The guys in the picture above are Steve Chen and Chad Hurley, who have just been inducted into the millionaires’ hall-of-fame, pursuant to their business YouTube being purchased by Google for (hold your breath) $1.65 billion. Wow! For a company that was started after a party, it sure has generated a lot of moolah for a great idea, and is definitely worth it IF YouTube is the future of TV.
Here’s what some really smart people have to say about all this hoopla!
1. Doc Searls: What would YouTube have been worth to Google if the user-generated stuff wasn’t there? (via James Robertson)
2. Brian White: Will Google act like Apple regarding YouTube copyright issues?
3. Washington Post: Here’s what the owners think?
4. Boston Globe: Is this the future of media?
5. Poynter Online: So Google IS really Evil?
Personally, I am not surprised by the acquisition but rather by the cost of acquisition ($1.65 billion!). To put things in perspective, the world’s highest earning celebrity last year was Spielberg who made only $343 million.
The Third Wheel?: Jawed Karim (co-founder YouTube)
Pic Source: New York Times (article)
For a company founded a year and a half ago, staffed by 67 employees, here’s the $$$ breakdown: Sequoia Capital with 30% stake gets around $480 million while founders Steve, Chad and Jawed get anywhere between $100 – $200 million each. Welcome to Silicon Valley’s Hall-of-Fame!
So is this the beginning of a new bubble or is bubble 2.0 ready to burst?
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