A Hustler Never Sleeps: PayPal Mafia's Steve Chen - Novo ...

This brings us to Steve Chen, who is one of the three original founders of YouTube. With a current net worth of $300 million, Steve Chen has become one of ... AHustlerNeverSleeps:PayPalMafia’sSteveChenThisishowastartupfundedoncreditcarddebtsoldtoGoogleintwentymonths. byWillHarlow Hustle&MotivationAugust20|3min WhenYouTubewentlivein2005,itsfoundersputadsonCraigslistinL.A.andLasVegas,offeringwomen$20touploadcontenttotheirplatform.Itisalittle-knownfactthat,inthebeginning,YouTubewasadatingsite.ItwasevenlaunchedonValentine’sDaybythreelonelytechies.Noonewouldeveranswerthoseads,butthatdidn’tmatter.YouTubewouldgoontobecomeoneofthemostwidely-usedsitesintheworldandchangethewaypeopleinteractwiththeinternetforever.Thisculture-shiftingplatformwouldeventuallybeacquiredbyGoogleforawhopping$1.65billion.ThisbringsustoSteveChen,whoisoneofthethreeoriginalfoundersofYouTube.Withacurrentnetworthof$300million,SteveChenhasbecomeoneofSiliconValley’slegendaryhustlers,GQ’s“ManoftheYear,”andFortune’s“MostPowerfulPeopleinBusiness.” Thewilltowin OriginallyfromTaiwan,SteveChenimmigratedtoIllinoisasanadolescentafterhisfatherwasofferedajobinthestates.Hewasanavidlearnerandprovedtobeabrightstudent,studyingcomputerscienceattheUniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign.Hiscompetitivespiritandskillsasahardcorecodercaughttheattentionofthelegendarytechcompany,PayPal.Herealized,“ifIdidn’tventureoutonmyownnow,Iwouldn’thavethisopportunitylateroninlife.” Twoisbetterthanone Chen’sbigbreakcamein1999,whenheventuredtoCaliforniatomakeanameforhimselfatPayPal.There,heworkedalongsidebignameslikeElonMusk,PeterThiel,andMaxLevchin.Moreimportantly,hemetJawedKarimandChadHurley,withwhomhewouldgoontostartYouTube. ThreedudesonValentine’sDay InthebeginningstagesofYouTube,thestrugglewasreal.Theydidn’thaveoffices—theyworkedoutoftheirhomes.Whentheydidmoveintooffices,theywereinfestedwithratsthesizeofcats!TheyrackeduphugebandwidthbillsfundedonanarrayofChen’screditcards.Then,oneofthefounders,JawedKarim,leftYouTubetostudyatStanford.Thereweremishaps,butnothingcouldstopthehustle.ChenexploredhisPayPalnetworkandsecuredfunding.Theyweren’tgoingtoletYouTubego—theyknewtheywereontosomething. Denny’s+viralvideo=aBILLIONdollardeal ChenwassurprisedwhencompanieslikeNikeuploadedanadvertisementfeaturingCristianoRonaldoorwhenSNLuploadedskitswithAndySandbergthatwouldgoviralontheplatform.YouTubequicklybecameoneofthemostusedwebpagesandcaughttheattentionoftwotechgiants:Yahoo&Google.ChensetupmeetingsinRedwood,CaliforniawithbothcorporationsatalocalDenny’s.Afteracouplemeetingsandsignatures,ChensoldYouTubefor$1.65billion,justtwentymonthsafteritsinception,beforeChenhadeventurned30. AfterYouTube Chenisstillouttherehustling.HecurrentlyworkswithGoogleVentures,asubsidiaryofGooglethatprovidesfundingtotechstartups.Evenafterreceiving$326millioninGooglestock,hestillhadhishandsindifferentprojects.AfterYouTube,ChenlaunchedtheStartUpAVOSSystemsandthenavideo-editingapplicationcalledMixBitwithChadHurley. Chen’sphilosophy=productbeforeanythingelse Howmanypeoplecansaythattheyfoundedabilliondollarcompanybeforeturning30?HowwasChensosuccessfulatsuchayoungage?Theansweristhathebelievedinhisproduct.DuringhiscelebrationvideoaftertheGoogleacquisition,Chensays,“themostcompellingpartofthisisbeingabletoreallyconcentrateonfeaturesandfunctionalityforthecommunity.” Themoneywasanafterthoughtforhim.Hewasallabouthisproductandmakingitgreat.Hemadehisproductsowellthatnoonecouldresistit.HehadagenuineloveandinterestforthecommunityofYouTubecreatorsandwantedtogivethemthebesthecould.Thiswaswhyhehasthesuccesshehastoday.Thisishowhesoldhisideaforoverabilliondollars.Thisiswhyheisahustler. RelatedPosts Top8TipsToStayProductiveWhileWorkingFromHome Hustle&Motivation November02|6min HowtoPrioritizeYourWorkload Hustle&Motivation October06| 4WaysSmallBusinessOwnersCanBringTheirIdeatoExecution Hustle&Motivation December24|5min WhySmallBusinessOwnersShouldPracticeSelfCare Hustle&Motivation November08|9Minutes AllTopics Starting–Strategy Starting–Operating Running Growing Hello,! You'rejoiningotherbusinesseswhowantbetterbanking. Asfoundersandbusinessownersourselves,weknowthatyourbusinessisatoppriority.Duringthepastmonths,welaunched,we'vebeenimprovingandmakingsurewe’reprovidingthebestbankingserviceforfounderslikeyou. ThankyouforyourinterestinNovo!We’llbehustlingtogiveyouaccessverysoon. KeepaneyeoutforanemailfromNovo. x