Who Is Bret Taylor? The Man Behind Facebook’s Like Button

From Google & Facebook to Open AI, does Bret Taylor, a goliath in the tech industry and an incredibly generous human being even sleep, you might wonder? 

Actually, yes. Amazingly enough, Bret also manages to swing an incredible work-life balance. When he’s not practicing his photography, he likes to cook with his family. He especially enjoys making handmade pasta with his kids.

But before this long successful journey in his career, how did he get started?

Where It All Began

Born in 1980 in Lafayette, California, Bret attended Stanford University–the same university his parents and sister attended. He graduated Stanford with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Computer Science. Fun fact: as a proud member of Nerd Nation, Bret’s affinity for Stanford football remains strong.

In 2003, almost immediately after he earned his master’s, Bret was hired by Google as an associate product manager. He strongly believed that product quality was the key to market success. He clung to that belief despite the widespread criticism against Google back in the day.

“Sure, it was a better search engine,” Bret said, “but would anyone care?” He mentioned that Google’s competitors at that time, like Yahoo and Excite, had the advantage. They were internet portals with search functions built in. So the odds were stacked against them.

But Bret’s faith in product quality was eventually rewarded. Google, being the better product, won over public approval. This, combined with his inherent drive to “fix” product experiences that seemed backwards or antiquated, drove him to push the boundaries of what was possible with Google’s products. 

In the span of four years, he co-created Google Maps, Google Local, and the Google Maps API.

From FriendFeed to Facebook … and Beyond

In 2007, Bret launched FriendFeed–a then “Bay Area-based social-network feed aggregation start-up.” Two years later, Facebook bought FriendFeed for a whopping $15M in cash and $32.5M in Facebook stock.

Both Facebook and FriendFeed were in the then-unexplored business of social media and digital socialization. But Facebook had already “borrowed” quite a few features from Bret’s app – most notable of which was the “Like” button. Bret followed his app to Facebook, eventually becoming the company’s CTO in 2010. 

Another two years later, Bret left Facebook to start Quip, a solid collaborative productivity platform that could rival Google’s productivity suite (Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc.). Quip would be acquired later on by Salesforce and Bret would add another successful venture to his roster.

He was also the chairman of Twitter in 2021 until the board of directors was dissolved. From there, he moved on to Salesforce (like he did with FriendFeed/Facebook) before co-founding Sierra with Clay Bavor in March of 2023.

Bret is also known as quite the angel investor, providing financial support and mentorship to promising startups. Moreover, he’s a top-tier supporter at Lafayette Partners in Education with his wife.

Life With AI

Sierra AI is described as a “conversational AI platform for businesses.” (Over)simply put, it can help organizations streamline systems and processes using AI for improved efficiency and productivity. Indeed, it’s a powerful piece of software that stands to revolutionize conventional corporate management paradigms.

But Bret’s sting with AI doesn’t end here. Recently (November 2023, to be exact), Bret was named Chairman of the Board at OpenAI. So with Sierra recently launching last February 2024 and with talks of OpenAI’s Voice Engine (AI capable of cloning a person’s voice) in the works, it looks like Bret won’t be out of the spotlight any time soon. 

The Bottom Line

In all honesty, Bret Taylor seems to thrive when given a challenge. His humble beginnings coupled with his genuine concern for consumer experience and his naturally giving attitude make him a likable – but formidable – force. How is Bret going to reshape society again?

Guess we’ll have to wait and see.