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In fact, instead of single-product produc on and releases, Google bet its future on growing users—and
control—at lightning speed. During its first ten years, it captured as many consumers and businesses
as possible through the organiza on and control of the data and content that is now a mainstay of our
daily lives: In 2001, it bought Deja News; launched Google News in 2002; acquired Blogger in 2003;
launched Gmail in 2004 and Google Maps in 2005; acquired YouTube in 2006; and then, well, you get
the idea.
Let's compare Google's growth strategy to fellow tech behemoth Apple's over the same period. Apple
released the iBook in 1999; opened its first retail store in 2001; then launched the iPod Mini, Shuffle,
Nano, iPhone, AppleTV, and iPad over the next 10 years. Though it was launching hardware like HP,
Apple's products were linked in an ecosystem. That ecosystem provided a service and a community of
users similar to Google's.
The common thread in Google's and Apple's growth trajectories is an approach we call "building
gravity toward their brands." They grow on a constantly evolving founda on, not disparate,
standalone products.
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What Can the Technology Revolution Teach Us?
The technology revolu on that began in the mid-20th century with companies like HP,
and then through the meteoric rise of Google, Apple and others, demonstrate how
effec ve growth strategies progress and change over, but bold ideas and risk-taking
consistently result in big rewards, par cularly when focused on customers.
