November 20, 2009

The founder and CEO of AdMob, Omar Hamoui, recently sold his business to Google for $750 million, just three years after founding the company. But behind this great deal is a great story about maniacal focus, thoughtful negotiation, and a good perspective on life.

A recent blog entry in the Wall Street Journal’s Venture Capital section shares some of the lessons learned throughout the AdMob experience by Hamoui and his first hire, Russell Buckley.

As quoted from an interview conducted by WSJ:

On the value of ideas vs. execution:
“…far too many entrepreneurs get paranoid about protecting their idea to the point of paralysis. The value of most ideas is in the execution, not in what the concept actually is. To make it reality, you need to share it – actually, with as many people as possible, counter-intuitive though this might seem. And in my view, forget about NDAs (Non Disclosure Agreements) and the like. They’re pretty useless all round as far as I’m concerned, but for one man and a laptop, a total waste of time and effort, which at best just create speed breakers for your idea.”

On making a great deal:
“If your partner feels as good as you walking away from the table, you are much more likely to have a successful relationship…This is so important. Many self-proclaimed “great deal makers” focus too much on getting the best for themselves and wonder why the relationship falls apart or never achieves its potential.”

Congratulations to Hamoui and his team for a great entrepreneurial story and for their willingness to share lessons learned with the world.

***This article is based on research by Behance CEO Scott Belsky, whose book, Making Ideas Happen, will be published by Penguin in April 2010. Behance runs the Behance Creative Network, the 99% productivity think thank, the Action Method project management application, and the Creative Jobs List.