Never Lost Again summary

The year is 2001. The dot-com bubble has burst, and all the optimism of the 1990s has turned to terror as investors pull their money from the stock market. For many internet and tech businesses, this is the end. 

Start-ups like Keyhole needed venture capitalists to believe in them. But at the time, there was very little belief to go around. So, to steady the ship, Keyhole changed course.

In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq. President George W. Bush spoke of “shock and awe” as bombs rained down on Baghdad. As the world came to terms with this military aggression, Keyhole was about to be transformed. 

On March 27, 2003, David Kornmann, one of Keyhole’s employees, came into the office, made a pot of coffee, and then saw a fax that had come through during the night. It was a signed contract from CNN worth $75,000. 

One day in April 2004, John Hanke and Bill Kilday went out for drinks after work. Before they reached the bar, John told Bill that he had a secret to share. It was so big that Bill couldn’t tell anyone – not even his wife.

After checking that nobody was in earshot, John turned to Bill and told him the news: “Google wants to buy us.” 

It wasn’t long before Keyhole signed the Google deal. Every single member of Keyhole’s 29-person team was hired by the tech giant.

They were all invited to the Googleplex, Google’s shiny corporate headquarters, and received their badges as Google employees. As they looked around their new workplace, the Keyhole team could see that things were going to be very different.

Google Maps officially launched in February 2005. The program was incredibly popular, and received glowing reviews from individuals and the media.

Along with this mainstream appeal, it was well-received by web developers and the business community, too. That’s because Google Maps opened up possibilities for more innovation – possibilities that were only beginning to be understood.

Google has always been a different kind of business. For a long time, its motto was Don’t Be Evil, which summed up the company’s purpose as well as the ethos of its user-centric products.

This company mission became apparent to the Keyhole team when they joined. It became even more apparent to Bill Kilday in 2005, when two events made him realize that Google’s mapping technology could literally save lives.