Dustin Moskovitz created Facebook with his Harvard roommate, Mark Zuckerberg. Earlier this year, he left the $80 billion-dollar company to start Asana, a group collaboration tool for enterprises.
Today, he told the TechCrunch Disrupt audience what early Facebook was like, and why he left it to start another company.
"When we founded Facebook, we put a lot of hours into it and worked hard every day. The Social Network painted this picture that we were partying all the time, when really we only attended 2 or 3 parties during Facebook's first year."
Moskovitz says he knew Facebook was a hit immediately. "Facebook was founded on February 4, 2004. On February 5, we were feeling pretty confident, even from observing the first few hours of usage. Students used it like crazy. They'd sign up then spend the next 3-4 hours on it. Then we'd go to lecture hall and see it on every computer screen there."
Despite having founded Asana, Moskovitz says he didn't want to be an entrepreneur. "We left Facebook because we had an idea. We looked for every reason to stay [at Facebook]. I didn't want to be an entrepreneur. But the idea was so strong and we became so passionate about it," he says.
Moskovitz says the most important criteria for entrepreneurs is to have a great idea. "There are a lot of people building small ideas now," says Moskovitz. There's an idealization of being an entrepreneur, but the most important thing is to have a really great idea."
