Drew Houston
Co-founder and CEO of Dropbox
Where to hear and read about Drew Houston1 episode or test
Drew Houston is co-founder and CEO of Dropbox, which he took from a viral launch through years of being squeezed by Apple, Google and Microsoft to a reboot around a new mission. The lesson most worth taking is to go all in on one market and keep your own growth ahead of the company's, because most of the damage was self-inflicted.
some painful hours can save painful years.
Behind the founder: Drew Houston (Dropbox)
Drew Houston: the story and the lessons
1How Drew Houston got Dropbox noticed and growing
Houston used a plain Hacker News demo to get Paul Graham's attention. He reasoned Graham just refreshes Hacker News, so he posted a screencast of Dropbox, which stayed on top for two days. Graham replied that he needed a co-founder, with a Y Combinator deadline a week or two away, and Houston found Arash.
The idea came from the book Guerrilla Marketing, about marketing with no money. His first company was online SAT prep, and he saw Y Combinator as a lot like college admissions.
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Behind the founder: Drew Houston (Dropbox)
Drew Houston walks through Dropbox's three eras: viral hypergrowth, a period of being squeezed by Apple, Google and Microsoft, and a reboot around a new mission and product. He explains the strategic and personal lessons, including how he went all-in on one market, fixed his own blind spots, and kept his learning curve ahead of the company's.
Houston used a plain Hacker News demo to get Paul Graham's attention. He reasoned Graham just refreshes Hacker News, so he posted a screencast of Dropbox, which stayed on top for two days. Graham replied that he needed a co-founder, with a Y Combinator deadline a week or two away, and Houston found Arash.
The idea came from the book Guerrilla Marketing, about marketing with no money. His first company was online SAT prep, and he saw Y Combinator as a lot like college admissions.