Google buys its start-up garage

October 2, 2006 | Matt Marshall | Comments |
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The start-up garage is a thing of legend in Silicon Valley.

Now, Google has bought the Silicon Valley home where co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin rented a garage eight years ago to start their company, the AP reports.

The Mountain View-based company bought the 1,900-square-foot home in nearby Menlo Park from one of its own employees, Susan Wojcicki, who’d let the Google guys work there.

During Google’s five-month history there, the garage became like a second home for Page and Brin.

The entrepreneurs, then just 25, seemed to be always working on their search engine or soaking in the hot tub that still sits on the property. They also had a penchant for raiding Wojcicki’s refrigerator – a habit that may have inspired Google to provide a smorgasbord of free food to the 8,000 employees on its payroll.

(Via Battelle)

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About the Author, Matt Marshall

Matt Marshall is editor and CEO of VentureBeat. Follow him on Twitter at @mmarshall, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • Hey Matt,

    That was a fun article to read. It is always cool to learn about how big companies started, especially Google. So, it was entertaining to learn that they started out of this house, and now have purchased it.

    What do you think they will do with the house? Also you mentioned that employees get free food! How does that work?
  • Free food. How does it work? Their theory is that giving free food is actually more practical and even financially rewarding because employees spend less time going into Palo Alto searching for good food, finding parking, etc, and because the good food they get keeps employees healthier and more productive.
  • Hong
    Shouldn't it be "going into Mountain View"?
  • Barb Slaton
    re "free food" at Google. I have dined there with my neice and it is as wonderful as you have heard. Lots of variety, healthy choices, ethnic and vegetarian options and just baked cookies...

    I was curious as it obviously costs a fortune to provide this service but on further analysis it is actually very cost effective for the company.

    1) Productivity is higher when people have a nutritious diet

    2) Productivity is higher when you do not have to leave the premises to dine

    3) The cost of the food and service are written off as business expenses

    4) The salaries can be a bit lower because it is such a good perk

    5) Makes working there all the more attractive to the uber bright folks with no desire to shop, prepare, cook etc.
  • Yeah, Mountain View might be closer, but point is that "cool" googlers might try to go all the way to Palo Alto for the variety...thus, wasting time.
  • Wow... how well thought out is that! Sounds like Google is a great place to have a career. I am curious, how does Google's employee satisfaction rate compare to say, eBay's?
  • I heard Susan Wojcicki speak on having Google in her garage earlier this year - she was a very entertaining storyteller, and I posted some of her anecdotes at http://www.christine.net/2006/05/susan_wojcicki....
  • Hi Matt,

    Thanks for flagging this nice warm and fuzzy story.

    Cheers,
    Kempton

    P.S. By the way, I ended up not clicking on the "AP reports" link you referenced and Googled for other trusted sources like San Jose Mercury News, BBC, and Bloomberg, etc.
  • Hello! Good Site! Thanks you! lcivowseoat
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