Google was a “build it - and they will come” kind of company. Their edge was completely scientific: Scoring pages against queries in a very meaningful way.
Most other startups companies, Facebook & Groupon included, have a substantial business side to their operations. The way it looks to me, most of their effort was in user acquisition & business development.
You need a good business man to launch companies such as Facebook & Groupon. And this business man is not very different than any traditional business man. Google, to contrast, didn’t need such persona.
…And many of Google’s current difficulties might be explained by understanding this heritage.
