Global Link Information Network, later known as Zip2, was the first ever company founded by brothers Elon and Kimbal Musk along with their associate Greg Kouri in Palo Alto, California, using money raised from a small group of angel investors, plus an $8,000 from Kouri.
At first, Global Link connected local businesses to online searchers and gave them directions. Elon merged a free Navteq database with a Palo Alto businesses database, to create the initial system.
In the mid-1990s, the internet was still in its infancy. Elon and Kimbal saw an opportunity to create a platform that would allow businesses to advertise online and provide consumers with information about local services. They came up with the idea for Zip2, a software that would help newspapers create online directories and maps.
The Musk brothers were fresh immigrants when they started Zip2 and had no capital nor funding. They didn't have any network, office space, and experience in the tech industry. Elon had a degree in economics and physics from the University of Pennsylvania, which means he initially didn't have any coding skills. He taught himself to code and became the main software programmer for Zip2. They faced heavy competition from other companies that were developing the similar software.
To get the word out about their new company, they pitched their idea to local newspapers, offering to provide free software in exchange for a commission on any advertising revenue generated by the online directories. The newspapers agreed, helping Zip2 gain traction.
In 1996, Mohr Davidow Ventures invested $3 million in Zip2, revamping it’s strategy from selling directly to businesses, to selling national back end software packages to newspapers to build their own directories. Elon Musk was appointed as Chief Technology Officer and Rich Sorkin as CEO.
Elon and Kimbal started the company in a small office in Palo Alto, California. They worked long hours, slept on the couch and showered at the YMCA. They also relied on Elon’s coding skills to develop the software themselves, without hiring any additional staff. Kimbal was in charge of the business side of things.
Within a few years, Zip2 had contracts with major newspapers across the country, including The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune. In 1999, Compaq Computer Corporation acquired Zip2 for $307 million. Elon and Kimbal Musk became multimillionaires overnight.
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