Writely (Google Docs)

This March 2016 episode revisits the acquisitions behind Google’s browser-based productivity tools, especially Writely, which became Google Docs. Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal distinguish an effective product-building tactic from a harder strategic question: whether productivity was the right business for Google to pursue. All assessments of competitors, pricing and market position belong to that historical discussion.

The hosts trace Writely to three former Intuit technologists, Sam Schillace, Claudia Carpenter and Steve Newman, experimenting with Ajax through their company Upstartle. The attraction was collaborative document editing inside the browser. They describe a small team, a beta product and a few thousand users before Google acquired the company in March 2006. The purchase price was undisclosed; the roughly $10 million figure in the discussion is explicitly a rumour.