Raj Shamani
Raj Shamani

@rajshamani

9 Tweets Oct 06, 2022
Bill Gates was undeniably a genius.
But Paul Allen took him from literally $0 to $114 Billion.
Here are 7 lessons from Microsoft's Chief Technologist: [A Thread]
1. Share your dream
"Microsoft would never have happened without Paul" - Bill Gates.
Bill Gates met Paul when he was in 7th grade and it was then that Paul told him computers would change the world.
It was Paul who made Bill drop out of his college to start Microsoft.
2. Learn from Failures
Bill Gates and Paul's first business venture failed miserably.
However, from the failed business they learned programming skills that helped them build Microsoft in the later years.
"Each failure contains the seeds of your new success"- Paul Allen
3. Be ahead of time
"Paul foresaw that computers would change the world" - Bill Gates.
In the 1969s, Paul predicted computer chips would get super-powerful and give rise to a whole new industry.
Later they built a computer based on Intel 8008 chip.
4. Fighting cancer
In 1982, Paul was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
When he resigned from Microsoft, he chose the life of Philanthropy.
โ€œYou have to be tough, and always stay positive. I know itโ€™s easy to say, but thereโ€™s no point in pessimism" - Paul Allen.
5. Support
Paul has always been known as a philanthropist.
He has invested in and supported industries including tech, sports, real estate, and energy.
Inspired by watching his mother struggle with Alzheimerโ€™s disease, he invested $500 M in Allen Institute for Brain Science.
6. Start Young
Paul's journey with computers started even before he was in 9th standard.
In 1975, he and Allen formed Microsoft.
When he was 23 years old, he left MITS to work full-time for Microsoft.
7. Helping the competition
Paul showed Bill the cover of Popular Electronics magazine.
It featured a new computer called the Altair 8800, which ran on a powerful new chip.
Paul and Bill later found that they could help Altair, by writing the software and selling it to Altair.
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