"Cloud Instead of USB"... 'Dropbox' Captivates 600 Million Customers with Ideas [Hidden Industry Story]

Cloud Service 'Dropbox' Reaches 600 Million Users
Founder Drew Houston: "Establishing Dropbox Was a Fulfilling Experience"
Steve Jobs Also Proposed Acquisition of 'Dropbox'

Dropbox logo. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] "Do not try to make your life perfect, but give yourself the freedom to take on challenges. And strive to go even higher."

This is a speech given by Drew Houston, founder of the American cloud service company 'Dropbox,' at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduation ceremony in the past.

At that time, he told the graduates, "'Learning' is still important. However, the fastest way to learn something is to 'take action,'" adding, "If you don't act, you might spend your whole life planning, studying, and preparing for your dreams. You just need to start." This reflects Houston's proactive approach.

Dropbox is also one of the results that demonstrate his practical mindset. Houston, who often forgot to bring his USB memory, thought about a new form of file-sharing system. The outcome of that thought was Dropbox. Dropbox is a company that provides cloud-based web file-sharing services.

Currently, Dropbox has over 600 million customers in more than 180 countries. How did it capture the hearts of people worldwide?

Drew Houston, the founder of Dropbox. Photo by Drew Houston (Facebook capture).

◆ "Is there a substitute for USB?" A minor inconvenience becomes a startup idea

Houston showed exceptional talent in programming from a young age. After receiving a children's IBM computer as a gift at age five, he became deeply interested in programming. At age 12, while playing a game, he discovered a bug. Houston immediately reported the bug to the developer, and despite his young age, he was hired as a temporary employee at the company for a short time.

Later, Houston scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT, known as the American college entrance exam, and entered MIT's Computer Science Department. Even in college, he devoted himself to programming and entrepreneurship. Driven by the determination to 'establish his own company,' he read various books on management, marketing, and related fields to build his knowledge.

In 2004, he finally founded his company 'Accolade,' which provided online lectures. However, due to intense competition in the private education market and the presence of many companies already offering online lectures, it did not stand out significantly. Ultimately, his challenge ended in failure.

Regarding this, Houston said, "I had a dream of starting a business since I was young. But at some point, I thought, 'I don't have the capability to start a business,' so I took a break."

After experiencing failure, Houston found a startup idea in an unexpected moment. One day, while heading from Boston to New York, he realized he had left behind a USB containing all his work.

Since he often forgot to bring his USB, Houston thought, "What if there was a service that could easily share various files?" Based on this idea, he opened his laptop at the Boston train station and wrote the first code for the Dropbox program. Later, he co-founded Dropbox with his MIT junior Arash Ferdowsi.

Houston described the process of founding Dropbox as "the most exciting, interesting, and fulfilling experience of my life."

Photo by Dropbox Official Facebook Capture.

◆ Dropbox rejects Steve Jobs' acquisition offer

However, when Dropbox was founded in 2007, many people found the concept of 'cloud service' unfamiliar. The cloud is a service that stores data on the web, allowing access anytime via smartphones or computers.

At that time, people stored data more often on 'personal computers' than on the web, and many felt PC storage was safer than the cloud. For these reasons, Dropbox struggled to attract significant user interest.

To address this, Houston distributed the Dropbox service for free in the early stages to encourage users to try it themselves. He also ran events that increased storage capacity when customers referred friends. Through various marketing efforts, Dropbox gradually increased its user base.

During this time, Dropbox received acquisition offers from several companies. The most notable was Apple. In 2009, Apple founder Steve Jobs personally met Houston and offered nearly $1 billion to acquire Dropbox.

However, Houston declined. He planned to make Dropbox a bigger company and did not want Dropbox to become just a 'feature' of Apple.

Afterward, Houston enhanced user convenience, security, and stability, gaining recognition in the industry.

◆ 600 million Dropbox users... revenue on the rise

Based on various efforts, Dropbox has continued to grow. Dropbox users surpassed 100 million in 2012, 200 million in 2013, and currently have 600 million customers. The number of companies and institutions using Dropbox's flagship product, 'Dropbox Business,' reaches approximately 550,000.

Revenue is also increasing. In the third quarter of 2020, Dropbox recorded $487 million in sales, achieving a remarkable 14% increase compared to the third quarter of 2019.