20 Quotes from Google Co-founder, Sergey Brin that Will Help You Think Like a Visionary

Google. A word that is now common day jargon (and daily educator) in our everyday lives was at one time an unknown search engine that only a few would recognize. Behind the powerhouse that is Google, lies an innovator, inventor, entrepreneur, and visionary. That person is co-creator, Sergey Brin. A mathematician and computer scientist, Brin’s vision of taking Google to the next level is what stopped him in his track of finishing his PhD and has made him one of the richest people in the world. 

Brin, along with co-creator Larry Page, gave up a path of certainty to take on a business startup that could have ended in disaster. That’s what entrepreneurship is about, and that is why we are looking at the top 20 quotes from Sergey Brin that encompasses so many aspects of being an entrepreneur and businessman.

Early Life

Sergey Brin was born in Moscow, Russia (the Soviet Union at the time) and was the son of two prodigal parents. However, their start in life wasn’t easy, as their ability to get a visa took a few years to finally obtain. Throughout that time, they took on various jobs that weren’t steady or secure. Finally, in 1979 the Brin family emigrated to the United States after approval went through for their visas. Sergey’s dad, Mikhail, became a professor of mathematics at the University of Maryland while his mother had a research job with NASA. It was through his father’s guidance and advice, that persuaded Sergey to pursue mathematics as a major and eventual career profession.

Post-graduate and meeting his ‘soulmate,’ Larry Page

After graduating at the age of 19 from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in both computer science and mathematics, Brin went on to pursue his graduate studies at Stanford University on a graduate fellowship.

It was early on in their PhD graduate studies that Brin met Larry Page while at Stanford. Their first meeting of the minds didn’t really set the tone for what the future held for these two bright individuals. Once acquainted with each other and their skillsets, their friendship blossomed into an ‘intellectual kindship,’ and the two began working on the humble beginnings of what we now know as Google.

At the time, Brin and Page came up with the idea of utilizing an algorithm  to calculate the best search results or page rankings on the web, based on the backlinks on the website or web pages. In utilizing their dorm rooms as Google’s first ‘office’ the two officially launched their first search engine prototype in 1996 to the StanfordUniversity students. After recognizing its growing popularity among the Stanford University student body with over 10,000 searches a day, the two realized that they were really onto something amazing.

The search engine was originally titled, “BackRub,” but over time the name was eventually changed to Google, which is a mathematical term that was accidentally spelled wrong. A deeper meaning to the word and equation also signified the infinite of information that can be provided by searching the web. This was the inevitable goal of what Google was trying to do, except picking the best pages based on their use of backlinks, information, and rankings.

Google officially incorporated in 1998 and by June of 1999, had received funding of nearly $25 million dollars and has only grown to the powerhouse that we know it as today.

In the present day

Google is currently the most visited website in the world and offers a plethora of popular services all across the board. From Google docs, sheets and hangouts, to streaming services such as YouTube and the website browser, Google Chrome, this company hasn’t stopped evolving in influential ways.

Brin, along with Page, has been named one of the most powerful people in the world, and as of 2018, Brin has an estimated net worth of over 50 billion. His passion, innovation, and dedication to take on an unheard feat are why we have Google and all its counterparts. We can’t imagine a life without it, and all because some took the chance on it.

Here are some of Brin’s most famous and valuable quotes on all aspects of business, entrepreneurship and personal endeavors.

1. I had no dreams of such economic success. You should have fun and not be so weighed down by expectations.
2. We just want to have great people working for us.
3. We do lots of stuff. The only way you are going to have success is to have lots of failures first.
4. I feel there’s an existential angst among young people. I didn’t have that. They see enormous mountains, where I only saw one little hill to climb.
5. We wouldn’t survive if people didn’t trust us.
6. The kind of environment that we developed Google in, the reason that we were able to develop a search engine, is the web was so open. Once you get too many rules, that will stifle innovation.
7. We do lots of stuff. The only way you are going to have success is to have lots of failures first.
8. Any conversation I have about innovation starts with the ultimate goal.
9. It’s not enough not to be evil. We also actively try to be good.
10. If what we are doing is not seen by some people as science fiction, it’s probably not transformative enough.
11. We are currently not planning on conquering the world.
12. Before Google, I don’t think people put much effort into the ordering of results. You might get a couple thousand results for a query. We saw that a thousand results weren’t necessarily as useful as 10 good ones.
13. I am sometimes something of a lazy person, so when I end up spending a lot of time using something myself – as I did with Google in the earliest of days, I knew it was a big deal
14. It’s a romantic notion that you’re going to have one brilliant idea and then everything is going to be great… but the execution and delivery are what’s key.
15. We came up with the notion that not all web pages are created equal. People are – but not web pages.
16. The name was supposed to be ‘Googol,’ which is the mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeroes. It was before the Google spellchecker existed.
17. Google actually relies on our users to help with our marketing. We have a very high percentage of our users who often tell others about our search engine.
18. Solving big problems is easier than solving little problems.
19. I’d like to get to a state where people think that if you’ve Googled something, you’ve researched it, and otherwise haven’t, and that’s it.
20. You can make money without doing evil.

Photo credit: Steve Jurventson under CC

Summer Anderson

Staff Writer: Summer Anderson is a mother, wife, writer and long time lover of the game of golf. Her passion lies in writing from the heart, and on topics that are most important to the Millennial generation. She hopes to impact those through her writing and advice on marketing and social media communication. When she is not on the golf course, blogging or watching "Frozen" with her little ones, she can be found designing websites in her home state of Pennsylvania.