Mark Zuckerberg had his first public appearance since Facebook’s stock crashed following its hyped Initial Public Offering.

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Standing before a San Francisco TechCrunch crowd in his renowned grey t-shirt and jeans, Zuckerberg humbly stated he appreciated Facebook’s current underdog position.

“I would rather be in the cycle where people underestimate us,” said the 28 year old.

Whereas Zuckerberg previously prioritised Facebook ahead of making money, the young billionaire appeased investors by recognising the significant roles each play in Facebook.

“Building a mission and building a business goes hand in hand,” he said. “We are about doing both.

“We care about our shareholders.”

According to the New York Times, Zuckerberg hinted to new avenues of revenue, particularly emphasising search. At present, Facebook handles up to a billion search queries a day.

Currently a team is refining Facebook’s search functionality, enhancing it by making recommendations according to the taste of an individual’s Facebook friends. 

“At some point we’ll do it.”

Whereas Google brought the first fight to Facebook with Google+, it appears Facebook will make the first move in the second round with their rendition of search.

Zuckerberg recognised the potential of mobile internet saying “I do everything on my phone,” but swiftly put to rest rumours of a Facebook phone.

“Ten, 20 years from now, the legacy of this company should be, we have connected everyone in the world,” he said. “That’s a lot.”

Following his appearance, Facebook shares rose by 3 percent in after hours trading.