A self-published art book about Google's first 25 years

Hacker News

Share card

A self-published art book about Google's first 25 years

This took me 3 years to finish. (It is 100% self-published, not endorsed by Google.) So… I wrote a book. It’s a different book with a unique approach. It’s not a novel or a technical book. It’s a biography, a company’s biography. My hope is that it serves two purposes: to inspire founders and to captivate interior designers. It all started three years ago. My wife and I were discussing interior design for our living room and she brought up what beautiful coffee table books should we have. After looking at her favorites I realized there’s nothing like this for tech startups. Digital products are intangible, how cool would it be to make them tangible and a beautiful art/decor book for your home office or living room? This idea of consolidating my particular interests with my wife’s decorative goals got stuck in the back of my head for a while. I searched and searched. I could only find these kinds of books related to design, architecture, fashion, or travel. Nothing about tech startups. The next logical step for me was to do it myself… And oh… what a “mistake” it was. This whole project was done during nights and weekends - the first half while working on my startup and the last half while helping create Webflow Labs. You have no idea how many times I “quit” the project. In the end, perseverance and discipline were key to making it happen. During my founder journey, I collected several notes about successful (and unsuccessful) tech startups to help me learn from them. I decided to write about Google’s fascinating story: a true generational company and one of the most valuable companies in the world. It’s with great pleasure and satisfaction that I’m introducing you to “Google - First 25 Years”. A book celebrating the minds behind the tech giant's incredible journey from Stanford to global dominance. I have absolutely no idea if this book’s format and concept make sense or if it has an audience willing to invest ($169). Here are some of the unique features: ▪ Silk hardcover ▪ Limited edition ▪ Handpainted edges ▪ More than 30 handmade illustrations I’m producing only 1,000 copies. If the book concept seems interesting enough, leave a comment, I’d love to know your thoughts! Either way, this project was a super fun ride where being outside my comfort zone was the best way to learn storytelling, graphic design, and product manufacturing. At least, I hope this inspires you to go back to your side projects and finish them!