Mark Zuckerberg On Yahoo's Billion Dollar Offer

Zuckerberg says Facebook had been growing by opening to more schools and adding features such as photos. When Yahoo offered $1 billion, Facebook had about 10 million users, and the company had to consider whether its ambitions could reach much further.

After discussions with investors and colleagues, Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz decided Facebook could connect people beyond schools. Some early employees saw the offer as a successful exit, while Zuckerberg says he had not clearly communicated the company’s mission. Many employees left, and the management team was gone within about a year.

Zuckerberg says he did not regret the decision, in part because Facebook’s progress soon made it seem right. The following month, the company launched News Feed, and it later opened sign-up to everyone, which quickly expanded the community.

Zuckerberg says later decisions about the company’s direction and investments of billions of dollars could take five or ten years to judge. He says Facebook would focus on hiring people who wanted to stay for the long term.