Episode
Paul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
1:26:52
Published: Sat Mar 11 2023
Description
In the premiere episode, Jessica & Carolynn sit down with Paul Buchheit. Paul created Gmail in 2004 while he was employee #23 at Google. They do a deep dive into the history of Gmail, including the fact that it might never have launched if it weren’t for a leak to the New York Times. After Google, PB went on to found a startup called FriendFeed, which was a social media aggregator, and where the first “like” button was created. It was acquired by Facebook in 2009. After that, he joined Y Combinator as a partner and also became one of the most successful angel investors in Silicon Valley.
Chapters
Founder of Gmail, Paul Buchheit, joins the podcast to discuss the creation and history of the popular email service, including how it may never have launched without a leak to The New York Times.
00:00 - 02:04 (02:04)
Summary
Founder of Gmail, Paul Buchheit, joins the podcast to discuss the creation and history of the popular email service, including how it may never have launched without a leak to The New York Times.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
The speaker talks about their lifelong passion for building and repairing things, including a fond childhood memory with a bench vise, and how they received funding for school.
02:04 - 05:50 (03:45)
Summary
The speaker talks about their lifelong passion for building and repairing things, including a fond childhood memory with a bench vise, and how they received funding for school.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
The speaker recounts their experience selling items door-to-door at a young age, despite their mother's disapproval of such pursuits due to elitism.
05:50 - 09:39 (03:48)
Summary
The speaker recounts their experience selling items door-to-door at a young age, despite their mother's disapproval of such pursuits due to elitism.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
The university implemented fiber optic technology on every room on campus, including classrooms, dorm rooms, and fraternity houses in the early 90s.
09:39 - 16:59 (07:19)
Summary
The university implemented fiber optic technology on every room on campus, including classrooms, dorm rooms, and fraternity houses in the early 90s. The founder of the project enjoyed finding good deals and liked repairing old equipment.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
The speaker applied for jobs at around 10 startups, and treated it like a series of three internships in a row.
16:59 - 20:40 (03:41)
Summary
The speaker applied for jobs at around 10 startups, and treated it like a series of three internships in a row.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
The importance of the quality of interview questions is emphasized as a key factor in recruiting top talent at companies like Google.
20:40 - 23:18 (02:37)
Summary
The importance of the quality of interview questions is emphasized as a key factor in recruiting top talent at companies like Google.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
The journey to successful ads for Google was long and iterative, requiring multiple attempts before finding a winning formula.
23:18 - 28:31 (05:13)
Summary
The journey to successful ads for Google was long and iterative, requiring multiple attempts before finding a winning formula. The resulting success of the company made many people wealthy in contrast to smaller successes that typically benefit only a few individuals.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
In an interview, a former Google employee discusses the development of the "Did You Mean" feature on Google's search engine and how it surpasses all other spell correctors in the world.
28:31 - 31:30 (02:58)
Summary
In an interview, a former Google employee discusses the development of the "Did You Mean" feature on Google's search engine and how it surpasses all other spell correctors in the world.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
The speaker shares how to work on a product by using a technique that involves creating a product that people will tolerate, but that some will actually like.
31:30 - 40:24 (08:54)
Summary
The speaker shares how to work on a product by using a technique that involves creating a product that people will tolerate, but that some will actually like. The speaker also discusses how this technique helps discover feature requests and improvements for the product.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
In this podcast, the guest speaker shares some fun historical facts about how Gmail affected Internet Explorer 6 and how JavaScript was perceived in its early days.
40:24 - 44:10 (03:45)
Summary
In this podcast, the guest speaker shares some fun historical facts about how Gmail affected Internet Explorer 6 and how JavaScript was perceived in its early days.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
The early days of Gmail were marked by the storage of every email multiple times and outdated machines that could only accommodate 10,000 users at launch, leading to system inefficiencies that had to be retroactively fixed.
44:10 - 48:52 (04:41)
Summary
The early days of Gmail were marked by the storage of every email multiple times and outdated machines that could only accommodate 10,000 users at launch, leading to system inefficiencies that had to be retroactively fixed.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
On this episode, the co-creator of Gmail, Paul Buchheit talks about how he created Google's email service, the challenges faced, and how it changed email communication.
48:52 - 52:58 (04:05)
Summary
On this episode, the co-creator of Gmail, Paul Buchheit talks about how he created Google's email service, the challenges faced, and how it changed email communication.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
The speaker shares how they came up with the idea of creating an open program that teaches and connects people to start a business, regardless of their background.
52:58 - 1:01:01 (08:02)
Summary
The speaker shares how they came up with the idea of creating an open program that teaches and connects people to start a business, regardless of their background. They also discuss the challenge of finding great people and their personal experience of spending a summer in the hospital.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
The Facebook Awesome Button was rediscovered after the launch of the Like Button and almost became a thing, but ultimately didn't due to potential negative consequences.
1:01:01 - 1:08:00 (06:59)
Summary
The Facebook Awesome Button was rediscovered after the launch of the Like Button and almost became a thing, but ultimately didn't due to potential negative consequences.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
The odds of closing a deal decrease with time if it is not closed immediately.
1:08:00 - 1:12:38 (04:37)
Summary
The odds of closing a deal decrease with time if it is not closed immediately. It is difficult to find a lawyer to handle a deal when it involves big companies like Facebook, but it is important to find someone experienced for the success of the sale.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
In this episode, the speaker discusses their introspection after their brother's death and their decision to interview various engineers to understand the past of a company.
1:12:38 - 1:16:00 (03:22)
Summary
In this episode, the speaker discusses their introspection after their brother's death and their decision to interview various engineers to understand the past of a company.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
The speaker considered leaving Facebook at one point and had an idea for Facebook to acquire Reddit.
1:16:00 - 1:18:58 (02:57)
Summary
The speaker considered leaving Facebook at one point and had an idea for Facebook to acquire Reddit. However, the idea was dismissed due to the intentions not aligning with the purpose of the acquisition.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
A YC partner reflects on his investing failures, including investing in companies with founders he knows are not great but wanting to believe in them, and investing in ideas that no one actually wants in reality.
1:18:58 - 1:23:13 (04:15)
Summary
A YC partner reflects on his investing failures, including investing in companies with founders he knows are not great but wanting to believe in them, and investing in ideas that no one actually wants in reality.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
A parent talks about the satisfaction of spending time with their children by walking them to school every day, and the importance of job fulfillment.
1:23:13 - 1:26:20 (03:06)
Summary
A parent talks about the satisfaction of spending time with their children by walking them to school every day, and the importance of job fulfillment. They also mention a funny incident where the high school strictly prohibited DoorDash deliveries to school.
EpisodePaul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail
PodcastThe Social Radars
The host enjoyed catching up with the experienced guest who has had so many interesting things happen.
1:26:20 - 1:27:08 (00:48)
Summary
The host enjoyed catching up with the experienced guest who has had so many interesting things happen.