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The Crazy Story of Google’s 7 Angel investors

From My First Million · Published Jul 4, 2025 · Watch on YouTube

TL;DR

The video recounts the stories of seven early Google investors—Andy Bechtolsheim, David Cheriton, Ron Conway, Shaquille O’Neal, Susan Wojcicki, a Persian rug salesman (Pejman), and Jeff Bezos—tracing how each got in through chance encounters, relationships, or proximity.

Key insights

  • Andy Bechtolsheim wrote a $100,000 check to “Google Inc” before the company was even incorporated, at no agreed valuation, because he judged the product the best he had ever seen.
  • David Cheriton (the “billionaire professor”) invested after Bechtolsheim referred him; Cheriton is described as extremely frugal and offended by luxury consumption.
  • Ron Conway’s strategy was “all in on the internet” in 1994 when it was at zero, allowing him to become an expert by default; he had no formal thesis, just a bet on the category.

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