In April 2012, Facebook acquired Instagram for a then-unprecedented $1billion. At the time of the acquisition, Instagram was growing fast, but it had only 25 million registered users — minuscule compared to Facebook's hundreds of million users. To top it off, Instagram was not bringing in any revenue; it was being run by 13 employees and was only two years old.
Before Facebook closed the deal, even Twitter tried its hand at courting Instagram. But Instagram's founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, decided to go ahead with Facebook because other than the massive sum of money, Mark Zukurberg dangled the carrot of independence.
If...
McDonald's is ubiquitous. No matter which country or major city you go to, you are bound to find a McDonald's outlet. As of 2020, the company was operating 40,031 outlets worldwide and held the title of 'The World's Largest Restaurant Company'. But what if, I told you, McDonald's is a real estate empire hiding under the guise of a fast-food chain?
In its 2021 Financial Report, the company reported 41.9 billion dollars worth of assets in property & equipment before accounting for depreciation, making it the 6th largest public real estate company in the world even if we were to deduct the...
In the early days of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman did something he advises all startup founders to do; he went around and discussed the idea of LinkedIn with all the smart people in his network. But when he shared the idea of LinkedIn in his network, 2/3 or more thought Reid was nuts.
And to be clear, Reid’s network included some of the most influential people in Silicon Valley at the time because before starting LinkedIn; Reid was the executive vice president of Paypal, meaning he was a member of what is popularly known as the Paypal mafia.
Most of Reid’s smart friends...
In November 2006, almost two years after its founding in February 2005, Google acquired YouTube for a then-hefty price of $1.65 billion.
In the 2021 annual report, Google reported that YouTube generated $28.8 billion from advertisements alone in 2021 (Youtube generates revenue through other income streams as well, which we will discuss below), contributing 11.19% to Google’s total 2021 revenue.
Youtube has, undoubtedly, been one of the most remarkable acquisitions in the history of tech. It is the second most popular website in the world after Google.
Source: Similar Web
But when it comes to engagement metrics like avg visit duration, pages per visit...
12 years since being founded in 2009, Grammarly has more than 30 Million daily active users, over 10 Million downloads of its chrome extension, and 50,000+ professional and enterprise clients. And all this for a company that did not raise its first round of funding worth $110 Million until its eighth year of operation.
Now, I'm not by any means trying to imply that Grammarly was bootstrapped for the initial 8 years of the startup’s journey — the founders did make some money from selling their first startup (nobody knows how much but more on that later), which was used to self-fund the...
For me, Shark Tank India’s Episode 2 was super engaging, given that it featured three distinct types of business pitches. The Episode also served as a revision of two basic business concepts such as gross income and valuation.
In this piece, I will first walk you through each of the three products — Tagz, Head & Heart & Agri Tourism — and then briefly explain the two concepts of gross income and valuation.
Tagz Shark Tank Appearance
Tagz was the first to make an appearance on the second episode of Shark Tank India.
What is Tagz?
Founded by two young founders, Anish and Sagar,...
Aman Gupta, the co-founder of Boat, is the richest Shark on Shark Tank India, with a net worth of Rs 700 crores. Ashneer Gover, the co-founder of Bharatpe, also has the same net worth of Rs 700 as Aman Gupta. So, we can say that Aman & Ashneer were the richest sharks.
To learn more about the sharks, their achievements, and their net worth, continue reading the full article.
Aman Gupta ( Net Worth: Rs 700 crores )
Aman Gupta is famous for being the co-founder & CMO of Boat, India’s largest homegrown consumer electronics brand. Six years after its founding in...
In Shark Tank Season Episode 8, Ginelle pitched a product called Cool Wazoo, seeking $65k in exchange for 25% of her company. After all the Sharks initially refused to invest, Lori agreed to give the desired sum in an unusual turn of events.
In this piece, I will run you through everything to know about Cool Wazoo — what exactly is Cool Wazoo, Cool Wazoo’s Shark Tank Pitch & Deal & Cool Wazoo’s update after Shark Tank.
What is Cool Wazoo?
Cool Wazoo is a multipurpose baby cover. The 5-in-1 baby pad functions as a heat shield for hot car seats and...
In Episode 608 of Shark Tank, Ashley Drake, Army Corps of Engineers Captain, pitched her company ‘The Natural Grip.’ After the pitch, Robert invested $125,000 for 25% of the company. In Beyond the Tank Episode 108, ‘The Natural Grip’ had an update segment.
In this piece, I will run you through everything there is to know about ‘The Natural Grip’ — what exactly is ‘The Natural Grip,’ ‘The Natural Grip’s’ Shark Tank pitch & ‘The Natural Grip’s’ update after Shark Tank.
What is Natural Grip?
The Natural Grip is a protective and reusable hand grip that allows athletes to get a better...
Wally Amos, aka “Famous Amos,” pitched his new company, Cookie Kahuna, in episode 804 of Shark Tank, seeking $50,000 for 20% of his company. None of the sharks agreed to the deal, leaving Wally disappointed.
However, Wally’s story is much bigger than what just happened on Shark Tank. And you also need to understand the historical context of Wally’s life to understand better the Cookie Kahuna Shark Tank Episode and what happened to Cookie Kahuna after Shark Tank.
So, in this piece, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about Wally Amos, his Cookie Kahuna Shark Tank pitch, and...
