That the button doesn't say Do you feel lucky? (too Clint Eastwood) or You wanna get lucky? (too seedy) also says something about the duo who met and perfected their invention as Stanford grad students. They chose optimistic, feel-good language — vague and disarming at first blush, but when the trick works, its as if those two kids in the den have just pulled off Houdinis escape from a water torture cell.
Now for their next trick: taking on Wall Street pros at their own game and, improbably, coming out on top. Although much media coverage of Googles Initial Public Offering portrayed it as a debacle, it was anything but. Brin and Page defied conventional wisdom by launching an IPO that marginalized middlemen and flustered investment bankers. The end result of its Dutch-auction: the company raised $1.67 billion in cash and millions for its individual employees. But it wasnt without some turbulence. Brin and Page ran afoul of the SEC, reduced the number of shares sold and slashed the offerings price-range — to mention just a few of the final hour antics. At one point, given what seemed like sour demand, some speculated that Google might even call the whole thing off.
Many would-be investors also griped that they had too little information to make a buying decision. Brin and Page offered precious few details as to how the cash injection would be invested or how the company would fend off rivals like Yahoo! Instead, the founders simply asked prospective buyers to trust us. In a post-Enron world, could someone really make trust a central investment criterion?
The answer turned out to be a resounding YES. The stock, which many had written off as dog by Wednesday afternoon, soared about 18 percent above its $85 original price by the end of the first day of trading Thursday evening. Driven mostly by small investors, the share price seemed like a great deal to scores of traders who see no limits to Googles growth.
And why not? Brin and Page appear to be a good bet. Theyd somehow managed to grow an internet juggernaut in plain sight while the rest of the dotcommers were selling off their Aeron chairs on eBay. Most of us were astonished to learn just how big and profitable the company had become when it unveiled its numbers last fall. Who knew that those proliferating sponsored links could be a billion-dollar business, with fat margins to boot?
For now, brave investors need only to take a deep breath and assume that the future is still bright for Google. Brin and Page won't offer much in the way of assurances because they haven't a clue about what the future holds. That might not be what Wall Street wants to hear, but the founders dont seem to care. Theyd rather mint money by trusting their gut. So far, so good: theyve made billions, retained control of their company, and kept the investment bankers at bay. If it seemed impossible, thats because, well, it pretty much is (so you folks at home dont be thinking about trying it). But for Brin and Page its all in a days work.
So heres the question: Have they just been getting insanely lucky all this time or is it all by ingenious design? Its probably some strange combination of both, but well never know for sure. After all, a good magician would never give away the secret behind the illusion.