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In 1997, Excite, one of the biggest websites of the time, rejected buying Google for €1.5 million, fearing that its technology was “too good” and would hurt its profits. Today, Excite is forgotten, while Google is worth trillions and dominates the world.
In 1997, a company called Excite, which was one of the stars of the internet at the time, had the opportunity to buy Google (still called BackRub) for just €1.5 million. The offer seemed like a bargain but was turned down. Today, no one remembers Excite, while Google dominates the global scene.
Internet in 1997
In the 90s, the internet was an expanding territory. Companies like Yahoo!, AltaVista, and Excite were competing for search dominance, something that today seems almost unimaginable. Excite was the sixth most visited site in the world, with a solid user base and a recognized brand.
On the other hand, Google, or rather BackRub, was just a revolutionary idea from young Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They believed that their search algorithm could transform the way people found information online, but they needed resources to move forward.
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Larry Page and the Irresistible Offer
Larry Page and Sergey Brin took their idea to Excite, offering to sell Google for €1.5 million. The deal included replacing Excite’s search technology with Google’s innovative algorithm. In today’s terms, it would be like finding a gold nugget by chance and letting it slip away.
The proposal was clear: €550,000 in cash, €650,000 in Excite stock, and €300,000 allocated to Stanford University. But there was a crucial detail: Google would become Excite’s new search engine.
The Decision That Changed Everything
George Bell, the CEO of Excite, found the offer too risky. The main reason? Google’s technology was “too good.” It sounds contradictory, right? But the portal believed that by making searches more efficient, the time users spent on the site would decrease, which would reduce advertising revenues.
It was a misplaced calculation. Bell rejected the purchase and moved on. This decision ended up being the beginning of the end for Excite.
The Decline of Excite
In the following years, Excite was overtaken by competitors like Google and Yahoo!. In 2001, after a series of poor decisions and market changes, Excite was acquired by Ask.com, completely losing its relevance.
Today, Excite exists as a shadow of its former self. It is part of the IAC conglomerate but has no significant influence in the market.
What If History Had Been Different?
Imagine what the world would be like if Excite had said “yes” to Larry Page’s proposal. Perhaps Google would be just another tool within the portal, without the global reach it has today. The history of technology as we know it would be completely different.
But the irony is cruel: Excite had everything in its hands and let slip the chance to be the biggest company in the world. Meanwhile, Google moved on, became synonymous with the internet, and rewrote the rules of the game.
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