Today, Dropbox is tech’s hottest startup, and the only company ever to reject a possible million dollar offer from Steve Jobs himself.
Dropbox is a digital storage service that allows its users to bring photos, docs, and videos everywhere and share them with ease. It was founded in 2007 by two MIT students, one of which was Houston. He and his partner, Arash Ferdowsi, got tired of emailing files to themselves to access work wherever they work. Thus, Dropbox was born. The free service now has more than forty-five million users across every continent.
As one of the top seven small, innovative businesses, Dropbox surged to popularity because it did not try to change how people worked. Rather, it created a more efficient way of working through familiar ways. As suggested by the co-founders, this service eliminates the use of e-mail attachments; all files stored in Dropbox can be accessed simultaneously by several people, even a whole team. It also updates in real time and saves users extra space credit.
Although other products with similar functionality are available — such as Apple’s iCloud — Dropbox is more popular for several practical reasons. First of all, their product is simple and free. It is also universal and compatible with several operating systems, including Apple’s OSX. It’s great for storing critical files and is scalable. Best of all, the company lends its name to its premier product, making both the business and service a catchy household name.
Whether or not Dropbox can survive the surging battle with Apple’s iCloud and other digital storage service is yet to be seen. But right now, the company is on top of their game with no signs of slowing down.