“In my experience, each failure contains the seeds of your next success—if you are willing to learn from it.”
It is very difficult to discuss the contents of this book. What's most amazing is how a man can visualize ideas that would shape the world years later. What Gates and Allen achieved with Microsoft is a household story now. To spend hours at a computer terminal, coding for 20 hours straight and praying that the program doesn't screw up. In an interview, Allen said Gates and Allen used to go dumpster-diving outside the laboratory just to find the secret inner codes that made the computer do its thing. Gates would sleep for 18-20 hours and have a container of Tang by his side, he'd wake up and pour some of the orange powder on his palm and lick it off for a pure sugar-high, and get back to work for 2-3 days straight.
Image: The Altair 8800
To pitch the idea of demonstrating software that would allow the Altair 8800 to to work like one of the large bulky machines of that time, despite not having a single of code written was among the single most important gambles in the history of modern technology.
To continue writing of his achievements during those years will need a book in itself. The book chronicles the Eureka moment when GUI (Graphical User Interface) happened, the first time a pointer moved across a computer screen.
The book also chronicles the fiery dynamic between Gates and Allen which involved multiple altercations and at one point, when Allen was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, that Gates was discussing behind his back of diluting Allen's shares in the company to virtually nothing. This pretty much marked the end of his tenure with Microsoft. Allen was going through radiation therapy at the time and his workload was significantly reduced.
Image: The famous Mircrosoft photo and its recreation
Post-Mircosoft, Allen worked on what he called the "wired world". Concepts such as AoL, broadband Internet, OTT media services and streaming became a reality from these ideas. He also writes fondly of his days as the owner of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trailblazers.
But possibly his most fondly written pages were about his contribution to aerospace. Allen was the sole investor behind aerospace engineer and entrepreneur Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne suborbital commercial spacecraft on October 4, 2004. The craft was developed and flown by Mojave Aerospace Ventures, which was a joint venture between Allen and Rutan's aviation company, Scaled Composites. SpaceShipOne climbed to an altitude of 377,591 feet (115,090 m) over the Mojave Air and Space Port and was the first privately funded effort to successfully put a civilian in suborbital space. It won the Ansari X Prize competition and received the $10 million prize.
SpaceShipOne at the National Air and Space Museum
The book also mentions his contribution to film-making with Vulcan Productions and his contributions to research with Allen Institute for Brain Science. His love for music is also prominently featured in his writing, particularly the time he discovered Hendrix and how playing guitar helped his creative process.
Feel free to read up on the extraordinary life of Paul Allen.
There's no doubt that Paul Allen led an interesting life, and as a new employee of his organization (Vulcan Inc.), I really enjoyed reading this book and learning more about his motivations in both business and philanthropy.
The early chapters detailing his time at the fledging Microsoft are fascinating, especially since the author does not shy away from documenting his many disappointments with long-time friend and co-conspirator Bill Gates. Somewhat surprisingly, these chapters almost have the pacing of a thriller, as the young company strives to survive in an emerging and competitive market.
After the Microsoft chronicle ends, the remaining chapters are not quite as interesting, although they do document in detail Allen's transition from technologist to investor and philanthropist. Of course, he also devotes many pages to his role as a pro-sports team owner, but there is little in this section that hasn't been written and discussed ad nauseam by other billionaires.
Overall, an interesting life story, even if the narrative becomes less interesting after the fortune is made and the life becomes an odyssey of opulent expenditures!
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