Chad Hurley Steve Chen Articles

The Youngsters Behind YouTube: The Early Years of Chad Hurley and Steve Chen - Click To Read Article
“Everybody aspires to be a star,” says Steve Chen, a Taiwanese immigrant who came to the U.S. with his family in the hopes for a better life. Chen’s aspirations became a reality when he, along with Pennsylvania-born Chad Hurley created what is today the world’s largest online video website. YouTube, having been launched no more than two years ago has now become a global sensation, propelling both Hurley and Chen to the top of Business 2.0’s list of “The 50 People Who Matter Now.” YouTube was also named TIME magazine’s 2006 “Invention of the Year.” When Hurley and Chen decided to sell their company, they did so for a hefty price tag of $1.65 billion.

The Virtual Explosion: YouTube’s Success Soars Off the Charts - Click To Read Article
After that fateful dinner party, where Hurley and Chen wanted to create a simpler way to share their videos of the night, they immediately went to work creating the answer. “In February, we started developing the product,” says Hurley. “In May, we had our first public preview. And in December, we officially launched YouTube. By that time we were serving over three million videos a day.”

Lesson #1: Create a Better User Experience - Click To Read Article
“When we started this company a few years ago, we never expected to be here,” says Hurley. “It’s interesting how this simple idea, improving our own video experience online, turned into this.”

Lesson #2: Give Them Something They Cannot Get Anywhere Else - Click To Read Article
Have you ever wanted to see a specific re-run of “I Love Lucy” or “Gumby” that you have not seen since you were a teenager? Do you want to get your hands on the very first music video Michael Jackson ever filmed? Perhaps you want to watch the entire KISS movie “Phantom of the Park?” Whatever your interests, YouTube has the videos to match.

Lesson #3: Viral Marketing Could Be Vital For Your Business - Click To Read Article
YouTube did not just grow to become the virtual monster that it is today simply because it made it easier for people to upload and watch videos, although it did that too. Instead, it was a carefully planned strategy on the parts of Hurley and Chen to engage in a campaign of viral marketing that helped take YouTube to the where it is today.

Lesson #4: Timing is Everything to the Entrepreneur - Click To Read Article
YouTube was not just about watching and sharing videos online. What made YouTube so successful was Hurley and Chen’s ability to take advantage of the changing environmental factors in which they found themselves. They understood that timing was everything, and that if they did not take advantage of the changing times, somebody else would.

Lesson #5: Focus On Your Users Not Your Revenues - Click To Read Article
“If we wanted to, we could instantly turn this into $10 million in revenue per month by running pre-rolls [short video ads] on the videos,” says Chen. “But at the same time, we’re going to make sure that whatever revenue model we’ve built is going to be something that’s accepted by the users.”

The Dynamic Digital Duo: How Hurley and Chen Manufactured Success - Click To Read Article
“We’re not in a hurry,” Hurley once said. “We’re interested in building our community. We’re trying to improve discovery. We’re trying to improve the experience for people on our site.” They might not have been in a hurry, but their site sure grew in one. Today, YouTube has almost half of the online video market, and is still growing. How did a university dropout and a boy who loved to draw become the industry leaders they are considered now?

Chad Hurley and Steve Chen Quotes - Click To Read Article
Chad Hurley and Steve Chen Quotes


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