In 1998, if you walked into a specific small garage in Menlo Park, you wouldn't find a “tech giant.” You’d find two guys, a blue carpet, and a computer server held together by LEGO bricks.
Yes, LEGOs.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin didn't wait for a billion-dollar data center to start Google. They used toy bricks because they were modular, cheap, and did the job. Today, Google defines the modern world, but it started with “scrappy” solutions.
For anyone building in the era of AI and rapid change, this isn’t just a history lesson, it’s a survival guide.
Don’t Wait for Perfection, Start with “Modular” Thinking.
Google’s first server was built of LEGOs so they could easily add more hard drives as they grew.
• Don’t get paralyzed trying to build the “perfect” system. Build a “LEGO” version. Use modular code, leverage existing APIs, and build something that can grow one piece at a time.Solve the “Invisible” Problem.
Before Google, the internet was a mess. Searching was frustrating. Google didn’t try to build a “cool” website; they tried to make the world’s information accessible.
• The best tech doesn’t look like “tech” to the user, it looks like magic. If you can take a complex process (like coding) and make it feel invisible to the end-user, you’ve already won.The “Uncomfortably Exciting” Rule
If your project doesn’t make you a little bit nervous, it might be too small.
Google took risks on things like Gmail (when email was “solved”) and Android (when phones were just for calling).
• In our current era, the “safe” ideas are already taken. Use the tools we have today, AI, cloud computing, automation, to chase the ideas that feel a little bit “crazy.”From Coder to Architect
In the beginning, Larry and Sergey wrote the code. But as Google grew, they became the architects of a vision.
• Today, we don’t have to struggle with every line of syntax. AI handles the “grunt work.” Your job in 2026 is to be the Architect. Focus on the system, the user experience, and the logic.
The next world-changing company won’t start in a glass tower. It will start on a laptop, perhaps in a bedroom or a coffee shop, using “scrappy” tools to solve a real problem.
Google’s history proves that you don’t need a massive budget to start; you just need a modular mindset and the courage to solve something “uncomfortably exciting.”
Stop waiting for the perfect conditions. Grab your “LEGOs” and start building
Top comments (1)
I have a question: Why do you call them LEGOs in the US when everyone else, including those in the Netherlands (from where it originates), call them LEGO (no 's')?