The Rise and Fall of Google

By 1999, usage of the search engine was increasing by as much as 50% a month. Larry Page and Sergey Brin refused to divulge even basic details about how their service was operating. Their stonewalling even led one prominent venture capitalist to storm out of their office in anger. The pair proposed that each firm, the Blue Chips of Silicon Valley Venture, take a co-equal stake in Google.