Happy B’day Chad Hurley: The Co-Founder Of The World’s Largest Video Library

On his 47th birthday today, here are a few interesting yet less-known facts about Chad Hurley, the co-founder of YouTube!

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An American man who started his first Internet company in his 20s, and within two years, the world’s biggest Internet company bought it for a whopping $1.65 billion. Today, his company is the first online destination people think of when they need to watch or upload a video. During his first job interview, he was asked to show his design skills, so he designed the company’s logo, which was used for more than a decade. That company has grown into a multinational financial technology corporation. Meet Chad Hurley, the visionary behind a website that revolutionized the online world in 2006.

“I try to absorb all the types of style and design. I don’t try and restrict my thinking. I enjoy the old and the new. You need that broad perspective to create something new.”

Born: 24 January 1977, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA

Net Worth: ~$400 million

Failures that came hand in hand with achievements never seemed to be a speed breaker for Chad, as he always pushed his limits and tried his hands on different ventures.

On his 47th birthday today, we bring a few interesting yet less-known facts about Chad Hurley, the co-founder of YouTube:

  • Early Life: Chad is the second of three children of Don and Joan Hurley. From an early age, he displayed a keen interest in the arts. However, during his time at Twin Valley High School, he developed a fascination with technology, computers, and electronic media. Hurley made a mark as a standout runner for Twin Valley High School’s cross-country program, contributing to its success with two PIAA State championships in 1992 and 1994 during his tenure. Additionally, he was a member of the Technology Student Association. In 1999, Chad Hurley furthered his education, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
  • Chad Designed PayPal Logo: Not many people are aware of the fact that PayPal’s first logo, which they used for more than a decade, was actually designed by Chad during his job interview at the company. Chad joined PayPal as the company’s first user interface designer. He was the 15th employee of the company. While working at PayPal, he met Jawed Karim and Steve Chen, the future co-founders of YouTube.

I think the success around any product is really about subtle insights. You need a great product and a bigger vision to execute against, but it’s really those small things that make the big difference.

  • Birth of YouTube: One day, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen realised that they had no way of sharing the large video online that they’d shot at the event. The video files were too large to email, and uploading them to the internet would take several hours. This problem sparked a revolutionary idea; Hurley and Chen brought in Karim, and the trio registered the domain YouTube.com in January 2005. Their vision for YouTube was to maintain a user-friendly interface and experience. They opted for simplicity, allowing viewers to watch videos without the hassle of registration or the need to download any special software.

If you’re creating an entertainment site, you want the content to be the star.

  • Success: To make YouTube what it is today, a team of ten people, including Chad and Chen, worked tirelessly without receiving any pay. The first-ever video uploaded on YouTube, “Me at the Zoo,” was uploaded by co-founder Jawed Karim on April 23, 2005. Within two years of its launch, in October 2006, Google bought an 18-month-old video-sharing platform for $1.65 billion. This was one of the largest acquisitions at the time. Today, YouTube has over 3 billion monthly logged-in users.
  • When Google bought YouTube, Chad Hurley received the largest share of Google among the three founders – Hurley, Chen and Karim. Hurley’s share was worth $345.6 million at Google’s February 7, 2007 closing stock price of $470.01. He received 694,087 Google shares directly and another 41,232 shares in a trust. YouTube’s other two co-founders, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, received 625,366 shares and 137,443 shares, respectively valued at $326.2 million and $64.6 million, respectively.
  • Hurley stepped down as CEO of YouTube in October 2010, but he remained an advisor to the company.
  • “Knowing everything about the product is not necessary, but one should always work targeting the needs of the community and always be prepared for the change in design”, Chad advises the budding young entrepreneurs.
  • As part of their entrepreneurial endeavours, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen acquired Delicious in 2011, a bookmaking website, under their venture AVOS. However, AVOS later decided to streamline its focus to a single product, leading to the sale of Delicious to Science Inc. The duo also founded ‘Zeen,’ an online magazine-making service, but was later shut down.
  • Chen and Chad Split: Chen and Chad split: After a successful 15-year partnership, Steve Chen and Chad Hurley decided to part ways. Chad Hurley, in particular, pursued his passion by founding the close-to-the-heart venture Mixbit in August 2013. MixBit provided users with an easy way to create edited videos. According to Steve Chen, it was Chad’s idea to turn Avos into MixBit even before the inception of YouTube.
  • Failed Investments: Chad Hurley experienced setbacks in his entrepreneurial journey, with notable failed investments in ventures such as the men’s clothing range Hlaska and an investment in the Formula One team, Team US F1. Team US F1, a new entrant in the 2010 Formula One automobile racing, faced challenges and was ultimately shut down on March 2, 2010.
  • Other Investments: Chad Hurley is a part-owner of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Football Club of Major League Soccer. In January 2021, he invested in Leeds United, an English Premier League football club.
  • Marriage: Chad Hurley’s first wife was Kathy Clark. She was the daughter of James Clark, the legendary Silicon Valley entrepreneur who founded or co-founded three multibillion-dollar companies: Silicon Graphics, Netscape and Healtheon. In 2012, they filed for their divorce. Hurley remarried to Elise Walden in 2020.

When I started running cross-country and track in school, literally every race was a failure.

The post is a part of a B’day Series where we celebrate the birthday of renowned personalities from the Tech Industry, very frequently. The series includes Entrepreneurs, C-level Executives, innovators or renewed leaders who moved the industry with their exponential skill set and vision. The intent is to highlight the person’s achievements and touch base the little known, but interesting, part of his life. You can see the list of all earlier celebrated tech personalities, including Mark Zuckerberg, Marissa Mayor, Sean Parker, Andy Rubin, Julian AssangeSir Richard Branson, and Sergey Brin, by following this link or subscribing to your daily newsletter.

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