So You Want To Be Rich Too……….(3) A Billionaire Story !
Bill Gates was born in 1955. Early in life Bill Gates inherited the ambition , intelligence, the competitive and opportunistic spirit , that had helped him to rise to become the richest man in the world .
In elementary school he was so good in his maths and science surpassing all of his peers. His parents recognising his learning talents , enrolled him in Lakeside, a private school known for its intense academic environment. At Lakeside , Bill Gates was first introduced to computers. This had had a far reaching effects on his life. In 1968, the Lakeside prep school , decided then that it should acquaint the student body with the world of computers.
At that time , computers were still too large and costly for the school or anyone to purchase his own. So Bill Gates , Paul Allen , and a few other Lakeside students immediately became so engrossed in the computers that they would spend hours and hours , from day to night in the school’s computer room , writing programmes , reading everything about computers. These Lakeside students , many of whom were to become the first programmers employed by Microsoft.
It was under those learning environment that Bill Gates and his good friend Allen began developing their computer talents , and with which they would , seven years later, ventured out to form Microsoft . The rest is history….
Although in 1973, Bill Gates had signed up for one of Harvard’s toughest math course, his heart was not at his studies. He did well in the course , but he would lost himself in the world of computers once again. He would spend many long nights in front of the computer , and it was at Harvard that Bill Gates developed a version of the programming language called BASIC . The break-through came when his programming language BASIC was used for the first microcomputer - the MITS Altair.
It was in December ,1974. Allen saw on the cover of a electronics magazine , the Popular Electronics , the picture of the Altair 8080 with the headline ” World ’s First Microcomputer Kit to Rival Commercial Models.“ He bought the issue and showed it to Bill Gates. They both recognised this as their big opportunity ! They knew immediately that the home computer market was about to explode. They knew that someone need to make the software for the new home computer
Within a few days, Bill Gates and his friend called Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems, (MITS) , the makers of the Altair and convinced them that he and Allen had developed a programme called BASIC that could be used to program ALTAIR.
The company ,MITS , did not know that was a bluff ! The company was then very interested in seeing their BASIC, not knowing that both Bill and Allen had not even written a line of code. Bill Gates had neither the Altair computer nor the chip that ran the computer. So, Bill Gates and Allen began working feverishly on the BASIC they had promised . They had their first break, the program worked perfectly.
MITS happily arranged a deal with Bill Gates and Allen to buy over the rights to their BASIC. Bill Gates was smart enough to know that the software market had just began. He knew that the information technology was just beginning to hatch and the world was in their hands. Within a year after that , Bill Gates had dropped out of Harvard without completing his university education , and with his good friend Allen they formed Microsoft.
Bill Gates’ foresight , guided by his vision and strong belief that the computers would one day be a valuable tool on every office desk and in every home , steered Bill and Allen to go on developing software for personal computers.
The biggest break-through came when IBM , which was the market leader in personal computers then, wanted an operating system to run its personal computers effectively. Bill Gates convinced IBM that his operating system was better than that of his competitors. The executives at IBM seeing young Bill Gates ,wearing a pair of casual jeans at the meeting , and thinking that the naive looking Bill Gates could be easily & cheaply bought over , gave Bill and Allen the exclusive contract to create an exclusive operating system for IBM computers. They were dead wrong…
Bill Gates did not create nor wrote the M-DOS computer program. In fact , he bought over one operating program called Q-DOS from Computer Product Co., at an affordable price and renamed it Microsoft-DOS (M-DOS) ! He gave the renamed operating system to IBM before the prescribed time. Bill Gates and his gang earned a lot of money without putting in much effort.
Meanwhile , Bill Gates was shrewd enough not to give the full potential of the M-DOS operating system to IBM. He gave only a part of the system and forced IBM to pay heavily for the complete system. At first IBM refused and Bill Gates threatened to sell his new operating system to other computer manufacturers cheaply. IBM was too helpless then and ended up paying a huge sum for Bill Gates new operating system and his computer skills. Because of this IBM agreement alone, Bill Gates made millions in royalties as all the computers at that time had to use his operating system -the M-DOS.
Then there was a Mark Anderson who created the Netscape to browse the net , which by this time the internet browser was becoming increasingly popular. Bill Gates then invited Mark Anderson to become his partner , but Anderson refused. Putting his genius to work, Bill Gates created a web browser known as Internet Explorer and distributed it free to all computer users. Netscape which charged for its services faded into oblivion…..
Bill Gates would justify his free distribution of his Internet Explorer by saying that any operating system without a browser would go out of business. Thus he maintained that he had to improve his product or else his company would go burst like Netscape . He would go all out to maintain his existing monopoly and he would flatten any competition that may come into his way.
For Bill , success is such that he is not interested in a win-win situation with others , but on the contrary he will look for ways to make others fail or lose. Armed with his shrewed and opportunistic business philosophy ,Bill Gates has become one of the most famous personalities of our era.
In order to become successful in business , one must first be an opportunist , able to spot opportunities coming and grabbing these opportunities when they present themselves. Then, you must have the entrepreneurial skill to develop these opportunities when found. One must also have the sharp acumen to steer clear of any obstacles and blockades along the way. Mere hard work alone is not enough , you would just work and work and work……
“Bill Gates succeeded not because he was smart, a great engineer or a good businessman but because he had all of those qualities and an innovative entrepreneurial spirit as well.“
He is also a shrewed opportunist ! That is what I see in him……….
Discussion Area - Leave a Comment