The billionaire founder of LinkedIn was one of Facebook's early investors - and he watched CEO Mark Zuckerberg overcome 'the most spectacular adaptation curve'
Jacqui Ipp
- LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman was one of the first investors in Facebook.
- At the time, Zuckerberg was painfully awkward.
- Hoffman said that Zuckerberg's desire to adapt and stick to his vision account for his evolution into a highly capable and sharp CEO.
Facebook cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the confident leader of a massively influential global company with a roughly $517 billion market capitalization, but 13 years ago he was a painfully awkward 20-year-old college dropout with a startup.
Billionaire LinkedIn cofounder and investor Reid Hoffman has seen the transformation up close for the whole journey.
In a bonus clip from a recent episode of Business Insider's "Success! How I Did It" podcast, Hoffman said, "One of the great delights in working with Mark through kind of the early days to now is that Mark has demonstrated literally the most spectacular learning and adaptation curve that I've ever seen in a young entrepreneur, to now, an experienced and highly capable CEO."
Hoffman met Zuckerberg in 2004, when Zuckerberg was looking for investments in "The Facebook" and had yet to have any takers. Hoffman was intrigued, but because he was in charge of his own burgeoning social network, he didn't want to be the lead investor. He phoned his friend and fellow investor Peter Thiel and arranged a meeting with Zuckerberg.
On the episode of the podcast "Masters of Scale" where Hoffman interviews Thiel, the two joked about how difficult it was communicating with Zuckerberg.
"He's very articulate now," Hoffman said. "But back then there was a lot of staring at the desk not saying anything." He and Thiel also found it amusing, even at the time, that Zuckerberg was pushing his (much less exciting) file transfer service Wirehog, just in case they didn't like Facebook.
Last year Business Insider spoke with Antonio García Martínez, the former Facebook employee who built much of the company's advertising foundation. He said most outsiders don't understand that Zuckerberg grew into some of his leadership capabilities rather than become a completely different person.
Martínez told us that Zuckerberg is both "actually very alpha male and very dominant," and that even a cynic like himself has to concede that Zuckerberg is a true believer in his mission of connecting the world. These seeds were there in the 20-year-old Zuck - his company's growing influence essentially forced him to outgrow some of his awkward tendencies.
In our podcast interview, Hoffman agreed, saying that Zuckerberg learned how to be graceful, but that his visionary intelligence was always there. He credits Zuckerberg's evolution to Zuckerberg's ability to adapt remarkably well coupled with this "true north" of a guiding desire.
"I am learning from a bunch of things that he does," Hoffman said.
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- Saudi Arabia wants China to help fund its struggling $500 billion Neom megaproject. Investors may not be too excited.
- Catan adds climate change to the latest edition of the world-famous board game
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- JNK India IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more
- Indian Army unveils selfie point at Hombotingla Pass ahead of 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market