The Ledger

Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.

clear all ✕

why aren't all 8 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable

Opinion
Casalena: Growing on AdWords today is unlikely because consumers seek established brands
“I don't know if you could grow a business on AdWords the same way I did 15 years ago, because I think people look, they look for the brand now.”
Anthony Casalena Mar 4, 2019 ▶ 43:01 Squarespace: Anthony Casalena
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Snowdevil converted $500 snowboards on 20-cent minimum Google AdWords clicks
“It turns out that the minimum bid for an ad for click is 20 cents, and we paid minimum bid for almost every search, which ended up converting on a 500 dollar snowboard.”
Tobias Lütke Jun 8, 2026 ▶ 21:00 Shopify: Tobias Lütke. How a snowboarder built a $150 billion business (2019)
Assertion Not checkable as stated
NutsOnline saw daily orders jump 10x immediately after launching Google AdWords
“We launch the ad campaigns immediately on, and it's like the floodgates completely open. It goes up 10 X immediately. But if we were doing three orders a day, suddenly it's 30.”
Jeff Braverman Oct 27, 2025 ▶ 28:19 Nuts.com: Jeff Braverman. From Corner Store to Snacktime Powerhouse
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kayak initially lost 80 cents per transaction on paid user acquisition
“In the early years of Kayak, it cost us about a dollar on average to buy someone to come to our website from us spending money on Google AdWords or other websites. We made on average 20 cents per user, so we were losing 80 cents a transaction in large numbers.”
Paul English Sep 27, 2021 ▶ 48:39 KAYAK: Paul English
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Farquhar notes Atlassian bought early Google AdWords for 10 to 20 cents
“Things that would now cost you 10 or 20 dollars for a click would cost us 10 or 20 cents, and I always wish we had more money to spend on that.”
Scott Farquhar Feb 8, 2021 ▶ 38:20 Atlassian: Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Lütke: Snow Devil acquired customers on 20-cent Google AdWords bids
“Google AdWords was a new product. Both days it turns out that the minimum bid for an ad for click is 20 cents, and we paid minimum bid for almost every search, which ended up converting on a 500 dollar snowboard.”
Tobias Lütke Aug 5, 2019 ▶ 22:54 Shopify: Tobias Lütke
Disclosure
Casalena: Squarespace Reinvested Almost All 2006 Revenue Into Google AdWords
“I would put it 100% back in as much as I could. If I made 20 bucks on AdWords, I put 20 bucks back in AdWords. If I made a thousand bucks on AdWords, I'd send a thousand more bucks on AdWords. If I spent You know, I keep a little bit of a balance in case I nee…”
Anthony Casalena Mar 4, 2019 ▶ 22:02 Squarespace: Anthony Casalena
Disclosure
Casalena: Squarespace launched using roughly $200 in Google AdWords
“I bought like 200 bucks of Google AdWords under like build a website, make a blog, like all these different things.”
Anthony Casalena Mar 4, 2019 ▶ 13:50 Squarespace: Anthony Casalena
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