meanwhile, the chef began to receive attractive offers to open their own restaurants. Investors promised him financial support. But Charlie did not want to leave Google: as a chef, he had not fully realized himself. He had no money to buy stocks, and he asked his father for a loan. Charlie knew almost everything about cooking (he loved to cook as a child), but he had never dealt with stocks and bonds. His father knew even less about them. “Somehow I sat down at a table with a programmer and a guy engaged in finance and marketing. All this was new to me. I asked a variety of questions. They told me: "You really should get a stock option." But my father had a different opinion: “All this is a scam. Do not give them your hard earned money. " Still, he lent me a small amount so that I could buy a small package. ”

Charlie said that the information spread by the media that he had worked for a long time as the chef of the Grateful Dead is an exaggeration. Nevertheless, the fact that he was directly related to the rock band had a special meaning and brought him closer to Larry Page. Charlie was a friend of the chef Grateful Dead, and one warm summer evening helped him greatly. “He liked the way I work, and he began to invite me. I did not receive money for this, I worked on reputation. ”According to Charlie, he was attracted infrequently - only when the band performed in San Francisco. But he got great pleasure from work. He experienced a similar feeling when he was still in ninth grade working in a restaurant in New Jersey. It was then that he fell in love with the profession and came to the conclusion that he would always have a job, because nutrition is a natural human need.

One evening, when Charlie was preparing dinner for Larry, his brother Karl and their uncles, he noticed that his uncle began to dance when the tune of the song Grateful Dead sounded in the kitchen. Charlie paid attention to this, but did not ask questions. Uncle Larry, seeing this, smiled and told him about how this music evokes his nephew.

“I just wanted to show you that when Larry hears this music, he thinks about his father,” said his uncle.

- Why? - Charlie asked.

“Didn't Larry tell you about this?” We took him to the Grateful Dead concerts when he was a kid.

“When he talks to you,” Karl added, “he involuntarily remembers his father.”

Hearing this and learning that Larry, along with his brother and mother, took part in a protest against the war in Iraq, Charlie changed his attitude towards the president of Google. “It helped me understand him. After that, I already saw in him not only a scientist. ”

A few months after the IPO, Charlie Ayers made a difficult decision for himself to leave Google. He was going to open a chain of restaurants in Northern California. When Google shares jumped in price, the value of its stock options increased significantly. Thanks to this, he and his wife were able to buy a house. Other Google employees bought new BMWs, Mercedes and Porsche, now in the car park, with money from the sale of stock options. After Google entered the stock exchange, maintaining the same growth rate, the company began to change. So, there are more employees who have never met Larry and Sergey and did not communicate with them one-on-one. Ayers also noticed a number of changes in the internal dynamics.

“Some department heads have begun to pay more attention to numbers. They require their managers to ensure proper results and adhere to a clear line, not to engage in independent activities, as was the case before the IPO, he says. “Even if the company receives huge revenues and its financial results exceed the forecasts of Wall Street, it is very important to manage it so that every cent counts.”

According to Charlie, Google, represented by Larry Page, during negotiations with suppliers, usually insisted on giving her a 35 percent discount. It was a very effective way to reduce costs. Some suppliers resisted at first, but later still accepted this condition, realizing that Google already had to spend a lot of money. The agreement with Google gave them the opportunity to cover their overhead costs, increase turnover and position themselves as a company cooperating with large companies.

Another reason for his leaving Google, according to Ayers, was the desire to devote more time to himself. Working hard and hard, he lost his form, turned gray and began to feel the need for a healthier lifestyle. He was not alone. “Many of those who left have worked here for a certain number of years or have got a family. Quite a few women who helped the company to become independent, wanted to become mothers. Someone left because of health problems. Having left Google, I first went on a diet and started playing sports.

But it already began to look like a chef, under whose leadership I once worked. Before old age, I am still far away, and it’s better that I take care of my health now. ”

In the fall of 2005, Charlie Ayers, one of the key figures of Google, notified Larry and Sergey of his intention to leave the company, writing a letter of resignation in two copies and attaching it to their monitors. “They took it very painfully,” he says. Paige highly appreciated Ayers' achievements: “Charlie, without any help having laid the foundations of food culture in Silicon Valley, created comfortable conditions for employees, brought happiness and well-being.”

Ayers himself believed that he was very lucky that he “landed” at the Googleplex just then, in November 1999, because he became part of a dynamically developing company and gained considerable profit from stock options. “This opportunity is extremely rare for people in my profession,” he remarked. “I was incredibly lucky, I really appreciate what I have.”

At one of the last Friday parties for Ayers, Eric Schmidt (Larry went to Africa on business) asked Charlie to go on stage. All Google employees had T-shirts that showed a man with a Charlie face and the figure of Elvis Presley. Robert Brown's words were prophetic: thanks to the fried chicken that Elvis adored, Charlie made many friends. He signed T-shirts for hours. “Sergey and Erik hugged me tightly, and then the guys started to step on the stage and hug me. Then they stood for a long time applauding, crying and taking pictures of me as a souvenir. The party was also attended by journalist Thomas Friedman and actor Robin Williams. When I came down from the stage, they asked for my autograph. And Eric said to Robin: "Charlie created a whole culture for us."

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