[rurp]

But in Google's case they often do find oil, but then just dump it in the ocean. Lots of people used and enjoyed Inbox, Hangouts, Reader, etc, etc; but Google just discarded them anyway.

Spending years building something that thousands/millions of people end up using and liking, and then seeing it killed anyway, has to be discouraging.

[renewiltord]

Honestly, that's the dream. If you have product market fit, Google paid for the search, and now you can go make it later because it doesn't fit into their vision? Amazing. Ready-made startup.