Letter

Google's 2004 IPO founders' letter, "An Owner's Manual"

Larry Page, Sergey Brin · 2004

The founding text on dual-class shares, refusing earnings guidance and funding long-shot bets; essential background for founder-control debates in IPOs.

• Founders and companies
• Activism and governance
• Deals and M&A

1 idea from this letter

• Company insightFounders and companies located

  Refuse quarterly guidance, keep control, and tell investors they are betting on the team

  A founder-controlled company should say what control is for and what investors give up; the 2004 letter is the template for saying it plainly.

  IPO process questions, governance debates about dual-class shares, and any founder letter that cites this one.