Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Executive Chairman Keeps What In His Office?

Executive chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, has something quite sentimental in his office. The billionaire told the Startup Grind Europe event this week that he keeps a door in his office made out of his old desk. The same desk he had when he first joined Google in 2001.

When he first started with the company, he was in a small office and his desk was a door resting on a stand. The door now reminds him of his humble beginnings and all that it took to make Google into the valuable company that it is today.

“I can always tell when we’re dealing with a proper founder when we start with how are they spending their money. And so whenever I go into [a] start-up that has beautiful offices, really nice chairs, I cringe. Because that means I haven’t quite figured out that it isn’t their money,” Schmidt said.

“When I joined Google, I was is [in] an office and I had a little corner of a desk with four other engineers. Eventually I was given an 8-by-12 office where my desk was a door, … a tabletop, literally a door, which I retained to try to remind myself of what it takes to be successful, so my office today has that door in it.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and have not been compensated for this article.