How Mark Zuckerberg pushed an Indian engineer to build Facebook's ultimate search engine: ‘Dude if I can…'
Aditya Agarwal Reflects on Developing Facebook's Search Engine with Mark Zuckerberg's Motivation
In the early days of Facebook, Aditya Agarwal was a relatively new engineer trying to find his footing. Within just a week of joining the company, Aditya was still navigating his role with minimal guidance when Mark Zuckerberg himself stepped in with a high-stakes challenge. This story, recounted by Agarwal, highlights the defining 30 seconds of his life, as he shared during the episode ‘Mark Zuckerberg on Llama, AI, & Minus One.’
How Aditya Agarwal wrote the revolutionary search engine for Facebook
Aditya Agarwal met Mark Zuckerberg in 2005 through a mutual acquaintance. Impressed by Zuckerberg’s vision for Facebook, Agarwal joined the company as an early engineer. He was tasked with a major project: building Facebook’s search engine, a challenge Zuckerberg insisted he tackle alone without a team.
Agarwal, who also became Facebook's first Director of Product Engineering, successfully developed the search engine, but it was Zuckerberg’s word that truly motivated him. The search engine was essential for Facebook users who wanted to find and connect with others on the platform, making it a crucial component for the company's growth. Despite Agarwal’s suggestion to hire someone from Google or Yahoo to develop the search engine, the Meta founder told him, "Dude if I can build Facebook you can build a damn search engine.”
Mark Zuckerberg discusses ‘why Meta is in its Awesome Era’
The YouTube video, which explores Mark Zuckerberg’s thoughts on topics ranging from “Llama, AI, -1 to 0, and MMA” to how Facebook succeeded and Meta’s current phase, also features Aditya Agarwal and his wife, Ruchi Sanghvi. Ruchi, a former CMU colleague of Agarwal’s, began working at Facebook after he persuaded her to join during his early days with the company.
“This was the best event we've ever hosted at SPC, and that's a very high bar. It was a privilege to host our old boss and good friend,” the ex FB engineer wrote on his social media handle. And I'll admit, hearing that one of the greatest founders of our time shares the @southpkcommons -1 to 0 philosophy made me a bit emotional,” he added.
More about Aditya Agarwal
After leaving Facebook in 2010, Aditya Agarwal had a remarkable career, taking on roles at various tech companies. He is now a partner at South Park Commons, a collective based in San Francisco and New York City. This group boasts over 500 members and alumni who have either founded their own companies or joined leading organisations like Google Brain, OpenAI, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.