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With Mark Zuckerberg this close to taking Facebook public, Wall Street is again about to turn a 20-something CEO into an overnight billionaire. So it’s worth taking a look at the last Internet IPO that caused such a stir, the launch of Google in 2004 — and what life was like for a pair of Stanford computer science kids before they became the kings of Internet search.
With the annual Webby Awards scheduled to air this Monday, May 21, the organizers of this geektastic event have shared this precious video with the Internet. Watch silver-cape-clad Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, both looking about 12 years old, accept a Webby Award for Technical Achievement in 2000.
“Maybe you’ll be billionaires someday,” gushes Sam Donaldson. Well, that didn’t take long. Just four short years later, Google placed an initial public offering for $1.67 billion. Today, Forbes estimates, Page and Brin are worth more than $18 billion. Each.
MORE: Facebook IPO: What You Need To Know
Brainchild of now-retired The Web magazine, the Webby Awards began in 1996 when the intertubes were just warming up. Since then, the awards have grown to include roughly 10,000 entries to 100 categories, and has become a symbol of Internet excellence.
To be hosted by Patton Oswalt, the 16th annual show will feature special guests Louis C.K., Bjork and Instagram. Webby Awards will be chosen by members of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, while the online public votes to select winners of Webby People’s Voice Awards. Past winners include Twitter, eBay, Skype, The Onion, The Guardian and Funny or Die.