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Why Did Bill Gates Choose Software Over Hardware? · Founders

Founders

#401 How Bill Gates Works

This episode is about Bill Gates' obsessive drive and hardcore work ethic. Bill Gates had the rarest entrepreneurial talent—the ability to see the leverage point in a new industry, seize it with relentless intensity, and *will* Microsoft into one of the most successful companies in human history. To make this episode I read Bill's new autobiography, Source…

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Notes

  1. Why Did Larry Ellison Call Bill Gates More Dangerous Than Edison? at 0:00

    David Senra reads Larry Ellison calling Bill Gates more dangerous as Rockefeller than he would have been as Thomas Edison. Full answer

  2. Why Did Bill Gates Treat Constraints as a Friend? at 3:30

    David Senra says young Bill Gates treated constraints as a friend. Full answer

  3. How Did Bill Gates Learn to Code From a Dumpster? at 16:14

    David Senra reads that Bill Gates learned by pulling other people's code out of a dumpster. Full answer

  4. Why Did Bill Gates Choose Software Over Hardware? at 22:03

    David Senra reads Bill Gates choosing software over hardware because manufacturing computers seemed too risky, while writing software took only brain power… Full answer

  5. What Did Bill Gates Start When Software Was Free? at 27:18

    David Senra reads Bill Gates on starting a pure software company when software was supposed to be free. Full answer

  6. How Did a Best-efforts Clause Save Microsoft? at 35:56

    David Senra reads Bill Gates on the best-efforts clause that later got Microsoft out of an exclusive license. Full answer

  7. How Many People Worked at Microsoft After Four Years? at 45:45

    David Senra says four years in, Microsoft had just 11 employees. He thinks the count might be 12. Full answer

  8. How Much Did 5 Percent of Microsoft Sell for? at 49:16

    David Senra says Bill Gates sold 5 percent of Microsoft for $1 million to Technology Venture Investors, TVI. Full answer

  9. Why Did Bill Gates Remove His Car Radio? at 52:08

    David Senra says Bill Gates took the radio out of his car so the drives between home, the office, and the airport could be spent thinking about Microsoft. Full answer

  10. Why Did Bill Gates Stare at Philippe Kahn's Photo? at 53:09

    David Senra reads that Bill Gates was staring at a photograph of Philippe Kahn, the rival he had spent years trying to get rid of. Full answer

  11. What Did Bill Gates Want From Seattle Computer? at 59:59

    David Senra reads Paul Allen's account of what Bill Gates wanted from Seattle Computer Products: a sale, not a license, so Microsoft owned DOS. Full answer

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