Lars Rasmussen, Co-Creator of Google Maps | No VC Called Us Back

Lars Rasmussen co-created Google Maps with his brother Jens. He talks with Robert Valentine and Kayvan Nikjou about the mapping startup no investor wanted, the question from Larry Page that changed the product and the three weeks in which the brothers rebuilt it for the browser. The Rasmussens pitched a full-screen map you could drag around and no VC called back. Investors said people only need a map a few times a month. After a deal with a VC fell through, the brothers met Larry Page with maxed-out credit cards and no other options. Google hired them before it had time to buy their company, days before its IPO. Lars explains why Google Wave failed where Maps worked. He also says he should only build things he is bad at. Today Lars is an angel investor in Athens. He was in Canva's first round and tells how its founders learned kite surfing to meet investors. A "Save Dave" sign later brought Canva its CTO. He also talks about Panathēnea, the startup festival he helps build in Athens. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Recorded at HumanX, Amsterdam. Chapters 0:00 Cold open 1:13 Meeting at HumanX 1:57 Panathēnea, the ancient festival of Athens 11:14 Why Athens and its startup scene 18:23 Where 2 Technologies and Jens's idea 23:38 No callbacks from any VC 24:48 "That's because your maps suck" 26:43 A spare bedroom in Sydney 27:39 Yahoo kills the deal 30:13 Start working for us on Monday 31:38 One of Google's best investments 32:49 Inside a VC's funnel 36:13 Meeting Larry Page 40:35 Three weeks to rebuild it in the browser 42:47 How big Google Maps became 48:42 Staying until Maps was number one 50:09 Google Wave 52:38 Only build what you are bad at 54:30 A first-round investor in Canva 57:36 Learn kite surfing to raise money 60:39 Save Dave 62:49 The 23-year-old CEO of Panathēnea Corrections 12:02 During the 2015 capital controls the cash withdrawal limit in Greece was €60 per day. 45:29 Google's own mapping project was called Ground Truth. 48:48 Sebastian Thrun went on to lead the flying-car company Kitty Hawk. White Box Rodeo is for information and entertainment only and is not investment advice. The hosts may hold interests in companies they discuss. Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXlJBzcNjHU White Box Rodeo: https://whiteboxrodeo.com Hosts: Robert Valentine and Kayvan Nikjou