In this episode Michael Ostrovsky walks us through the history of online advertising auctions, from their modest beginnings at Yahoo and other internet pioneers to the lucrative business models many internet giants like Google and Amazon rely on today. Even though online ad auctions are a story of incredible success Michael also gives some insights into which flaws existed in its early days and how these were overcome as time passed.

Michael Ostrovsky is the Fred H. Merrill Professor of Economics at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a co-founder of the company Topsort which provides auction-based advertising infrastructure for online retailers and marketplaces. Not only is he an expert in all things auction theory, but he has also experienced the rise of online auctions in person while advising various internet pioneers.