Mark Zuckerberg Says He Was an 'Awkward' Leader When Creating Facebook: 'Still Not My Best Thing' Meta's CEO said being Facebook's founder and leader at age 19 required lots of "feedback loops."
By Emily Rella Edited by Melissa Malamut
Key Takeaways
- Mark Zuckerberg said he was "awkward" during his early years at Facebook and worked through a lot of trial and error.
- Zuckerberg was only 19 years old when he founded Facebook, which is now part of Meta.
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Mark Zuckerberg may be the founder of one of the biggest tech companies in the world — with a bank account to match — but that doesn't mean being a public figure has been easy for him.
On the Meta-owned platform, Threads, Zuckerberg replied to a post that called out his age (19) when he founded Facebook in 2004. The now-billionaire said that, at the time, he was "awkward" when learning the ropes.
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"I was 19 and didn't know anything about running a company, communicating publicly," he wrote.
"Being awkward and getting negative feedback on how I came across definitely made me more careful and scripted," Zuckerberg added. "Still not my best thing, but getting a bit more comfortable just being me as I get older."
Zuckerberg's followers applauded his honesty on the social platform in response.
"It feels like we're growing up together," one user said. "It's both heartwarming and inspiring in a way."
"You're doing a great job," another penned. "Every CEO can learn something from your experience in publicity."
In 2018, Zuckerberg told Freakonomics Radio that he never intended to build a company and that he "was just trying to help connect people at colleges and a few schools."
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Meta's CEO has made waves over the years with his changing public persona as he ages, which now includes a passion for MMA fighting, watersports, and being a father of three daughters.
Zuckerberg's net worth as of Wednesday morning was an estimated $174 billion.
