“I think that it's always possible to have a great company if you have great ideas,” says Yang. “I will say that since the web has become more commercialized, it also takes some good financial resources to build a great business, but as I always say, you have to have the idea first.”
Yang and Filo found their idea while students at Stanford University. With little more than their own creativity and hard work, the pair managed to secure funding, launch their business, and become the poster boys of a burgeoning industry. How did they do it?
Expansion: “The time is now,” says Yang. “The Internet is still young, the opportunities ahead are tremendous, and I’m ready to rally our nearly 12,000 Yahoos around the world to help seize them.” From day one, Yang and Filo have implemented a flexible strategy of growth and expansion. By seizing new opportunities and planning ahead, the duo restricted their thinking to the long-term.
Goals: “While our business continues to grow, we need to dramatically improve our performance and I intend to put us back on a winning path,” says Yang. “There’s a lot of heavy lifting ahead, but I’m feeling good about our awesome assets, our initial progress against our challenges, and our vast opportunities if we nail down and execute against the right plan.” By assessing the company’s past and laying out clear goals for the future, Yang and Filo made sure they were ready for what was to come.
Focus: Yang and Filo are two of the first people to reflect on and be grateful for the success they have achieved thus far. Yang says, “A lot of the credit goes to the smart and great people that have since joined Yahoo!, because they took it upon themselves to make Yahoo! great.” It was in part by focusing on the team – the people working to take the company to the top – that they were able to get there in the first place.
Branding: These days, it seems as if whacky names are the norm when it comes to Internet companies. But when Yahoo! was launched, it was the first of its kind. With a name that conveyed the company’s sense of youth and creativity, Yang and Filo worked to extend that image into a branding behemoth.
Culture: “I feel pretty lucky,” says Filo. “I mean I work all day and sometimes all night, but I like the people I work with and I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing.” Yang and Filo are living their dream jobs, and they want the rest of their team to feel that way too. From creating a casual environment to providing endless on-the-job perks, the two sought to give their workers a true home away from home.
“I have absolute conviction about Yahoo!’s potential for long-term success as an Internet leader,” says Yang. “Yahoo! is a company that started with a vision and a dream and, make no mistake, that dream is very much alive. I’m committed to doing whatever it takes to transform Yahoo! into an even greater success in the future.”
Like this article? Share it with your friends
|
|
David Filo Jerry Yang Newsletter
Get our free newsletter to learn more about David Filo Jerry Yang and other famous entrepreneurs!
|
|
|
