The $100,000 Cheque That Launched Google

Let’s go back to 1998 — a year when most of us in India were busy sending SMS messages or using Yahoo search, not knowing that two Stanford students were about to change the internet forever.

Here’s the real story behind Google’s first big cheque, its surprising Burger King celebration, and the legends who shaped its destiny.

🌟 The $100,000 That Started It All

In August 1998, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two PhD students from Stanford University, were working on their search engine project, “BackRub,” which later became Google.

They met Andy Bechtolsheim, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems (the same company behind Java), who instantly saw the potential of their search engine. Without wasting time on long meetings or formal agreements, Andy wrote them a cheque for $100,000 — not to Larry or Sergey personally, but made out to Google Inc.

Here’s the twist:

• Google Inc. didn’t even exist yet!
• Larry and Sergey had to go register the company and open a bank account just to cash the cheque.

🍔 Why Celebrate at Burger King?

When Google got its first valuation of $10 million (yes, just $10 million back then), they didn’t go to a fancy hotel or pop champagne.

They chose Burger King — a symbol of humble celebration.
This story has been widely told in tech circles to remind people that even the biggest giants had simple, grounded beginnings.

🎓 The Professor Who Advised Against Google

Another fascinating part:
Larry and Sergey’s professor at Stanford, Hector Garcia-Molina, reportedly advised them to finish their PhDs instead of running off to chase a startup dream.

Lucky for the world, they didn’t listen.
Imagine if they had stayed back — maybe Google would never have existed, or someone else might have dominated the search world.

📈 From $10 Million to $1.9 Trillion

Fast forward to May 2025:

• Google (under its parent company Alphabet) is now valued at around $1.9 trillion.
• It’s not just a search engine — it owns YouTube, Android, Gmail, Google Maps, and powers AI models, cloud computing, and even self-driving cars.

What started with a single cheque at a Burger King table is now one of the most powerful companies on Earth.

💡 The Lesson

Every giant you see today — Google, Amazon, Apple — was once a small, struggling startup hustling for press, money, and customers.

The Google Boys (as the media fondly called Larry and Sergey) are now tech legends. But they remind us that no one is born big. Every dream needs a first supporter, a moment of risk, and a little bit of faith — even if it’s scribbled on a $100,000 cheque over burgers. 🍔💸

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