“I believe that Yahoo! is too often defined by the competitive landscape, rather than by what we can accomplish with our assets,” says Yang. “I’m determined for us to define our own path.”
Yahoo! is a major player in an industry with some of the most major players in the world. But Yang has striven to make a name for himself not based on how he does in comparison to the rest. Yang always wanted Yahoo! to succeed on its own merits rather than relative to others.
Step number one towards making that happen was by bringing on board the appropriate management team and partners. “The more I look back, the more I realize how fortunate we were to find the right partners, the right management,” says Yang. “It seemed natural and intuitive then. Now I realize what key parts of our business they are.”
The Stanford connection played a large part in developing Yahoo!’s strategy and brand early on. In addition to Yang and Filo being graduates, so too was Tim Koogle, Yahoo!’s former CEO, and Tim Brady, a VP of production. But, there was more to it than that.
“Stanford had a huge part in shaping us,” says Yang. “We saw Jim Clark (co-founder and chairman of Netscape) coming to school. Bill Gates came and built his building next to our trailer. The venture capital is there. If you are interested in starting a business, you’ll find other people talking about launching companies.”
Yang and Filo have always been of the belief that the team behind a company is more important than any one individual, even themselves. “Do not be surprised if you don’t see a lot of me in the press in the near future as we keep our heads down working through the challenges and opportunities at hand,” Yang once said. “I’m sure not everyone will agree with that approach, but it feels right to me. I’m a big believer in doing versus talking. We’re focused on making changes from the inside out and we’ll get out there when the time is right.”
Yahoo! has no technological advantage over its competitors per se. As a result, Yang and Filo knew that in order to stay ahead of their competitors, it would have to rely on its own people. “Technology is an important component of what we do,” says Yang, “but our real competitive advantage is to apply technology to become the best web-based communication, content, and commerce service.” In the end, that task would come down to the brains behind the company.
Yang and Filo always kept a close eye on their competitor’s moves, but they kept an even closer eye on their own team. They were always on the hunt for bright minds that could help take Yahoo! to the next level. By focusing on strengthening the company’s own structure before looking to the outside world, the Stanford duo was able to build up its significant industry presence.
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