CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PICNIK CREW

Yesterday Google announced that they have acquired Picnik.  As a member of the advisory board I have been engaged with the team during the run-up to the transaction, and have closed this chapter with renewed faith in the ability of a small, dedicated team to change an industry.

The Picnik triumvirate – Jonathan Sposato, Darrin Massina and Mike Harrington – were well regarded and successful at Microsoft and in their post-Microsoft lives.  In Picnik they created a jewel of a company, worth every penny that Google paid.  Picnik is also a great template for anyone who aims to create value in startups.  The team created an elegant product that solves a universal problem, in a format accusable to anyone with a net-connected browser.  They operated well as a team.  When opinions diverged internally, they sought the advice of outside advisors and they worked on the problem until the reached alignment.

They also understood that their role in the business was to create a great business, not just to do the work.  What is the job of a great business in the consumer space?    To delight the consumer – profitably, repeatedly, and scalably.  Picnik accomplished all three and will continue to do so – but at Google scale.

Congratulations – nicely done!