Sameer Samat, the head of Google's Android ecosystem, revealed how a late-night "cold mail" to Google co-founder Sergey Brin in 1999 turned out to be a crucial moment in his career. In a recent interview, Samat said that at 3:00 am, he sent an email to Brin seeking advice on whether to pursue his startup or attend graduate school.
"This is 1999 3 a.m. email," told Business Insider, revealing what he asked Brin: "'What would you do in this situation? I'm sure you had this wrestle with this grad school decision.'"
Brin responded within a minute, inviting Samat to Google's office for a discussion. The Google co-founder introduced Samat to several engineers during the meeting, and an impromptu interview took place. Despite being offered a job, he declined to focus on his startup, Mohomine.
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However, Brin provided valuable guidance and introduced him to investors who later funded his startup. Mohomine was eventually acquired by Kofax, now known as Tungsten Automation.
"He didn't have to do any of that," Samat said. "And so I try to pay that forward, too, when people call me up with something similar."
He joined Google in 2008 as a Product Manager Director and scaled through the ranks, becoming VP of Product Management at Google Shopping and eventually the General Manager of Google Shopping and Travel. He left Google in 2015 to become President at Jawbone, but returned nine months later as VP/GM of the Android Ecosystem.
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As President of the Android Ecosystem, Samat oversees the strategic direction and development of Android. He recently announced a leadership restructure, combining the Android and ChromeOS teams under his leadership.
Samat advocates for entrepreneurial risk-taking and emphasises the importance of following one's passion. He believes that sometimes, naivety can be beneficial for entrepreneurs, allowing them to take bold steps and achieve success.
Samat holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from UC San Diego and has also attended the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School.
